Getting Started With Recording Acoustic Guitar And Vocals
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- In this video I'm talking about what to think about when you just get started with recording acoustic guitar and vocals.
I've been getting some comments on my videos of people saying they're overwhelmed with the different ways and options to record.
I like to talk about something that I call Performance Based Recording where the recording is all about the performance of the song and capturing that moment in time in the best possible way.
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I'm really overwhelmed and I am 17 and I love playing my guitar but I really don't know anything about recording my music so this has been helpful thank you
Hi, thanks for your comment. Sorry it took me a while to reply! Glad you found this video helpful. 😊👍
Good luck on your journey buddy, stick with it even when it gets tough! Don’t forget that it’s okay to fail brother, have fun with the process.
Focussing on your performance is more important than a lot of gear. A clear, clean hot signal-and you are good to go.
I don't think you can imagine just how much comfort and peace of mind your video just gave me right now. Thank you
Hi, thanks so much!! I really appreciate you saying that. I’m so glad it helped you. 😊👍
Hi, thanks so much!! I really appreciate you saying that. I’m so glad it helped you. 😊👍
I worked with many well-known musicians such as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan.. etc.. and your advice is Great! Roland (Grammy Winner)
Hi Roland, thanks for the comment. I really appreciate you saying that, thanks so much! 🙏
Wow thank you so much. I have been avoiding putting out music for a long time because I felt like I didn’t know how to record professionally. I’ve also tried recording vocals and guitar separately and always felt like it never sounded right. I think my music is really meant to be performed like you’re describing, so it’s really refreshing to get that perspective.
Hi, thanks for your comment ☺️. Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah absolutely recording guitar and vocals at the same time to me always sounds more natural. Putting a mic in front of you and pressing record is the easy part, the hard part is then doing a great performance. But this we also need to practice (by the way half of the recordings i make i never release) so the sooner you start recording then the more practice you’ll have at the actual recording process. Hope that helps 😊
More gear = more stress for me. It can ve easy to get carried away and focus too much on it instead on the actual performance.
Love the quality of your videos and how you present the information. ❤️🙏🏻
Hi, thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed the video! 😊👍
I completely agree. I enjoy my recordings with more raw emotion but has mistakes way more!
Im from France, singer and guitarist. I was looking how to record with my Zoom H4N pro... and I looooved all you say about recording in the same time guitar and voice and about the emotion. Thanks a lot !!!! ( and sorry my english is a little shit:))
Hi, no problem at all. Thanks for your comment. How do you find the H4N Pro? It’s a great little recorder, I really enjoy using it. Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
I love my H4N Pro :)@@FabianHollandGuitar
Love what you are sharing.
Thank you
I was praying for that background guitar to change a little bit. Just a little bit. A bridge. A chorus. A change. Not an endless loop. Painful. Hehe.
Thank you 🙏🏽
Hi, thanks for the comment.
Ah yeah glad you enjoying the content.
Oh yeah sometimes I just put a guitar part on a loop just to have some background noise, sorry 😅 I’ll keep that in mind for the future! The message is the most important thing in this video though.
Thanks for the feedback 😊👍
@@FabianHollandGuitar
Thank you. I agree. It was just my OCD distracting me. Was just a little loud.
Great content. Very practical and useful stuff.
Thank you.
Superb advice! Thank you! 🙏🙏
Performance based recording. I really like that phrase. I've only been recording my own songs for a few years and I definitely got things the wrong way round at first - too much experimentation with different mics and different micing techniques without thinking about what really mattered - the performance. It's a struggle, but I think I'm gradually getting better, and my aim is simply to make a recording that I'm not too embarrassed about sharing. Thanks for the videos, all the good advice and keeping me grounded. Have a good vacation.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video. It was a bit of a spontaneous one before I go away. Yeah it's interesting, I think we put a lot of emphasis on the production and gear side of things but not enough on the performance. Maybe because it's always assumed that the performance will be great? I don't know?
For years I didn't share any of my music. I was too embarrassed. Even when I recorded my first demo CD in a friend's recording studio, it took me ages before I gave it to anyone. I'm still embarrassed about some of the music I put out there, I guess I'm just at a point where I've heard myself so many times that I'm just used to it and it doesn't bother me as much anymore.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
You literally pulled the thoughts out of my head
@@FabianHollandGuitar To tell you the truth, at the ripe old age of 48, I don't care anymore. If what I warble is entertaining to me when I listen to it on my morning walk into work, I am happy. I also have a friend in Estonia, who likes what I do so I know that I am not completely hallucinating about hitting the right notes, and I think this is a great help. So for me, two people is enough to make singing with the guitar a fantastically rewarding activity. Thanks for the channel!
