Recording Solo Acoustic Performance (Feedback Please)

[Milkman]

I recorded an acoustic cover video of Bradley Cooper's Maybe It's Time recently (posted below and in another thread), and I'm pretty pleased with he audio quality (the video turned out pretty good too, but that isn't the point). I'd like to share my method and welcome feedback. I love the recording/mixing end of things and could talk about it all day long.

I got to try some new equipment and techniques on this one. Here's a list of the new gear I used:

• Sennheiser e935 for vocals
• Pop filter for vocals
• Shock mounts for microphones (which make a HUGE difference)
• Behringer UMC404HD 4in, 4out interface

I mic'd the guitar using my Pyle PDMIC78 (panned hard left), and ran a DI from my $30 Scamazon pickups into the interface (panned hard right).

First, I was super impressed with the Behringer interface. I wanted 4 ins so I could record this way and it didn't disappoint. The preamps are nice and quiet with plenty good headroom for me (far more than my Roland Tri-Capture). I had the microphone gains at about 1:00 and the DI at about 11:00 with the "instrument" button selected for that input.

Vocals:

• EQ with lows rolled off hard below 80Hz, and slightly reduced mids at about 2kHz with a wide Q
• Hiss reducer (called ReaFir in Reaper)
• Compressor with fast attack and release, and a ratio of about 6.5:1
• Fairly short delay (160ish ms), a fair amount of repeats (feedback), but volume dialed back to make it very subtle
• Reverb set to a medium sized room type sound, with high (200Hz) and low (7kHz) pass filters and dialed back for subtlety

Guitars:

• EQ - a rolloff below 80Hz, a little bump around 120Hz to pick up the bass line notes, and a small bump in the high range above 8kHz
• Very small amount of chorus
• No compression at all... I just didn't feel like it needed it
• No Reverb - I relied on the bleedover into the vocal mic to give guitars a little of the same reverb

That's about it. I synced the video (from my iPad) to the audio right inside Reaper, then disabled the iPad audio altogether.

So.... any feedback? Tips? Criticism? This (along with singing) is something I've really been working to get better at. One of the most difficult things for me is presenting my vocals so high in the mix... I think a lot of people struggle with this though... it's a problem with my fragile little ego for me.

[OMB]

I can't comment on the recording techniques but the results were quite nice. I guess maybe the delay on the vocals helped?

Is that an Ibanez acoustic?

[Milkman]

Is that an Ibanez acoustic?

No, it's a Simon & Patrick (Godin) I picked up way back in 1994... when I was still a drummer.

[Mossman]

Since I'm fairly new to recording myself, I can't comment too much on a technical level, but it sounds good to me!

[tlarson58]

Maybe a little too much slapback delay on the vocals. I just got turned on to this and am guilty of putting in too much. Maybe @Narsh can chime in and offer a setting for a acoustic performance.

[Milkman]

You may have something there @tlarson58. The slapback can be tricky, and I'm guilty of overdoing it too. I intentionally dialed it back from where I had been using it, but it still may be a shade too much. It's tricky, because the delay makes the voice sit into the mix, but a little too much kinda takes the richness out of it. Plus, I have to listen to my own voice 1000 times while adjusting it!

[Narsh]

Maybe a little too much slapback delay on the vocals. I just got turned on to this and am guilty of putting in too much. Maybe @Narsh can chime in and offer a setting for a acoustic performance.

I thought it sounded great. The only suggestion would be to drop a Reverb at the end of the master bus chain, to let everything "sit" together. Nothing too crazy, just a regular old spring reverb set audible enough to even it out.

[Milkman]

Funny you should say that @Narsh, I have a reverb right at the end of the master buss, but I switched it off as part of my Reverb Recovery Program!