Acoustic singer songwriter recording advice

[Ichooselife]

so i’m not trying to do electronic music anymore i think i don’t want to be bogged down to a computer too much atm , and i want to get back to singing so i wanna just concentrate on getting some demos with acoustic guitar done.

my question
1.do i need to use a guitar amp for acoustic guitar there is a free clean boost by turn2on and voxengo booger and the softube amps or should i straight just record into an audio track , what free rack extensions work best here thank you .
2.what are the best effects to use ? ie eq compression reverb
3. what instruments work well with acoustic guitar ? i’m thinking drums and piano and bass ( not sure what else )

4 im going to be doing a lot of research on this

so please help me with some starting points thank you


any other advice from recording acoustic singer songwriter stuff would help

thank you

[selig]

You have options. One is to stick 100% to guitar/voice to keep things focused on the writing and not the production. Beyond that, simple percussion and bass parts can easily fit into the arrangement.

For recording, you can easily get by with one decent microphone if you play your parts separately. No need for a guitar amp on acoustic guitar unless you want that sound.

Singer/Songwriter tracks tend to be arranged more simply to avoid ‘competition’ with the vocal/lyrics. In Nashville the saying is “it’s all about the song” which is the lyrics/melody in the traditional sense. Cool arrangements can be seen as distracting from the ‘story’. The vocal is seen as the ‘star’ ingredient, so you never want it to get lost in the production. This means more minimal processing/FX, usually subtle compression and minimal reverb/delay (felt more than heard). Some will even go for the ‘bone dry’ approach, with nothing at all on the instruments effects wise.

From the gear perspective, writers often default to the simplest/quickest setup. I’ve tried to install small Pro Tools or even porta studio style rigs for song writers over the years, only to have them fall back on just recording on their phones! So don’t let the technology get in the way of getting your ideas down - the ideas are GOLD, so anything you can do to remove hurdles and bumps along the way to getting your ideas documented accurately are often worth their weight in gold!

[Ichooselife]

You have options. One is to stick 100% to guitar/voice to keep things focused on the writing and not the production. Beyond that, simple percussion and bass parts can easily fit into the arrangement.

For recording, you can easily get by with one decent microphone if you play your parts separately. No need for a guitar amp on acoustic guitar unless you want that sound.

Singer/Songwriter tracks tend to be arranged more simply to avoid ‘competition’ with the vocal/lyrics. In Nashville the saying is “it’s all about the song” which is the lyrics/melody in the traditional sense. Cool arrangements can be seen as distracting from the ‘story’. The vocal is seen as the ‘star’ ingredient, so you never want it to get lost in the production. This means more minimal processing/FX, usually subtle compression and minimal reverb/delay (felt more than heard). Some will even go for the ‘bone dry’ approach, with nothing at all on the instruments effects wise.

From the gear perspective, writers often default to the simplest/quickest setup. I’ve tried to install small Pro Tools or even porta studio style rigs for song writers over the years, only to have them fall back on just recording on their phones! So don’t let the technology get in the way of getting your ideas down - the ideas are GOLD, so anything you can do to remove hurdles and bumps along the way to getting your ideas documented accurately are often worth their weight in gold!

thank you selig what a great answer!
i’m using reason 11
i have a six month reason 12 code but don’t want to use it yet cheers bud

[Ichooselife]

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Li ... gJUu_D_BwE



this is the microphone i have

[Ichooselife]

and this is the audio interface https://www.gak.co.uk/en/m-audio-m-trac ... gKCN_D_BwE

[Ichooselife]

and this is my guitar https://www.freshmandirect.com/product- ... style-body


should i record with the mic or the pick-up for guitar ?

[jam-s]

and this is my guitar https://www.freshmandirect.com/product- ... style-body


should i record with the mic or the pick-up for guitar ?

(as two mono channels into the stereo input)

[DaveyG]

so i’m not trying to do electronic music anymore i think i don’t want to be bogged down to a computer too much atm , and i want to get back to singing so i wanna just concentrate on getting some demos with acoustic guitar done.

my question
1.do i need to use a guitar amp for acoustic guitar there is a free clean boost by turn2on and voxengo booger and the softube amps or should i straight just record into an audio track , what free rack extensions work best here thank you .
2.what are the best effects to use ? ie eq compression reverb
3. what instruments work well with acoustic guitar ? i’m thinking drums and piano and bass ( not sure what else )

4 im going to be doing a lot of research on this

so please help me with some starting points thank you


any other advice from recording acoustic singer songwriter stuff would help

thank you

Stop spending your time prevaricating and posting on here and just get playing. If you can play and sing at the same time (I can't) just stick your mic in front of you and go for it. Listen back and adjust the mic position until you are happy. That's good enough for a demo. If you get something really good, a proper ear worm, consider spending some more time tracking it and adding some accompaniment. Your interface is only 1 channel. Given that your guitar is electro-acoustic I'd strongly suggest getting a two input interface and recording pickup and mic at the same time. You can get a really nice tone by mixing the two signals. An alternative is to record multiple takes, some with pick-up and some with mic. This is only successful if your playing is tight enough., which takes practice. Otherwise you end up with lots of editing on screen - something you don't enjoy.

Years ago I had an epiphany with the help of a close friend. He'd abandoned his normal life and gone down to Ol' London Town to make his fortune with his band. The band fell apart and he ended up spending a couple of decades as a successful jobbing session guitarist (and got onto some albums you will have heard of). He was somewhat bemused at my obsession with editing on a PC. His approach was to just play it again and again until it was right. His view was that editing and comping was for vocals. Everything else should just be played live. And he's right. We don't have to pay for our studio time so just keep at it until it works.

