Powerfull Vocals and Good Acoustic Guitar

Posted on Oct 30, 2009 05:13 am
premierview
Member Since: Aug 28, 2007

I am seeking to get more powerful vocals and better acoustic guitar sound when recording..

here is my set up..

Vocals..
Line 6 KB37 Toneport..using vocal settings on this with an M Audio condenser mic.. have ozone 4 and waves plug ins..etc...But vocals while not bad..I find them clipping and wee bit of distortion..

Acoustic guitar - I record with M Audio Mic also..
what are the best VST's or settings when recording an acoustic guitar..should you pan to one side or stereo ? etc etc etc ?

[ Back to Top ]

crux
Typo Szar
Member
Since: Jul 04, 2002

Oct 30, 2009 05:55 am

Im gnona sound like a broken record from other posts but i feel that getting good acoustic recordings is all about actually recording them well and not wat VSTs to use and such. I say put in the extra time to experimen

Dematrix
http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member
Since: Nov 27, 2007

Oct 30, 2009 08:49 am

the whole polised turd thing, i agree.

If your vox are clipping and distorted, then turn down the mic (use the -10db pad) for condensers.

Its pretty hard with condensers as well to get them not to clip with vox, if you arent compressing.

i compress mine in the software as im doing them, but i can change the comp setting afterwards if they arent right.

at least that way they dont clip and i can get them loud enough to hear while doing them.

pjk
Prince CZAR-ming
Member
Since: Apr 08, 2004

Oct 30, 2009 01:48 pm

Here's some other VERY important items to focus on, which directly affect acoustic guitar recordings:

Quality of Guitar
Fresh, new strings
Players capabilities (playing style, control, expression, etc)
Room acoustics
Mic placement

These are all very important. If your strings are dead, it won't matter what chain you have, it'll still sound dull. Same for guitar, skill, etc.

I think the best AC guit recordings are the ones that you don't have to do anything too (or not much). Good recording practices trump any VST available.

For the vox, if you're clipping or getting distortion, then that's a gain staging issue. Set gain so the singer won't clip, and you won't have clipping. If there's distortion, then maybe the MIC is getting distorted, which is a singer / engineer issue. You have to have the singer controlled, or get a better mic. Having an outboard compressor will help, to control the high energy that gets past the mic, but if the mic is distorting, then only less energy will help.

For pan/stereo/etc. There's no real answer, except for try and see. Listen critically to other's music, and listen for what they're doing. For instance, 'How's the world treating you' by Alison Krauss & James Taylor is a good example. Listen to the voice placement, then you can try it yourself on your own stuff. Experimentation is key here.

I leave all vox in mono, then pan them later where they need to be.

Headphones help to isolate L/R pan on other's stuff.

Fragile
Member
Since: Sep 30, 2009

Oct 30, 2009 06:34 pm

Also, for a more "powerful" guitar I'd really recommend going direct, and mixing it with your mic signal. If the guitar has a good pickup/preamp the sound is truely incredible. I usually keep the mids all the way down, and the treble and bass fairly high.

Of course that'd depend on if you have an electric acoustic/ how good it is. I've played a lot of less than impressive elec acoustics. Surprisingly, the best one i've played (and later traded in for) was also the cheapest. Ibanez, AEL20 or something like that. $350 bucks. It plays a little rough, inspect it before buying and return it until you get one in good condition, but man, those pickups sound amazing. Better than a $700 dollar martin, way better than my dean. And its a very very very powerful sound. Which is why i suggest also using a mic, if you're going for a softer tone on the acoustic the pickup will detract from the mix quite a bit :\ It doesn't have that "real" acoustic feel to it.