Quick trick for stereo tracking if you have an electric/accoustic guitar, record onto one track with your line in and another using your mic setup all at once to knock out two steps in one
Interesting. Can you elaborate? "Just bass notes", you mean the root note of the chord played on the lower string of an acoustic guitar? First beat of every bar? Or another frequency? Hey thanks in advance!
I’ve recently recorded a song where one of the guitar parts just outlines the root notes of each chord in the progression. Rhythmically it interplays with the other 2 guitar parts to create the overall groove. Using fuzz and distortion tones with single-note or double-stop lines gave a thick sound without too much mud. It allowed me to then write an active bass part that jumps around different notes in the progression, not just the roots. I like how this creator focuses on creating good parts rather than neat mic positions and stuff. Recording music that sounds bad with cool techniques is usually not the path to fulfillment.
This is a great overview. The one little suggestion I would make is to turn the click off when you are playing back the parts during the mixing and leveling discussion.
Try recording your two main rythm tracks with different mic positions. So take 1 and 2 in differing positions and then take 3 and 4 in differing positions. Just to see what it does to the overall impression.
Man, that's a LOT of guitar! Thanks very much for your time and effort in sharing your process - definitely something to keep in mind when recording guitar. And also, you've reminded me that I'm lusting after 1 or 2 of those ML-1 mics. Cheers.
Thanks man - this is a really nice and easy to understand , sharing your process and thinking. I've just bought a Yamaha semi-acoustic so this was useful - thanks again ! :-)
This showed up in my recommended vids, just wanted to say great video, even though I don't play guitar anymore due to health and disability issues I reckon what you demonstrated here is very applicable to writing layers for other instrument parts and midi stuff. So thank you very much 🙏
@@mxclvreThis video was recommend to me as well because was looking for a guitarist to do my little projects . Do let me know if you are available, great video .
Hey man! This video really helped. I've just started my music production journey. Would love to see more of these, especially focused videos on Ableton 12, as I'm using Suite. If you could explain basic concepts of music production like compression, equalising, saturation etc (using Ableton) would help all those who've just started like me tremendously. Subscribed and waiting for more. Much love from India, cheers🍻
Some great advice. Never thought about applying different pan settings to each doubled track and lowering the balance the further out they get. Also very interested in the Slate Digital ML-1 microphone and your close microphone technique . Thank you.
Thanks, man. Great tutorial. I find that puting the mic that close usually makes the pick noise too loud. Maybe I need to try thicker picks. Loved that tip.
Recording in stereo requires 2 mics! which a lot of people don't have. You also have to make sure the mics are setup at the correct distances and deal with phase issues afterward. To complex for me and most beginners. I also prefer the wider sound of double tracking and panning, feels a bit more modern.
Good video. Maybe you forgot but when you were done recording it would have been nice if the click was turned off to hear it a bit better. As a suggestion would be to have/use a Nashville tuned guitar for some of the layering. I guess in a way the capo kinda does that a bit but a bit different.
Yeah the nashville tuned guitar is a good suggestion! A lot of people recording at home don’t have an extra guitar to tune differently so I was trying to make this more accessible to everyone.
Great work. Sounds like there is a bit of phase cancelation going on thou to my ears which can be a problem with using the same guitar to multitrack. Great parts for big pop choruses thou and nice playing too.
This will be a fantastic template for my future compositions! Thank you! One depth you have not considered here is tuning. I sometimes retune my guitar in between takes, which is never perfectly the same, so adds a little something! I guess the other way is to add or subtract a cent or two in the DAW. This is a standard technique in vocal harmonies and thickening, what do you think of this applied here? Thanks again for the great video…
Great video. The end result sounds very consistent. It wld be difficult to know your process if you didn’t break it down bc it is nicely glued together
Have you experimented with Nashville guitar tuning on a second guitar? That combo with doubling sounds vastly better to my ears than any other technique ive found. But it does require a second guitar with different tuning and string gauges. Theres a great vid somewhere on youtube of how to do it.
