James Yorkston: guitar and vocal set-up?

[phill brown]

Originally Posted by binarymilton

Hey - I've just discovered another album I really like that I had no idea you were involved in.

Boring standard questions, I know, but...

Could you tell me how James Yorkston's acoustic guitar and vocal were mic'd (and which mics were used) on this album. (I'm guessing U67 on vocals...)

The title-track is particularly special. I wish I could get a quiet, understated voice to sound that intimate and wide and big!

Also, was it more or less a live set-up? ie all the instruments in one big room playing together?

I'm listening to it as a type on Spotify actually, which is prompting a lot of questions...

The double-bass sounds great. How do you normally approach mic'ing up a double-bass? Mix-wise, are you always bass-in-the-centre?

Oh, and here's another one: do you mic acoustic instruments differently when there are more of them, with the end mix in mind?
eg mic'ing an acoustic guitar or a banjo specifically a bit brighter so they will cut through a bit more in a busier mix?

Sorry - you don't have to answer all of those... Thanks for writing the book; I really enjoyed reading it
James Yorkston – The Year Of The Leopard

Recorded at Bryn-Derwan Studio in North Wales. All live band tracks. Main room had drums and bass, a small booth in the main room was James' 'home'. Acoustic Guitar - 2 X Coles. Bass Fet 47. Vocals U67.
I usually record acoustic bass with either a Fet 47, Sony C48, sometimes a Shure SM7. Although I often put drums off centre, I usually have the bass in the middle in mixes (its a hangover from the vinyl days).
With many acoustic gtrs and banjo's etc I normally record them as Mono's. I don't EQ differently - I leave that to the mix.