[selig]

If you’re in the Behringer price range, maybe something like these would be better for guitar, leaving your current mic for vocals:
https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Li ... gJUu_D_BwE

[Aosta]

You could pick up a cheap 2nd hand Zoom H4N which is a pro audio recorder but is also a 4 track and audio interface.

[Ichooselife]

quote=selig post_id=648263 time=1693689780 user_id=5179]
If you’re in the Behringer price range, maybe something like these would be better for guitar, leaving your current mic for vocals:
https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Li ... gJUu_D_BwE
[/quote]

thanks mate but i got no more money at the mo but i may save for those cheers

You could pick up a cheap 2nd hand Zoom H4N which is a pro audio recorder but is also a 4 track and audio interface.

lol mate don’t i just sold one of those to get my mic

i’m totally broke now mate

thanks guys for all your advice

but i’m gonna practice guitar and singing

and record on computer when i got it down



this was one of my ideas a couple of months ago
i since let myself give up and get more depressed again

but i’m starting to hum now so probabaly get my voice back in week hopefully

here’s a rough demo of some ideas i have

( i wont strum this way sounds like save tonight the strumming

https://voca.ro/1nLC11dgme6K


funny enough this was recorded into a zoom h1n and i since sold it ( dumbass )

i can’t afford anything for the near future , so recording into my phone or behringer


i’m
going with what i have now

behringer mic
m audio m track solo
one m audio speaker
one set of sennheiser hd280 ( falling apart )
one six core ryzen 5 second series computer with 1tb ssd and 32gb of ram

and a casio digital piano
and a freshman acoustic

enough gear now i need the ideas lol

[Ichooselife]

https://voca.ro/1nLC11dgme6K


do you guys think this would sound ok as a song changing it up a bit ? would people listen or like that voice ? what do you think ? cheers

[selig]

and this is my guitar https://www.freshmandirect.com/product- ... style-body


should i record with the mic or the pick-up for guitar ?

Pickup is fine for demos but I’ve never found a pickup to be anywhere as good as a microphone - and working in and around Nashville I’ve recorded a lot of acoustic instruments and many of them had $$$ pickups!

Times pickups are handy: live, or if you want a pedal effect on your guitar.

I also realize I suggested a pair of microphones before noticing your interface only has one mic input. Which means you can record your vocal with your mic and your guitar with the pickup so you can record both, the you could overdub a guitar with the mic for a double track effect and to get the qualities of the mic in the mix. Worth trying, at the least!

[Quarmat]

https://voca.ro/1nLC11dgme6K


do you guys think this would sound ok as a song changing it up a bit ? would people listen or like that voice ? what do you think ? cheers

The voice is very good. Even though you didn't pull to the limits of what I think might be your range, it seems to me more than good enough to move nimbly. Timbrally, you are in a field very much populated by male voices which, although your voice has no particular quirk that makes it immediately unique, has the enormous advantage nevertheless of being fully within the expectations of a majority slice of the audience. It also seems to me that you have a fairly good command of your vocal instrument, I didn't hear any particular flourishes (not that the piece required them) where you usually hear the major slips, but it seems to me that even at the level of control you are there. So very good! The question remains: how would you like to arrange and orchestrate this particular piece, for example? What are your references? Have you ever thought about collaborations? Good voices are rare among producers so I don't think you would have much difficulty finding collaborators. I realise I'm perhaps offtopic to this specific thread but, having read your recent posts on RT, I feel I've framed the situation, and I've responded here, as this is where you linked your recording.

[Ichooselife]

https://voca.ro/1nLC11dgme6K


do you guys think this would sound ok as a song changing it up a bit ? would people listen or like that voice ? what do you think ? cheers

The voice is very good. Even though you didn't pull to the limits of what I think might be your range, it seems to me more than good enough to move nimbly. Timbrally, you are in a field very much populated by male voices which, although your voice has no particular quirk that makes it immediately unique, has the enormous advantage nevertheless of being fully within the expectations of a majority slice of the audience. It also seems to me that you have a fairly good command of your vocal instrument, I didn't hear any particular flourishes (not that the piece required them) where you usually hear the major slips, but it seems to me that even at the level of control you are there. So very good! The question remains: how would you like to arrange and orchestrate this particular piece, for example? What are your references? Have you ever thought about collaborations? Good voices are rare among producers so I don't think you would have much difficulty finding collaborators. I realise I'm perhaps offtopic to this specific thread but, having read your recent posts on RT, I feel I've framed the situation, and I've responded here, as this is where you linked your recording.

thanks so much for the kindness mate, what do you mean pull to the limits ? you think i outstepped it ? , and yeah this piece i feel won’t have more than some soft drums piano bass maybe some strings that’s it really , yeah i’m gonna start practising a lot before i couple up as the confidence isn’t there atm , but thank you mate apreciate it cheersb.

[Ichooselife]

references i think is hard quartma

because i like a lot of pop or electronic music , theres not many acoustic artists i like but i think it fits me atm

[Ichooselife]

i liked your stuff mate had a listen really well produced , your good

[Ichooselife]

i liked your stuff mate had a listen really well produced , your good

you really remind me
of daft punk
loads of well
made tunes you have

[WOO]

I think the song is very catchy and heartfelt. Keep it up. Want to hear more.

[Ichooselife]

I think the song is very catchy and heartfelt. Keep it up. Want to hear more.

thank you so much pal

i’m gonna start practising tomorrow

thank you