Very nice results & a very good demonstration of the process to achieve it, thanks for that! And I'm glad you mentioned the pick noise, because that's a problem I have not yet solved in my own setup...! Like you did, I tried using a thicker pick, and also another mic... but the picking sound is still relatively too loud, it's almost the "highlight" of my recorded guitar sound... Do you have any other tips to reduce the pick sound beside EQ-ing it afterwards or using "no-pick"...?! Maybe the guitar strings could be a factor? What string gauges are you using, and are they rather new or not? Thanks again!
Another thing to keep in mind is the intensity that you play at. I've found myself strumming too hard sometimes when I'm recording acoustic guitar. Find a good balance between volume and strumming dynamics. Also make sure to have a firm grip on your pick when you're strumming and maybe look at the material of pick that you use. I like to use good quality, smooth celluloid picks that I find to be less abrasive on the strings and result in less noise.
@@mxclvre Interesting tips, will sure try them all very soon. BTW I really like the recorded guitar sound you achieved in this video. ANOTHER QUESTION: for the drone part, the first 2 strings are played open? And 3rd string is the one where you're changing the note? The remaining lower 3 strings aren't played at all? Seems like a good "trick" that can be applied often to various compositions, I love that!
Thanks a lot for this great tutorial, dear MxClure! BTW: I need to record two guys: just acoustic guitar and saxophone/vocals. Can you do a video on how to get this boominess it needs if you have no bass to compete with a single alto sax? I'd really appreciate that. Best regards from Germany.
I would say use a large diaphragm mic on the acoustic like I demonstrated in the video but leave a little bit more low end in the mix of the acoustic. Maybe even boost around 50-150hz.
Some DAWs allow you to over dub on the same track and separate then after. You can also set up a template ie: set up prior to recording, individual , labeled track lanes and just move to the different track and record your duplicate or different version. With a template, you can speed your recording set-up with instruments you typically use. That way , you can have the spontaneity of just plugging in and playing. One important aspect is the monitoring level of both your new track and the previous tracks. It can make a world of difference in your performance and tracking. That is a skill in itself. Be patient with yourself, step away when it gets frustrating and know the things that worked for others you admire may not work for you. The mics, amps ,gear was their journey. Your goal is to find what speaks to you. That is the thing that makes YOU shine.
@@NewHopeAudio Well. I try to record instruments the way they are supposed to be in the mix. If I want an acoustic in the back of the 3d spectrum then I record it that way. Putting a reverb and taking out top end is not the same thing.
also, explaining the caged system briefly or even mentioning it would save a lot of beginners confusion. people wont understand how youre transposing to different keys and will not understand why theyre getting different results. mike george explains in well
Basically if you look at a G Major scale G is considered the 1 because it is the root note all following notes are numbered sequentially i.e A-2, B-3, C-4 and so on. So using that method the progression C G Am G is a IV I II I (4121) progression. Its a quick way to communicate the key and chord changes to other musicians.
Umm your creating more work that way? Let me give you a tip? Use a small diagram condenser mic and point it a few inches from the body below where the neck is! The bottom corner of the guitar! Promise you it will sound 10 times better and you won't have to filter all the low end out of it give you a more percussive sounding guitar! I promise your recording will sound 10 times better! Little tip from a professional!
Yeah but you can get essentially just as good a sound with a cheap one like a Scarlett solo. Biggest difference is with the appolo he van add a bit of compression and preamp color on the way in. Both those can be replicated in the mixing stage tho. I use a antelope audio zen q wich let's me add real time effects, and that's only like $475 right now. But I only use a very light compression and a light touch of color when I record.
I hate taylor guitars. My electronics failed not once but twice both a warranty repair but after the 3rd fail I got an LR Baggs. Even at that I don’t care for its tone. Their stuff is all about the look and fancy woods, not sound.
ive never been so satisfied with googling a question and getting it answered and understood right away. thank you and well done!
