Acoustic Guitar Music NEWS FLASH!!! Singer-Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist Unveils One-Man-Band ROCK Record on the INTIMATE AUDIO label (CLICK for more Info)
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NEWS FLASH!!! Singer-Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist Unveils One-Man-Band ROCK Record on the INTIMATE AUDIO label:

Yep! It finally exists. After four years of slow boiling... Unbelievable! Please check out my brand-new “full band” album of original compositions, MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED (now available through CDBABY.com, iTunes and AMAZON.COM), featuring me performing all the instruments (voices, guitar, bass, real acoustic drums, piano, accordion, and mandolin). I also produced, arranged, engineered, and did all the artwork/illustrations—intimate audio AND visual, lol! (Details can be seen in my YouTube: ALBUM PREVIEW/documentary.) I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Meanwhile, feel like embarking on your own ambitious HOME RECORDING project? This page contains info about my favorite home recording books and other resources, as well as some of the approaches I used (mic’ing acoustic guitars and real drums, vocal recording/editing, re-amping, editing, mixing, etc.) making MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED.

If you're curious as to what all went on behind the scenes in the making of this—literal—solo recording, feel free to peruse the details below. I will update this page often (adding more "mixing" details and possibly some video things), so check back for more info!

You'll find the following topics covered in this page:

Favorite RECORDING BOOKS and MIXING INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS

Favorite ONLINE RECORDING / MIXING Resources

My Own Recording Process

• ACOUSTIC GUITAR Mic'ing and Recording

DRUM Mic'ing and Recording

Digital PIANO Re-Amping

Recording and Editing VOCALS

Vocal INTONATION Notes

General HOME RECORDING / SELF-PRODUCING Advice

Miscellaneous MIXING Approaches and MONITORING Advice

MY TOP-FIVE HOME RECORDING BOOKS and MIXING INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS

MASTERING AUDIO by Bob Katz

1) Mastering Audio, Second Edition: The art and the science (Book), by Bob Katz

Easily my favorite audio book of all-time. I didn't know anything about PARALLEL COMPRESSION, or the HAAS (PRECEDENCE) EFFECT, or why 24 bit mattered (not for the “obvious” reasons, but actually when mixing a 16-bit file in 24-bit) until I read this book. Contains valuable perspectives/realities/consequences on/of the “Loudness War.”


MIXING AUDIO by Roey Izhaki

2) Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practices and Tools, by Roey Izhaki

Great book with super specific signal path/setup info to accomplish almost any goal. I learned how to sidechain the bass off of the kick in this book, plus how to do pitch-shifted, super short (panned) delays, and all sort of EQ info. Very helpful if AUX track and SEND/BUS stuff is confusing to you. Comes with DVD (audio files) packed with TONS of stuff. (Link above is for 2nd Edition, which has NO DVD!)


TOTAL RECORDING by David Moulton

3) Total Recording, by Dave Moulton

Really helpful stuff for Kick drum/bass relationship (I think I also learned how to sidechain the bass off of the kick in this book), acoustics, and using delays. Has visual diagrams which are helpful (for approximating different types of rooms with delays). Comes with CD.


THE MIXING ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK by Bobby Owsinski

4) The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, Second Edition, by Bobby Owsinski

Contains interviews with numerous mix engineer legends. I didn't know about the importance of mixing at whisper quiet levels (and checking things on a bunch of different systems—and not always sitting in the stereo “sweet spot”... leaving a vaccum cleaner running while checking balances, etc.) until I read this. Tons of other great stuff.


MIXING WITH YOUR MIND by Michael Paul Stavrou

5) Mixing With Your Mind, by Michael Paul Stavrou

This book is great—packed with info that I had never read elsewhere.

The chapter on "uncracking compressors," creating 20sec crossfaded clips of other favorite mixes (to hear differences in overall mixes before your ear has time to "settle in"), the "walking around room with floor tom," chasing the flame perspective, among many others, helped me immensely.

FAVORITE ONLINE RECORDING / MIXING RESOURCES

No contest! GEARSLUTZ.COM

Also, big props to TapeOp.COM

Couldn't have gotten far without DIGIDO.COM

And loads of help in the pages of MOULTONLABS.COM

MY PERSONAL RECORDING PROCESS
When recording MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED, I did things in the order below (playing & recording myself), primarily because I had yet to fully realize all the "parts" for each instrument (all songs were composed as just "acoustic guitar" and "vocal")

1) Acoustic Guitar

2) Scratch vox

3) Electric Bass

4) Electric guitar(s)

5) Piano on a couple tunes

6) Instrumental extras (mandolin, accordion) on a couple tunes

7) Drums

8) Real Vox (scratch vox were done waaaay earlier, step #2)

Don't add ANYTHING to tracks you're tring to build without referencing it against a scratch vocal! Meaning: Don't neglect to record a scratch vocal as early on in the process as possible!

