Always learning - live in the studio recording

guitarman68 · #1 04-14-2022, 04:48 AM

Hi folks,

I know there are many threads about recording guitar and voice in a "live in the studio" setting. Here is one I did two days ago when a good friend dropped by with his brand new custom built guitar. So we recorded a few songs with two instruments (me playing mandolin on the posted track) and two vocals.

Editing info:
I did not eq anything but only used the HPF on the mic preamps. Compression on the vocal tracks comes from the preamps. Post editing contains reverb (Lexicon vintage plate) and Bus Comp (SSL). That's all.

It would be great to hear what you think about the result, because it's always about learning. Tell me what you like and especially what you don't like. Thank you in forward for your precious time and knowledge.

Greetings from Germany,
Robert

keith.rogers · #2 04-14-2022, 06:51 AM

Nice! (Guitar + mandolin +John Prine makes a fine mix! Thanks.)

CASD57 · #3 04-16-2022, 05:01 PM

Nice, I like it

runamuck · #4 04-16-2022, 05:37 PM

I think it sounds great. My only suggestion would be to add a little low mids to the guitar.

jimpilgrim · #5 04-18-2022, 11:17 AM

Well done. Clean, clear and live! The harmonies are mighty nice. Tell me about the custom guitar. Thanks, Jim in Ohio

rule18 · #6 04-18-2022, 12:04 PM

Great rendition, well done. I though the over all sound was nicely balanced and clear.

guitarman68 · #7 04-20-2022, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimpilgrim

Well done. Clean, clear and live! The harmonies are mighty nice. Tell me about the custom guitar. Thanks, Jim in Ohio

The brand new custom built guitar my buddy Jones plays was made by the great Werner Kozlik at Stevens Guitars in Munich, Germany.
https://guitars.de/stevens-custom-guitars/

It's a 12-fret dreadnought and features Alpine bear claw spruce top, amazingly figured Bubinga on sides and back, comfortably C-shaped mahogany neck, 1 3/4 nut, slotted head, no inlays on fretboard and headstock. It sounds huge yet well balanced right out of the box.

guitarman68 · #8 04-20-2022, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runamuck

I think it sounds great. My only suggestion would be to add a little low mids to the guitar.

Thanks, that's exactly what I noticed when listening back after a few days - beside some phasing issues.

rmp · #9 04-20-2022, 06:56 AM

Nice! lovely mando playing great harmonies, and a consistent easy groove too.

checks all the boxes.

Mix.. I hate to comment much there, everyone is going to advise something different so, I don't want to start anyone chasing that around, it sounds really good,

I might get a tweak up on that acoustic track, and the comment on some low end is what I hear too. I have good speakers.

AcousticDreams · #10 04-20-2022, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitarman68

It's a 12-fret dreadnought and features Alpine bear claw spruce top, amazingly figured Bubinga on sides and back, comfortably C-shaped mahogany neck, 1 3/4 nut, slotted head, no inlays on fretboard and headstock. It sounds huge yet well balanced right out of the box.

I have been having severe BUBINGA acoustic guitar GAS over the last week. It is a back and side wood that has intrigued me over the last several years. Yet, I have not as yet played one. In another recent thread a couple of people were touting it's great value for acoustic guitar tone.

After a week long investigation of researching and listening to videos...I once again quelled my desire to purchase a Bubinga Back and sides guitar...JUST LAST NIGHT. That is until I listened to the video just now! Thanks Guitarman68! I now have the urge again..ha ha ha. Maybe it is a sign I should get one? One person said it is the most under rated tonewood.

Anyway.....Great recording, great playing and great rendition!
Is the U89 the one you used on your voice? How would you characterize the difference in sound of a U89? I have always liked a u67 on acoustic guitars, but I have been a bit undecided on it for vocals, even though it has been used on some classic records. For some reason U67's seemingly emit more tube distortion than other tube mics.

And can you explain your statement about the compression used? "Compression on the vocal tracks comes from the preamps" Does this mean there was a compressor built into the preamp?

Always appreciate your posting. Keep them coming!

guitarman68 · #11 04-21-2022, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmp

Nice! lovely mando playing great harmonies, and a consistent easy groove too.

checks all the boxes.

Mix.. I hate to comment much there, everyone is going to advise something different so, I don't want to start anyone chasing that around, it sounds really good,

I might get a tweak up on that acoustic track, and the comment on some low end is what I hear too. I have good speakers.

Hey, thanks a lot for listening and commenting !

guitarman68 · #12 04-21-2022, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

I have been having severe BUBINGA acoustic guitar GAS over the last week. It is a back and side wood that has intrigued me over the last several years. Yet, I have not as yet played one. In another recent thread a couple of people were touting it's great value for acoustic guitar tone.

After a week long investigation of researching and listening to videos...I once again quelled my desire to purchase a Bubinga Back and sides guitar...JUST LAST NIGHT. That is until I listened to the video just now! Thanks Guitarman68! I now have the urge again..ha ha ha. Maybe it is a sign I should get one? One person said it is the most under rated tonewood.

Anyway.....Great recording, great playing and great rendition!
Is the U89 the one you used on your voice? How would you characterize the difference in sound of a U89? I have always liked a u67 on acoustic guitars, but I have been a bit undecided on it for vocals, even though it has been used on some classic records. For some reason U67's seemingly emit more tube distortion than other tube mics.

And can you explain your statement about the compression used? "Compression on the vocal tracks comes from the preamps" Does this mean there was a compressor built into the preamp?

Always appreciate your posting. Keep them coming!

Hey Knives&Guitars !

Thanks a lot ! That Bubinga sounds and looks awesome ! My friend Jones just sent me some pics, but I never uploaded pics here, don't know how to do this.
As soon as I found out, I will.

Yes, U89 on my voice in the vid.
On guitar I prefer the U67 over the U89, on vocals I like both. Especially on voices with unpleasant high mid content (like mine) the U89 does a great job smoothing things out a bit.

The preamps used on both vocal tracks are in fact channel strips.
The Avalon vt737 (paired with the U67 on Jones' vocals) is my go-to preamp on vocals. I own in for a long time and love the EQ, especially adding 10 kHz or 20 kHz a bit. The opto compressor is very musical and soft. When tracking ratio is 2:1, threshold set to 5 db, attack medium fast. This combination of compression and EQ makes mixing and placing the vocal track in the mix pretty easy.
The Universal Audio 6176 (on my vocals, U89) is a whole different animal. Compressor can be super fast. Normally I use it on percussion, electric bass and upright bass. In the vid I set the attack to very slow and very little compression.
Hope that helps a bit.

I plan to do a comparison of U67 and U89 on vocals and guitars. So you can get an impression. For me it's hard to describe the differences in proper English.

Another comparison I will work on is Schoeps CMC6MK4 vs. Austrian Audio CC18. These mics are amazing.

Greetings from Germany,
Robert