Beautifully made video. Really love the structured approach in arranging this content. the content itself is very helpful as well
Quick trick for stereo tracking if you have an electric/accoustic guitar, record onto one track with your line in and another using your mic setup all at once to knock out two steps in one
A worthwhile part I add is a single track of just bass notes. It can help define the chord as well as giving a valuable centre to the sound
Interesting. Can you elaborate? "Just bass notes", you mean the root note of the chord played on the lower string of an acoustic guitar? First beat of every bar? Or another frequency? Hey thanks in advance!
I’ve recently recorded a song where one of the guitar parts just outlines the root notes of each chord in the progression. Rhythmically it interplays with the other 2 guitar parts to create the overall groove. Using fuzz and distortion tones with single-note or double-stop lines gave a thick sound without too much mud. It allowed me to then write an active bass part that jumps around different notes in the progression, not just the roots.
I like how this creator focuses on creating good parts rather than neat mic positions and stuff. Recording music that sounds bad with cool techniques is usually not the path to fulfillment.
This is a great overview. The one little suggestion I would make is to turn the click off when you are playing back the parts during the mixing and leveling discussion.
Try recording your two main rythm tracks with different mic positions. So take 1 and 2 in differing positions and then take 3 and 4 in differing positions. Just to see what it does to the overall impression.
I love the simple set up and great results. Thanks for walking us through your process.
Hey man this video helped me a lot. Thank you for making this video . ❤️😎
Well done, dude. Congrats for an already good raw sound.
Man, that's a LOT of guitar! Thanks very much for your time and effort in sharing your process - definitely something to keep in mind when recording guitar. And also, you've reminded me that I'm lusting after 1 or 2 of those ML-1 mics. Cheers.
Thank you! Yes the ML-1 is a workhorse. Very versatile and worth much more than it costs!
Great layered sound,I appreciate the lack of pick noise!
Thanks man - this is a really nice and easy to understand , sharing your process and thinking. I've just bought a Yamaha semi-acoustic so this was useful - thanks again ! :-)
Fantastic tutorial! Really great info for using in my home studio, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks! And thanks for not saying 'Lets dive right in"
This showed up in my recommended vids, just wanted to say great video, even though I don't play guitar anymore due to health and disability issues I reckon what you demonstrated here is very applicable to writing layers for other instrument parts and midi stuff. So thank you very much 🙏
Thank you! I appreciate the support and I hope you’ll be able to pick up the guitar again someday!
@@mxclvreThis video was recommend to me as well because was looking for a guitarist to do my little projects .
Do let me know if you are available, great video .
Sync and tv...man, haven't heard that since Berklee. I gotta start looking into this more! Good stuff, man!
Very helpful! Thank you!
Awesome demo ! Thankyou!!
Amazing! Thanks for creating this!
Thank you so much! Just what I was looking for
Thanks for the tips!
Great video, well done.
Nice vid and kudos for being in the top 10% of UA-camrs who use an SM7 correctly!
extremely informative!!! love it, thanks for this
Extremely informative. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, I'll be trying this in my next recording.
fantastic tutorial, have been searching for one of these for a while now!
Simple and concise. Nice!
Hey man! This video really helped. I've just started my music production journey. Would love to see more of these, especially focused videos on Ableton 12, as I'm using Suite. If you could explain basic concepts of music production like compression, equalising, saturation etc (using Ableton) would help all those who've just started like me tremendously. Subscribed and waiting for more. Much love from India, cheers🍻
great video, playing and production food for thought. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good job, man. Very instructive EQ. It's always nice to see how other people work.
Thank you very much bro for the tutorial
Thanks! What an awesome video, helped a lot! Really easy to watch and no boring parts at all! :))
Glad you enjoyed it!
nice tutorial keep it up !
Many thanks, this is really a great way to layer acoustics.
Glad you like it!
thanks for these tips!!
great content mate!
Such a great tutorial. I love doing the same thing with my acoustic tracks!