RECORDING ACOUSTIC GUITARS
I recorded all my acoustic guitars on MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED with two mics (over 7th fret, and another sort of pointing at bridge—placed however far the distance between my outstretched thumb and index finger is) and a direct feed as well, then blended all. (Panning depended on "how big" it has to sound across the stereo spectrum, but generally left of center of mix in every song.) Then, from a send on the mic'ed tracks, I often panned a mono delay (w/LPF and/or reverb) with slightly different settings to opposite sides. This is for "guitar & vocal only" type settings in a song. I also toyed around with using two mono reverbs (each separately panned) to create certain environments. SEE PHOTOS BELOW:

Ani DiFranco's tracks sound KILLER with one guitar and bass/drums vox, FYI. I used many of her records as aural references.

I don't do anything like the above approach if it's doubletracked. That's usually done to enrich percussive quality and fill in the sides of the stereo field, clearing out the center channel, which sounds rad. For me, just one mic (heavily HPF'd & compressed... depends if it's picked/strummed/fingerstyle though) works for that. Sometime a "nashville tuning" or "capoed" guitar on the opposite side helps for a more sparkly texture (upper register notes in the "high-string" tuning or capoed stuff.)

To me, Elliott Smith's tracks sound amazing with multiple acoustic guitars and bass/drums vox. I used his stuff for reference as well, in many cases.

DRUM RECORDING
On MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED, I had to record drums "last" (well, again, "real" vox were actually "last") to (#1) ensure I didn't over-do things with any cymbal activity, fills, etc. in inappropriate places, obliterating any vox (they were already in "scratch" form when I laid down the drums), and (#2) to give me the most "lead time" to create cool drum parts & practice them so they were (hopefully) interesting and pretty tight when the time came to actually record them.

I recorded most of the other parts with a click, but had to leave it out (except as a "count in") when I did the drums.... It just felt too weird for me. I jacked up the acoustic guitars (if it was a strummed, percussive bit) & bass in the mix, which helped a bit. I also had to "punch in" a lot of sections. I used those Extreme Isolation headphones to kill off the cranked cans' bleed in the close overhead mics (I used the Recorderman mic configuration, detailed below, plus other mics).

Since I was doing this totally by myself (button pushing included), I think the end result--the parts themselves (not talking about sound), and the way all the instruments/voices interact together--ended up being better than if I did things in any other order. The DRAG though was, since I sort of naturally "lay back" a bit when I play guitar, and I guess, sing, the drums were often a *hair* late; I had to do pretty substantial "shift" edits. Tedious as heck!!!! But worth it in the end, for me. I don't know if I'll ever do that again though, for so many songs.

Below is a YouTube video (not me in the video—just a tutorial that's pretty clear; it helped me a bunch with the mic approach I used). It's called the RECORDERMAN OVERHEAD DRUM TECHNIQUE:

I used that, plus a single mic 3 feet in front of the kick (blended in w/Recorderman setup), and accent mics on kick, snare, and toms, and have been pretty happy with the flexibility. The snare & tom mics are mostly used as different/controlled "ambience" generators (sending them to different 'verb/delay AUX tracks and automating the "wet" track for ambience). The photos below show what kind of soundproofing I used (most important of which, I feel, was the “cage” I constructed over the kit, which reduced the reflections off the ceiling into my overhead mics).

I pan the Recorderman L & R tracks outwards at about 3 and 9 o'clock, audience perspective, and it seems to fit okay, at least for what I'm trying to do. SEE PHOTOS BELOW:

DIGITAL PIANO RE-AMPING
For some of the piano sounds on MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED, I did a little “reamp” thing, which helped liven up a "dead" electronic piano (decent sound--Kurzweil PC88, using its grand piano patch) I recorded into my MAC... After recording it, I ran it out through a single PA speaker, stuffed under my real (slightly out-of-tune) piano, mic'ed the inside, held down the sustain pedal, and recorded that. Then played with the panning of the added "dirty wetness." Definitely added a teeny bit of "vibe"--not perfectly in tune resonances, and naturalness to an otherwise "sterile" piano track. SEE PHOTOS BELOW:


VOCAL RECORDING
Everything below, I use for tracking either myself, vocally, or someone else. Tedious as L, but not tooooooo crazy (gets faster w/practice):

1) I have the artist make a two copies of the lyric sheet for him/her and myself.

