Latest step in the evolution of my battle to get nice guitar/vocals recording.

lkingston · #1 07-18-2020, 11:04 AM

The camera is a Sony ZV-1. The mic is an Audio Technical AT2022 with one capsule pointed down at the guitar and the other up at my mouth. The mic is plugged straight into the mic input of the camera. I panned both capsules center and added a little compression and reverb while editing.

The thing that bugs me most is the guitar squeaking against my pants. I think I’ll start experimenting with terry cloth and felt cloth on my lap. Does anyone have wisdom into getting rid of “lap squeak”?

https://youtu.be/P-zuLA7-QWs

keith.rogers · #2 07-18-2020, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkingston

The camera is a Sony ZV-1. The mic is an Audio Technical AT2022 with one capsule pointed down at the guitar and the other up at my mouth. The mic is plugged straight into the mic input of the camera. I panned both capsules center and added a little compression and reverb while editing.

The thing that bugs me most is the guitar squeaking against my pants. I think I’ll start experimenting with terry cloth and felt cloth on my lap. Does anyone have wisdom into getting rid of “lap squeak”?

https://youtu.be/P-zuLA7-QWs

Nice!

I've seen lots of demos of using ribbons set up to put the voice/guitar in the complementary mic nulls and thought a straight stereo mic would probably not be a disaster. (Would love to try a Telefunken AR-70

)

Try some microfiber cleaning/polishing cloth on your pants for the noise. And learn to hold [more] still if you are recording!

DukeX · #3 07-18-2020, 03:03 PM

That's a very nice recording!

Of course you have the guitar mic capsule pointed right at your lap.

lkingston · #4 07-18-2020, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DukeX

That's a very nice recording!

Of course you have the guitar mic capsule pointed right at your lap.

I appreciate the humor, but I have the mic at the exact spot where on capsule is pointed up straight at my mouth and the other is pointed straight towards the 14th fret of the guitar.

AcousticDreams · #5 07-18-2020, 10:04 PM

Wow! Wow! Wow!...and yes..you really put a smile on my face.

Singing into a small diaphragm mic?..you have a great controlled voice, cause the recording sounds terrific.

Playing is so smooth, and loved the arrangement. All of the notes rang through clear and with beautiful tone.

You added the right amount of compression and reverb...

Honestly, great job. Your set up works great for your singing and playing style. Very impressed.

Brent Hahn · #6 07-19-2020, 02:02 AM

Oh man, that made me smile. And Charlie Chaplin too, I'm sure.

DukeX · #7 07-19-2020, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lkingston

I appreciate the humor, but I have the mic at the exact spot where on capsule is pointed up straight at my mouth and the other is pointed straight towards the 14th fret of the guitar.

Understood, I wasn't actually trying to be funny or sarcastic, just noting that it's a directional capsule and is also pointed at the source of the squeaking noise. Nevertheless, the recording sounds great to me.

lkingston · #8 07-19-2020, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Nice!

I've seen lots of demos of using ribbons set up to put the voice/guitar in the complementary mic nulls and thought a straight stereo mic would probably not be a disaster. (Would love to try a Telefunken AR-70

)

Try some microfiber cleaning/polishing cloth on your pants for the noise. And learn to hold [more] still if you are recording!

I am pretty happy with the sound of the straight stereo mic. The 90 degree angle of the capsules does determine the placement however. There is really only that one spot where one capsule is pointed straight at your mouth and the other the guitar.

It really is a “dual mono” setup though. There is a lot of guitar in the vocal mic and a lot of mic in the guitar mic. There is slightly more of each target in the aimed mic though, and certainly you can hear this in the high frequencies.

As you say, figure 8 mics would be the ideal for separating the vocal and guitar. The issues against this are the expense of two dual capsule or ribbon mics, the intrusiveness of two mics and two stands in the shot, and the room noise in the added rear lobes.

The microfiber cloth is a great idea! I will try that in my next video. I don’t want to move less in the video. It is stiff enough as it is!

I am also thinking about the actual acoustic sound: using an arm rest to get my right forearm off the guitar, and maybe one of those lap spacers to get it up off my lap.

I haven’t been worried about things like my forearm deadening the sound, or my belly up against the back because I play live through a pickup, and in that context, it really doesn’t make a difference. But over a mic, you hear the actual acoustic sound and it probably is a bigger deal.

lkingston · #9 07-19-2020, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Wow! Wow! Wow!...and yes..you really put a smile on my face.

Singing into a small diaphragm mic?..you have a great controlled voice, cause the recording sounds terrific.

Playing is so smooth, and loved the arrangement. All of the notes rang through clear and with beautiful tone.

You added the right amount of compression and reverb...

Honestly, great job. Your set up works great for your singing and playing style. Very impressed.

Thanks for the kind words! I feel like I am getting there. The thing that drives me a little mad in this performance is that I didn’t put a proper “t” consonant between “just” and “smile”, so it comes out “Jussmile”...sloppy!

With that angle, the wide angle distortion makes the body of my guitar and my right arm look pretty big. I think I’ll shoot at slightly less of an angle the next time.

I seem to speed up a little from the beginning to the end of the tune.

I do like the sound of the small diaphragm mic from that distance. Live I am used to a much closer mic, but I like the look and recorded sound of the mic away a little like that.

Wrighty · #10 07-21-2020, 04:25 AM

That was lovely - in many respects. Great playing, tasteful singing, a great track and the recording sounds very good - particularly the guitar.

Awesome - keep 'em coming!

lkingston · #11 07-27-2020, 11:59 PM

Ok, here’s the next step. I’m trying a new mic: an Audio Technica AT-8022. It’s a stereo mic with one side pointed at the guitar, the other up at my mouth. The high pass filter is turned off and the mic is closer to the guitar in order to have the proximity effect fill out the bass a little. I have a scarf between the guitar and my lap which reduces (but doesn’t completely eliminate) the squeaking sound. Both sides of the stereo are in mono. I added the tiniest amount of compression and reverb in post.

https://youtu.be/1hjOjExpjro

rockabilly69 · #12 07-28-2020, 05:13 AM

Great job on those recordings, made me smile!

lkingston · #13 08-10-2020, 10:33 PM

Same setup, different song:

https://youtu.be/AsoGydpof4Y

TBman · #14 08-12-2020, 06:05 PM

I wear a strap even though I play seated. The guitar is off of my lap by an inch or so. No noise.

lkingston · #15 09-21-2020, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBman

I wear a strap even though I play seated. The guitar is off of my lap by an inch or so. No noise.

That seems to be the best solution. Here is the latest video attempt. I am wearing a strap so that the guitar rests ever so slightly above my lap, and I added a foam windscreen to the stereo mic to cut down on the sound of my breath hitting the mic from above:

The song is a cover of Janis Ian’s “At 17”. This song came out in 1975, when I was at the height of teenaged awkwardness: 10th grade!

https://youtu.be/qbuE2FRN4Vs