Some great advice. Never thought about applying different pan settings to each doubled track and lowering the balance the further out they get. Also very interested in the Slate Digital ML-1 microphone and your close microphone technique . Thank you.
Also showed up on my recommended videos. Nice job. Keep it up man! Cheers from Brazil 🔝
Thank you sm for posting thissssss i needed thissss
Thanks for watching glad it helped!
This was super helpful! Thank you so much. You are truly talented my man.
Thank you!
Good tips. Shared this
Great video instruction. Thanks for posting.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video - always nice to know what other people are doing.
Thanks for watching!
Superb! Thanks a lot. Will definitely incorporate this into my recordings, thanks a million.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video man, subscribed!
Thanks for the sub!
Really enjoyed the video. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you!Superior sound
Thx, man! Interesting! Informative!
Glad you liked it!
Thanks, man. Great tutorial. I find that puting the mic that close usually makes the pick noise too loud. Maybe I need to try thicker picks. Loved that tip.
Also showed up on m’y recommended videos. Nice job. Keep it up man! Cheers from Brazil 🔝
Going with two mono performances is an interesting alternative to stereo micing. You’ve got me thinking.
Recording in stereo requires 2 mics! which a lot of people don't have. You also have to make sure the mics are setup at the correct distances and deal with phase issues afterward. To complex for me and most beginners. I also prefer the wider sound of double tracking and panning, feels a bit more modern.
Good video. Maybe you forgot but when you were done recording it would have been nice if the click was turned off to hear it a bit better. As a suggestion would be to have/use a Nashville tuned guitar for some of the layering. I guess in a way the capo kinda does that a bit but a bit different.
Yeah the nashville tuned guitar is a good suggestion! A lot of people recording at home don’t have an extra guitar to tune differently so I was trying to make this more accessible to everyone.
THANKS MAN😊
Happy to help
Nicely demonstrated.✨
Great and very helpful well explained video ❤ thank you brother
Thank you for sharing your idea❤
Great work. Sounds like there is a bit of phase cancelation going on thou to my ears which can be a problem with using the same guitar to multitrack. Great parts for big pop choruses thou and nice playing too.
Really Useful thanks
Glad it helped!
Glad I found you
thanks!
Thanks
Thank you
You're welcome
Nice work ;)
Thanks!
This will be a fantastic template for my future compositions! Thank you! One depth you have not considered here is tuning. I sometimes retune my guitar in between takes, which is never perfectly the same, so adds a little something! I guess the other way is to add or subtract a cent or two in the DAW. This is a standard technique in vocal harmonies and thickening, what do you think of this applied here? Thanks again for the great video…
Great suggestion!
Great video. The end result sounds very consistent. It wld be difficult to know your process if you didn’t break it down bc it is nicely glued together
Have you experimented with Nashville guitar tuning on a second guitar? That combo with doubling sounds vastly better to my ears than any other technique ive found. But it does require a second guitar with different tuning and string gauges. Theres a great vid somewhere on youtube of how to do it.
I'm your 100th like!!
Thank You!
Very nice results & a very good demonstration of the process to achieve it, thanks for that! And I'm glad you mentioned the pick noise, because that's a problem I have not yet solved in my own setup...! Like you did, I tried using a thicker pick, and also another mic... but the picking sound is still relatively too loud, it's almost the "highlight" of my recorded guitar sound... Do you have any other tips to reduce the pick sound beside EQ-ing it afterwards or using "no-pick"...?! Maybe the guitar strings could be a factor? What string gauges are you using, and are they rather new or not? Thanks again!
Another thing to keep in mind is the intensity that you play at. I've found myself strumming too hard sometimes when I'm recording acoustic guitar. Find a good balance between volume and strumming dynamics. Also make sure to have a firm grip on your pick when you're strumming and maybe look at the material of pick that you use. I like to use good quality, smooth celluloid picks that I find to be less abrasive on the strings and result in less noise.