Some great points here Fabian. I've been trying to get started in this space and your advice here makes a lot of sense. I currently have a RodeNT2A and a couple of smaller rode pencil mics. Its such a tricky business trying to get a sound that feels full and real. Great channel btw.
-Ollie
Hi Ollie, thanks again! Yeah those Rode mics are not bad for the money. Are you recording just acoustic guitar or vocals as well?
@@FabianHollandGuitar Ye mainly guitar although sometimes I try vocals too.
@@OlliesSpaceNice, so do you use the smaller pencil mics in combination with the Rode? Or what does you typical setup look like when you record?
Ye I tend to try different things. If I'm recording vocals too I might just use the NT2A and use the pickup too. If it's just the guitar I'm currently trying just the two rode pencil mics to see if it captures a nicer sound. So many options out there.
@@OlliesSpace Nice! Yeah, sounds good. It's all just about experimenting and hearing what sounds good to you. 👍
✌🏼
Thanks, I'm getting a H6 to try this, just curios if it's possible to comp portions on this, if not going for one take or is it best edited after in a DAW?
Hi thanks for the question! I always edit things after in the DAW. I find it a lot easier to edit on the computer rather than in the recorder itself.
Fabian, thank you for this video! It really supported me on time! Thanks! You say so important words, I share your vision. I'm that beginner who decided to try recording himself and has been drowning in a million video reviews of various microphones and audio interfaces for several weeks and has almost stopped playing music.
Hi, thanks for the comment. Yeah It can be very overwhelming when you’re just starting out. I’m glad this video helped you! 😊
Performance Importance! Yes bro thank you for that! I have realised this a lot recently and this just backs up what I need to focus on! Nice video and vibe! ✨
Hi, thanks for the comment! So glad this has helped you. Most of the time with these type of videos I’m giving myself this advice more than anything so I’m really happy this also helps other people as well. 😊👍
I'm very happy to find this video and your whole channel. You're addressing so many of the specific issues I've had that seem to get little attention on here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
Hi, thanks for your comment. Really glad you’re enjoying the content. Absolutely! I’m just talking about stuff that I’m interested in and that I also don’t see many people talking about. Basically I’m making videos just for me, which is how it should be really. So it makes me really happy when other people enjoy them too 😊
Thank you! Very helpful.
Thanks Fabian ... truly appreciate the help .... I'm a senior singer/songwriter (81) who's been sort of "rediscovered". I'm playing small concerts again and some people are encouraging me to record my songs before I go into metamorphosis. It was a bit of a daunting idea until a young friend told me about the H4N which I bought. Your videos are a real help. Very clear and coherent. All the best... Nga mihi...
Hi, I’m so glad my videos have been helping! Yeah absolutely, a lot of people make it way more complicated than it needs to be. Thanks 😊
Wow this is exactly what I needed to hear. So true what you said about trying to perfect things in a DAW. I tried so long to get “the perfect take”. Looping, playing to a metronome and quantizing till every beat lined up. It really sucks the life out of the song!!! At the end of the day, the demo I recorded on my phone that took like 10 seconds to record had way more feel to it and didn’t sound so robotic. I like the way you see it as “capturing a moment in time” that can never exactly be replicated. I’m definitely going to start recording live performances!
Hi, thanks so much!! Glad you got inspiration out of this video. Please let me know how you get on with your future recordings! 😊👍
Stumbled across your channel while trying to get a better setup (simpler!) for my recordings - like you, singer/songwriter and folk focus - and am coming to the conclusion I should go for a simple one-mike setup. I have watched (and been blown away) by your ribbon mike’d song but am really unsure how the figure-8 is working there, as the mike seems to be simply facing both you and the instrument. Was the guitar amp’ed tho? That would make sense if the “back” of the figure 8 is picking up the amped guitar while the front is picking up vocals and guitar (with an emph on the vocals). I’m going to play around with a large condenser first and see how I like that and may change to a figure-8 setup if I feel the guitar is lacking (actually Irish bouzouki in my case). Thx for some great vids and advice!