2) I may have them note where to breathe on that lyric sheet, if I know in advance there will be edit problems. Or how long certain notes are sustained, for that same reason. (Same with vibrato, if it's going to be doubled later... which I will make from the comp'ing process.)

3) I put a strip of masking tape on the floor as a marker, so the artist will never move from that one spot.

4) In my experience, punch-ins don't work well, in retaining/matching tone quality/resonance, dynamics, vocal character... (NOTE: I didn't say I don't use punch-ins "AT ALL," but "rarely," and that, for me, punch-ins don't work as well as comp'ing.)

5) At minimum, we'll track a verse in its entirety (maybe 5-10 times, who knows), in loop record mode, with a few spare bars at the beginning/end of that section. (Maybe a verse, leading into chorus, depending... Maybe the whole song, but usually not.)

6) I find it takes *at least* a pass or two--or three--till the vocalist can get "into character." Rarely ever is it a "first take is a keeper" situation.

7) As takes are going down, I'll (quietly) take notes on the lyric sheet, marking stuff that's particularly good, and stuff that's not yet nailed. And I'll indicate what "pass" that take was.

8) All these passes sit in a takefile. When done, I will take each one out and put it on an individual track so I can see all the takes stacked above one another. This makes it very easy to see each phrase, and any timing issues between takes, including the length of sustained notes.

9) I play each one (first checking out the ones I thought were good, based on my notes during tracking) and delete everything that sucks (sound quality, intonation, etc.). Or delete individual words, in the midst of an otherwise good phrase. If something is great, but the timing is off, I keep it and shift it, if needed. If a last note of a phrase needs to be longer, for whatever reason (maybe it will be doubled), on occasion (if no takes are good enough) I've time stretched the tail end of that word.

10) I put together whatever is left into the best possible composite vocal (its bits dragged to a separate track as I go), picking/choosing "the next word/phrase" while in loop playback mode, so I hear the "edited" vocal, then the next possible phrase from a surviving take (kicking the other takefiles in/out w/mute buttons). This part is easily the most tedious. After that *maybe* auto-tune a bit if needed, but usually this process eliminates that need.

11) If something needs to be doubled, I audition the leftover bits against the edited vocal, and find the best blending/resonating parts. Or similarly timed vibrato parts. I rarely have someone "sing along" with a take to get a double.

12) Crossfade and move on!

ON COMP'ING VERSUS PUNCHING-IN: All of the above is in the name of insurance, if a singer goes on an improvising burst and wants to try stuff, if a decision is made way later to double a part, etc. And as for doubling... I've had HORRIBLE problems with people who can't sing along with their own vocal to do doubles, or punch-in and nail the exact vocal quality of the phrase that needs a punch in--let alone, sing as well as they do "live" at a show, but with headphones on. You work any way you can with who you get, so the project moves forward, and the artist/producer is happy with the result. If they don't need the help, then obviously all this "comp" stuff doesn't mean anything. But it may help you if you end up with a billion tracks of vox you need to sort through.

Personally, *I* have ALWAYS gotten a better result with assembling a double from alternate takes. Well, at least 90% of the time. That's just me, I guess... In *my* case, even if the singer is VERY good and consistent, the resulting double can be BETTER sounding than if they sang along with an earlier "perfect" take. Ends up sounding naturally balanced, because they sang the exact same thing twice, hearing the exact same thing in their cans both times. The resulting blend is often better. Whatever works--so that it sounds the best (and natural)--is all that matters.

SCREAM ENHANCING/THICKENING TIP: Blending in a "whispered" scream often helps, in addition to things mentioned above: doubles, squashed/tweaked clones, and some level of gain introduced... via a send or applied to any of the above.

MY MIXES: Generally all single-tracked lead vox were sent to a plate reverb, and two (buried) timed delays (different note values, w/LPF). Sometimes I added a manual “doubling effect”—two copies of the track, hard panned, with one transposed one up 9 cents, the other down 9 cents, then offset them by 14 & 19 ms, if I recall, their faders brought up a touch for spread. Double-tracked vocals were generally either sent to a Waves SuperTap delay with a subtle chorusing effect, or two mono, panned reverbs (two similar versions of a TrueVerb preset).