@@mxclvre Interesting tips, will sure try them all very soon. BTW I really like the recorded guitar sound you achieved in this video. ANOTHER QUESTION: for the drone part, the first 2 strings are played open? And 3rd string is the one where you're changing the note? The remaining lower 3 strings aren't played at all? Seems like a good "trick" that can be applied often to various compositions, I love that!
Thanks a lot for this great tutorial, dear MxClure!
BTW: I need to record two guys: just acoustic guitar and saxophone/vocals. Can you do a video on how to get this boominess it needs if you have no bass to compete with a single alto sax? I'd really appreciate that. Best regards from Germany.
I would say use a large diaphragm mic on the acoustic like I demonstrated in the video but leave a little bit more low end in the mix of the acoustic. Maybe even boost around 50-150hz.
could you make something like this but have the guitars doing different melodies and rhythms?
How would you address the massive phasing problem?
What drum sounds were you using on that track?
That's studio drummer from the Konttakt Library
I'm new at this but when you capo at 7 and play the same G progression are you playing in C or in D
Playing in C there!
I'm sure I missed something basic but how are you are able to record twice on the same track?
Some DAWs allow you to over dub on the same track and separate then after. You can also set up a template ie: set up prior to recording, individual , labeled track lanes and just move to the different track and record your duplicate or different version.
With a template, you can speed your recording set-up with instruments you typically use.
That way , you can have the spontaneity of just plugging in and playing.
One important aspect is the monitoring level of both your new track and the previous tracks.
It can make a world of difference in your performance and tracking. That is a skill in itself.
Be patient with yourself, step away when it gets frustrating and know the things that worked for others you admire may not work for you.
The mics, amps ,gear was their journey. Your goal is to find what speaks to you. That is the thing that makes YOU shine.
Thank you so much for this! Very helpful and much appreciated.@@pdxfun4888
Well I usually mic like three feet away. Much more natural sounding. To me. Each to their own I guess.
You could try a close mic and still have that 3 foot distance for some options and texture
@@NewHopeAudio Well. I try to record instruments the way they are supposed to be in the mix. If I want an acoustic in the back of the 3d spectrum then I record it that way. Putting a reverb and taking out top end is not the same thing.
@@NewHopeAudio I could. But options are for problem seekers. Decide - record - done. Correct sound and easy to mix. Simples.
would have been useful if you mentioned how you were "comping" as a beginner wouldnt know what was going on
also, explaining the caged system briefly or even mentioning it would save a lot of beginners confusion. people wont understand how youre transposing to different keys and will not understand why theyre getting different results. mike george explains in well
How does C G Am G become 4121?
Look up the Nashville number system!
Basically if you look at a G Major scale G is considered the 1 because it is the root note all following notes are numbered sequentially i.e A-2, B-3, C-4 and so on. So using that method the progression C G Am G is a IV I II I (4121) progression. Its a quick way to communicate the key and chord changes to other musicians.
@@xDamageProducer Awesome, Thankyou for patiently explaining this principle
Have a great day
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Umm your creating more work that way? Let me give you a tip? Use a small diagram condenser mic and point it a few inches from the body below where the neck is! The bottom corner of the guitar! Promise you it will sound 10 times better and you won't have to filter all the low end out of it give you a more percussive sounding guitar! I promise your recording will sound 10 times better! Little tip from a professional!
$1000 audio interface.
Yeah but you can get essentially just as good a sound with a cheap one like a Scarlett solo. Biggest difference is with the appolo he van add a bit of compression and preamp color on the way in. Both those can be replicated in the mixing stage tho. I use a antelope audio zen q wich let's me add real time effects, and that's only like $475 right now. But I only use a very light compression and a light touch of color when I record.
I hate taylor guitars. My electronics failed not once but twice both a warranty repair but after the 3rd fail I got an LR Baggs. Even at that I don’t care for its tone. Their stuff is all about the look and fancy woods, not sound.
His sounds good.
really help full information
excellent work!! Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Thank you