Thoughts on recording solo acoustic project?

Manyrains · 18th July 2009

I decided a couple weeks ago to do an acoustic version of an album I have previously recorded. As opposed to the notion I've often had of "I oughta just set up a mic or two and record me playing (performing) these songs- it'll be great- and easy" , I find myself struggling with making the starkness sound good. I'm agonizing over both getting the "perfect" acoustic guitar recording by experimenting with numerous mic options, as well as deciding on the arrangement- should I throw a little extra instruments in here, there, a little electric guitar to complement the acoustic, etc., etc.

I'm curious if I've stumbled upon a recognized phenomenon of recording "less is tougher", are there any rules of thumb, adages, when it comes to this type of project (don't combine elec with acoustic, don't make it too busy, how to deal with acoustic lead versus rhythm. etc).

Also, any suggestions for reference CD's for solo voice and acoustic, bluesy, unplugged rock, ballad?

(I realize the final answer is "what sounds good, experiment, trust your ears"- I'm plugging along doing so and making some progress.)

Thanks

Manyrains · 19th July 2009

Bump sort of.
Got one email suggestion about simple recording with Blumlein setup. I've been trying this and indeed am getting a nice result; I definitely get the notion of nice, elegant, simplt recording of a "performance (and I had not realized to try figure-8, dug, sounds very nice) 2 questions about this:
1. I'm still a bit nervous about not having separate control over vox and gtr. Sometimes the vox is a bit stronger than the gtr, haven't been wanting to get the voice that much further away from mic though. What's typical approach for this?

2. Recording guitar separately stereo (Blumlein), I find the right side (bridge side) naturally louder than the left (neck) That seems to make sense acoustically. I've been playing around with placement, it appears the best sound is with left capsule pointing at 12th fret, other toward bridge. I wondering is it typical to adjust gain to even out signals, or leave unbalanced?

benonline · 19th July 2009

check out Chris Whitley's 'Dirt Floor'. I think it's a great example of an acoustic album recorded with minimal gear. Recorded in a shed with a stereo ribbon mic into preamp into tape recorder. It's a great equalizer for the busy arrangements we always tend to make.

also check out John Mayer's 'The Village Sessions'. Great acoustic arrangements of his Continuum songs.

There are numerous other examples. These were just two that popped into my head.

Try to listen to what the song needs. Can you fill all the (sonic) spaces of the song with just an acoustic? Do that. Does it need something like a melody line, try an electric or anything else. Playing two acoustics in different positions always helps to fill things up. Don't overdo it, that's way too easy. The hardest thing is to keep it minimal!

Good luck!

18th July 2009	#1
Manyrains Gear nut Joined: Dec 2007 Location: dallas tx Posts: 98 Thread Starter	Thoughts on recording solo acoustic project? I decided a couple weeks ago to do an acoustic version of an album I have previously recorded. As opposed to the notion I've often had of "I oughta just set up a mic or two and record me playing (performing) these songs- it'll be great- and easy" , I find myself struggling with making the starkness sound good. I'm agonizing over both getting the "perfect" acoustic guitar recording by experimenting with numerous mic options, as well as deciding on the arrangement- should I throw a little extra instruments in here, there, a little electric guitar to complement the acoustic, etc., etc. I'm curious if I've stumbled upon a recognized phenomenon of recording "less is tougher", are there any rules of thumb, adages, when it comes to this type of project (don't combine elec with acoustic, don't make it too busy, how to deal with acoustic lead versus rhythm. etc). Also, any suggestions for reference CD's for solo voice and acoustic, bluesy, unplugged rock, ballad? (I realize the final answer is "what sounds good, experiment, trust your ears"- I'm plugging along doing so and making some progress.) Thanks __________________ myspace.com/jimsavagemusic

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19th July 2009	#2
Manyrains Gear nut Joined: Dec 2007 Location: dallas tx Posts: 98 Thread Starter	Bump sort of. Got one email suggestion about simple recording with Blumlein setup. I've been trying this and indeed am getting a nice result; I definitely get the notion of nice, elegant, simplt recording of a "performance (and I had not realized to try figure-8, dug, sounds very nice) 2 questions about this: 1. I'm still a bit nervous about not having separate control over vox and gtr. Sometimes the vox is a bit stronger than the gtr, haven't been wanting to get the voice that much further away from mic though. What's typical approach for this? 2. Recording guitar separately stereo (Blumlein), I find the right side (bridge side) naturally louder than the left (neck) That seems to make sense acoustically. I've been playing around with placement, it appears the best sound is with left capsule pointing at 12th fret, other toward bridge. I wondering is it typical to adjust gain to even out signals, or leave unbalanced?

19th July 2009	#3
benonline Gear nut Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 87	check out Chris Whitley's 'Dirt Floor'. I think it's a great example of an acoustic album recorded with minimal gear. Recorded in a shed with a stereo ribbon mic into preamp into tape recorder. It's a great equalizer for the busy arrangements we always tend to make. also check out John Mayer's 'The Village Sessions'. Great acoustic arrangements of his Continuum songs. There are numerous other examples. These were just two that popped into my head. Try to listen to what the song needs. Can you fill all the (sonic) spaces of the song with just an acoustic? Do that. Does it need something like a melody line, try an electric or anything else. Playing two acoustics in different positions always helps to fill things up. Don't overdo it, that's way too easy. The hardest thing is to keep it minimal! Good luck!