Hi, thanks for the comment!! Glad you’re enjoying the videos 😊👍 Yeah it depends on which single mic video you watched? In my latest “House Of The Rising Sun” I had the guitar plugged into an amp and then that was mic’d up with another ribbon. Sometimes I also use large diaphragm condensers for my one mic setups which can also work great!
Your videos are super helpful and your music is really awesome. Huge thanks!
Hi, thanks for the comment. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos and finding them helpful 😊👍
Hi, I like your videos, I try to find some recorders to record my songs ,vocal and guitar, in the past I used the interface and studio one but its a little bit complicated and needed time.. I see tascam some model and zoom h4n pro .what do you think? Both have reverb effect for vocal? Also you can record at the same time on zoom vocals and guitar? Some machines have 4 track other 2 , practically what is a different? Many questions:) thanks and greetings from Greece!
Hi, thanks for the questions! Yeah the Zoom h4N Pro is great if you want to record just 2 sound sources like guitar and vocals! If you would like to record more signals, like another instrument or another vocalist then you would need to use something else, maybe something like the tascam model 12 for example? That has lots of channels and can record directly to an SD card, it’s not very portable though. The Zoom has reverb and other effects although I didn’t find them to be particularly good so I always add effects later in the DAW after recording. Not sure about the Tascam effects quality? Although I know it does have it onboard. Hope that helps!
@@FabianHollandGuitar thanks a lot ,at the end I bought tascam Dr 07x ,and I will see if I like it ,I suppose that is ok.. I have one mic rode nt1a, do you think that is ok in an untreated room? Or maybe some Shure microphone? Or both are ok? Thanks again
Thank you
I tray to record in one microphone.. Amazing sound .. but no headphones 😊
I have condenser microphone. I am thinking to ribbon microphone. Or D microphone.
Hi, thanks for your comment. Which condenser mic do you have? Are you a violin player? I'm sure a ribbon would sound great on a violin.
hi my friend I was looking at the tascam X8 and ended up here . I mm in a band but like to play acoustic with a vocalist and just want the simplest recording device im tech challenged the ZOOM H4n Pro looks like a good thing
Hi, thanks for the comment. Glad you liked the video! Yeah the Zoom is definitely very simple. Are you looking to record with just the onboard mics? Or will you be using external mics as well?
I have zoom h4n pro and still learning it :)
Just got my Zoom h4n pro. I am a singer/songwriter and want to record with some reverb and minor effects with both voice and guitar. Can I use the 4 channel feature on the Zoom - with mic and guitar plugged into recorder (thru a Boss VE 8 singer) AND also use the two attached mics to get a natural room ambience to add to my overall sound?
Hi, thanks for the comment. Sorry for my late reply! You know I’m not sure?
I have a feeling you can only do one input in combination with the internal mics? But I could be wrong? I’ll have to try it to know for sure! Have you tried it at all? It would make sense to be able to do that!
Great video. I've been dabbling at recording country songs I've recently written. I've never been good at or enjoyed recording instruments and vocals desperately because I don't like mixing and editing that much. I've realised I received my best compliments on rougher live recordings I did on my phone in garageband or bandlab compared to songs unrecorded and edited professionally on expensive gear and software in the past.
Hi, thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah absolutely, there’s definitely something to be said for the natural sound you get when a song is recorded live. I now always record my songs this way. 😊👍
Hey Fabian, great video!
I’m about to start a new recording session and I’m still kinda lost in the desert, if you know what I mean.
I recorded already two albums and three singles and it mostly felt awkward to hear my songs. It took me years to appreciate my own songs. You said it perfectly: capture a moment in time!
I’m a musician and I love to perform, but as soon as I start recording I manage to screw up tempi, endings and even the most simple stuff, that I already played a thousand times.
I even started a series on YT called ‚Start Your Day With A Song‘ that helped me to tackle these problems.
People seem to like my music and I’m a working musician for more than thirty years. So your words are a great reminder to what I should focus on.
Hey, thanks so much for your comment! I’m really glad this video helped you!
Yeah absolutely we all experience red light fever in different ways. If I’m in a studio then I definitely feel more pressure than if was recording at home.
A song a day is a good idea. I’m trying to record something everyday at the moment. It doesn’t have to be a proper song, or ever be released into the world, it’s just to practice the act of recording.
Glad this video helped, let me know how the recording session goes!