REGARDING VOCAL INTONATION, in general
I've noticed, in some cases, singers who are so "overly emotional" and "in their own head," getting off on their own *sound* when singing, they totally lose any ability to hear how their own voice relates to the track (or band they are singing in), and it's a lack of concentration that's part of the reason their pitch goes out the window--to the point where it's borderline atonal. (Same thing with rhythm/timing.) I've seen some of these people, when asked to really chill and concentrate, and not get "soooo into it," make some improvements with intonation. Not 100% improved (or even close), but a clear improvement, bordering on "useable."

My sister was totally tone deaf (we're both adopted--from separate families, FWIW). I remembering wanting to jump out a window when she'd be singing along to stuff in the car. For whatever reason, now (years later) she's "in tune." For some, it's clearly honing an ability to mimic the pitch in their head, which is a bit technique-oriented. Simlarly, I have people in "ear training" classes who can transcribe almost all examples, but cannot reproduce pitches vocally to save their lives. They are clearly not tone deaf. Over time, some of them tighten up their ablity to match the pitches in their heads with their voice. Obviously none of these folks should (or would ever strive to be) vocalists, primarily.

GENERAL HOME RECORDING / SELF-PRODUCING ADVICE
Don't add anymore stuff to the dayum song! If you liked it once (before you added more crap), and it felt natural then, you (similarly) dug it from the perspective of a "first time listener." If YOU get bored (hearing your song more than anyone on earth), then start adding stuff, you just pissed that first listener magic away. You ROBBED the first listener of that (theoretically) pure experience. GET IN AND GET OUT!!!!!!!!! (At least "tracking"-wise.)

MISC. MIXING APPROACHES AND INFO
Below are just a few of the mixing ideas I toyed with while producing MANNERISMS MAGNIFIED. I'll add more later, I promise!

USING A SINGLE STEREO REVERB PLUG-IN ON AUX TRACK, BUT HAVING DIFFERENT PANNNING/PLACEMENT OF 'VERB FOR EACH INSTRUMENT (If AUX is Receiving Multiple Mono Sends):

I don't know if I'm explaining this right...

But if I have a stereo reverb on an aux track with its inputs being BUS 1-2....

And any mono track I want to send to this reverb (regardless of where the track itself is panned)....

If that mono track is also being bussed to BUS 1 and BUS 2 (not as a group, but indivually)...

If I crank up only the BUS 1 send on the mono track I want to reverberate, the verb pops up on the left, mostly.

If I crank up only the BUS 2 send on the mono track I want to reverberate, the verb pops up in the right, mostly.

If I crank up only the BUS 1 & 2 sends together on the mono track I want to reverberate, the verb pops up in the middle. Or I can vary it slightly for it to be slightly off center.

MY VOCAL MIXES: Generally all single-tracked lead vox were sent to a plate reverb, and two (buried) timed delays (different note values, w/LPF). Sometimes I added a manual “doubling effect”--two copies of the track, hard panned, with one transposed one up 9 cents, the other down 9 cents, then offset them by 14 & 19 ms, if I recall, their faders brought up a touch for spread. Double-tracked vocals were generally either sent to a Waves SuperTap delay with a subtle chorusing effect, or two mono, panned reverbs (two similar versions of a TrueVerb preset).

USING TWO MONO REVERBS: I also hard-panned two mono reverbs (each on its own AUX track) with slightly different settings (different pre-delay, decay times, and EQ roll-offs) for lots of things (mostly acoustic guitars and crosspanning of reverbs with double-tracked vocals). The resulting effect, when an instrument is bussed to these two (panned) mono reverbs can be an interesting “side-to-side”-like reverb effect, rolling lightly across the stereo spectrum.

STEREOIZING BASS GUITAR (or other): I don't know if this will help for the style/vibe you're after, but on a couple recent things, I've tried super short (30-35ms) hard-panned delays (slightly different settings & volumes for each side) with LPF. It helped for a song with real sparse instrumentation (just a single acoustic, full kit, bass, and a few vocals). It may help add that big heavy resonance of bass you're after, spread acoss the stereo field. (Just BARELY bringing those delay volumes up.)

REMEMBER: All tweaking is POINTLESS without decent monitoring. For the curious, here's what I used, as I checked my mixes (making handwritten notes on how things sounded on each system):

Event Studio Precision 8 (ASP8)
Apple M6082 Powered Speakers (Bob Clearmountain's “balance checking” favorites)
Sony MDR-7506 Headphones
Car and Home Stereo

(As I mixed, I checked everything in mono as well in ASP8, M6082, and MDR-7506.) You can see some of these monitors (ASP8, “Clearmountain Speakers,” and MDR-7506 cans) in THIS PICTURE.



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