@@FabianHollandGuitar Thanks for your reply, Fabian! I got the basic tracks of eight songs down. But my goal is to make it a never-ending session. It's like when a piano is standing in your room, you'll play it. But if it's stored away in the garage you don't play on it daily.
But that's exactly what it takes to improve mentally and your recording chops.
I just re-released my first album from back in 1996 and for years I could barely listen to it. But now I consider it a valuable time capsule when I'm going down memory lane and hear all the little bits and pieces that only me and maybe a german shepherd dog can hear.
I want to release songs every month - original & covers - and learn with all the bumps and hiccups to make better recordings while keeping it as personal as possible.
Enjoy this wild ride! Especially the two versions of I'm Running Out Of Breath.
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ua-cam.com/video/7AVOZ3IFsd0/v-deo.html
Simply the best ...thank you
Thanks for the great video! I use my cell phone and Ableton Live. The recordings with the cell phone are grainy sometimes, but they sound authentic to me, when I listen back, I think to myself, that sounds like me, although there may be imperfections and slight mistakes. Recording into microphones connected to Ableton, I've never got the same authenticity, but I'm less experienced with it, and I think there are lots of interesting possibilities in the digital sphere. I like your idea of the importance of the performance and capturing a moment in time, I think it's easy to get lost in technology these days and to lose sight of (human) performance, which for me is still the heart of music.
Hi, thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed the video! Yeah absolutely, I’ve heard of some people choosing the demos over the studio version of their songs because the demos sounded more natural and authentic.
Nice. Thank you for your knowledge and perspective. ✨
Glad it was helpful!
Amen. Great video and advice. Thanks for what you do.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate that!
Really helpful and encouraging. Thank you.
I agree it's easy to loose sight of the main thing... YOUR PERFORMANCE... I have a question for you tho you said that having carpet in the room you record in is a priority I thought that having wood floors was the best and that carpet in a recording room adds a kind of low pass EQ effect to the sound? Your thoughts?
Hi, thanks for the comment! That's true wood can sound great, for sure! I guess it depends on the room? If you have wooden flooring then it's definitely worth trying. Unfortunately my floors are concrete because I'm in a basement so I've filled it with rugs. For me and my needs it sounds great, they're quite thin rugs so they're not soaking up too much of the sound.
@@FabianHollandGuitar funny there's so much contradictory info out there when it comes to pro recording techniques... I've actually heard that concrete floors are even more preferable than wood floors LOL... But you say that putting rugs over them works best for your situation.
Great job! From Brazil 🎉
Thanks so much 🙏
Thanks Fabian this was a very useful and encouraging video
No problem! Glad you enjoyed it 😊👍
Thank you for your advice here, we are starting recording an original material album today, have several different approaches to chose from. I especially appreciate the point about the best performance being more important than just technology. It’s a fraught situation for me as I don’t want to let others down. Fingers crossed 🤞!
Hi, thanks for the comment. Sorry for my late reply, it usually takes me a while to get through all my comments. How did the recording go?
@@FabianHollandGuitar great start on the recording, we are recording separately, mainly as I could put down the guitar tracks really fast.🎸
How did you record The Landlord's Daughter? What was your microphone setup? Fantastic sound! Really crisp! :)
Hi, sorry for my late reply! I’d have try and remember because that was a long time ago now 😅 but I think we used a KM184 for the guitar and an AKG c414 for vocals. It wasn’t recorded by me though, that one was in a pro studio. Glad you like it though 😊
@@FabianHollandGuitar No worries mate! Only one mic on the guitar? Sound so big and open! Dig your videos man, keep it up!
Thank you Fabian! I really needed this video as I'm about to upload my first acoustic cover in a few days
Hi, thanks for your comment! That's great that you got the H4N, I hope you're enjoying it! Are you just using the onboard mics or do you have external mics as well? Good luck with your upload 🙂
@@FabianHollandGuitar Just coming back to this video again and saw that I somehow missed your reply Fabian. Sorry about that.
I'm using the onboard mics of the H4N recorder. I don't like to have it in my frame so it's about 50 centimeters away from my face with the mic level at 40. (height is between my mouth and guitar soundhole). However I consider experimenting with different positions and getting it closer.
I wanted to ask: Do you do some mastering/filtering to the raw audio? I know the point was to keep it simple but still I wonder 😄