Is the acoustic out of tune, or it is just my impresion? By the way very creative recording approach, especially for guys like me with only one room for recording. Thanks for the info.
Mario, bleed isn't necessarily bad, but I think what you're describing in this video is what most people are trying to do. Which is to minimize the bleed you don't want and to allow the bleed you do want to come through. One of the ways you can to that is to actually use specific mics with specific pickup patterns. For example, you could have placed the guitarist/vocalist facing the drums and used mics with a cardioid pickup pattern because they have a natural blind spot on the back side that can minimize bleed. It totally sounds counterintuitive, but I've used that rather effectively in small folk groups recording everything in the same room. Keep it up though. Your videos are always interesting.
I love what you're doing man. The song isn't perfectly recorded but it has so much character. It has a certain vibe/mood. When I was very young I always liked the strange and unconventional songs on the radio. I remember hearing an old german hip hop song that starts with the songs bassline and piano part and it immediately grabbed my attention. Looking back it's just a very low fidelity song that sounded different from everything else that was being played on the radio at the time. The song is called Jein by Fettes Brot if anyone wants to check it out.
Great video as usual. I wanted to ask as someone who has a home recording “studio” and works on many projects. How do you record these videos? It may be a bit meta I guess, but I’d LOVE a video breaking down what camera you use, how you send these audio tracks to the camera or edit in the footage and how you edit your footage. Keep up the good work!
I keep it VERY simple. I try to rely as much as possible on the content of my videos rather than the visuals/audio quality as it takes a shittttt ton of time making these videos especially with all the edits. Anywhere I can save time, the better. So I have found a process that works the best for me. I use a CANON XA11 for the camera. Kinda a no frills camcorder but the reason I bought this is that it has (2) two XLR inputs that can either take a mic level input or a line level input. So depending on the situation I'll either send a mic signal or a line signal to the camera. Or in the case in this video where I am talking at my mixing desk I am sending a line level out of my control board, and also a mic level signal from the mic I am speaking into to the camera . So I am using both inputs. This makes it really easy because I no longer have to synchronize any audio file to a video file. The video file has two channels (Left and Right), and I can use either input as needed. This was a game changer for me once I got this camera. Well worth the investment (I bought it used for cheap of course lol). For most of my videos where I am talking into the camera I am sending my mic signal through my mixing board, adding some really rough compression, then sending a line level signal to the camera. Only utilizing one of the XLR inputs of the camera. Once again , video already has the audio sync and ready to go. No further processing needed. All of the video editing is done in Davinci Resolve because well...it's free and FANTASTIC. I can't believe we are at a point in technology where a software like that can be had for free. Absolutely insane. Before this I was using a decade old version of Sony Vegas Pro for a while on my also decade old laptop, but that was TERRIBLE and took forever. I wound up 'investing' $1000 on a computer so I can edit videos with Davinci. Any narration in my videos is simply me just using Audacity. I actually have zero idea how to use a DAW or even the built in DAW for Davinci. Very on brand for me lol. So Audacity is enough for me to record simple narrations. I do minor editing in davinci resolve. The hardest part is all the text I add. I keep transitions, color editing, audio editing, etc to the minimum because it already takes soo much time to put everything together. Hope this helps brother, Mario
Check out Milton Nascimento's "Clube da Esquina" record. Early '70's in Brazil. Done bouncing from two-track to two-track and an Ampex mixer. A huge part of that record's sound is from mic bleed.
Very interesting study, as always! Amazing drum tones, I really liked that fluffy bass drum. However, I myself would make the bass a little shorter/less compressed? idk. to me the more it sustains the pitchy it sounds. I once heard some producers debate about "if I have a fat snare I'll have a thinner bass drum" and vice versa, and I began to think about this w/regards to bass drum/bass guitar length. Helped me sort out some mixes. Maybe the vocals could sound nicer if sent to a slapback delay instead of a spring, in the busier section. But that's just me, anyway.
based on how everyone looks like they're positioned in the room, I think it would really help to adjust the vocal and guitar mic slightly to get them more off axis to the drums. I also think using a mic with a figure 8 pattern pointed towards the 12th fret on the guitar could have added a lot of really good direct acoustic guitar sound with some great indirect drum ambience, as well as adding some high end to the guitar to really help it cut through the mix. fantastic video though, I love seeing recording sessions being documented and discussed.
Steve Albini has a great video on the Electrical Audio channel about recording vocals and acoustic with cancellation of each in each microphone, that technique would’ve been perfect in this scenario if you had the singer facing the drum kit. Great video and track by the way.
The way I position everyone in the room is never ideal for these videos as I try to compose everything so it all fits into camera and you can see our faces. Ideally the guitar plays is always facing me anyway, not necessarily for cancellation sake but so we can communicate non verbally with one another. Cheers
@@Mario_DiSanto Ahhhh makes sense, either way, the video’s a good demonstration of recording everyone in the same room and the limitations that come with it. You did well considering you had further limitations having to think about video and not just audio.
I do a lot of recording bands live in a single room, and my secret weapon is using the null side of each microphone. Namely, pointing the back side of the vocal and guitar mics toward the kit. This helps a lot with avoiding getting hi hats/cymbals in those mics and leads to a lot more balanced mix
Great point. Something I wrote in another comment and something I should have mentioned in the video is that the way I placed everyone in the room is specifically for the camera's sake. Normally I would have both guitarists facing the drums not only for the nulls of the pick up patterns but mostly for non verbal communication sake when we are playing.
Having the guitar mic pointed at the 14th fret (approximately) works well. It may have picked up less drums. But nonetheless, it was an enjoyable video to watch.
Amazing song! I would've maybe cut more lows (below 500 htz?) from the acoustic guitar; another way to make it stand out better, too. The organ really adds a little something.
Maybe you'll think this is stupid, but i think that if you set up a recording session like this in a bathroom, that would probably interest quite a few people. Maybe it would just tickle *my* fancy but hey
Hey Mario, fellow engineer. I know tape is your ur bag, respect . You should check out the Zulu tape emulator. It’s a passive, analog little box full of transformers that surprisingly mimics the effects of tape well. While it may not be practical for recording to real tape, it would be worth checking out! I’d like to hear your thoughts on the sound of the unit
Hey, dude! I really like your content It’s a gem amongst digital production nowadays My question is: do you hard pan for this style of recording? And if so, how to do it properly? Thanks in advance
Andrew, for better or worse 99% of my mixes are now in MONO. If they are in stereo I never hard pan anything. I usually don't like the way that sounds.
Is the acoustic out of tune, or it is just my impresion? By the way very creative recording approach, especially for guys like me with only one room for recording. Thanks for the info.
Asking John to play in tune is like asking a banana to square dance; it doesn't really work.
Sorry I was too busy thinking about that boat that ran into that bridge
Detuned guitars sound best.
Microphone bleeding makes the first two records by the Band sound really great.
Mario, bleed isn't necessarily bad, but I think what you're describing in this video is what most people are trying to do. Which is to minimize the bleed you don't want and to allow the bleed you do want to come through. One of the ways you can to that is to actually use specific mics with specific pickup patterns. For example, you could have placed the guitarist/vocalist facing the drums and used mics with a cardioid pickup pattern because they have a natural blind spot on the back side that can minimize bleed. It totally sounds counterintuitive, but I've used that rather effectively in small folk groups recording everything in the same room.
Keep it up though. Your videos are always interesting.
I like the warm swoosh of the cymbals. I'm a bass DI fan. This old guy wants stereo. :-) Great video!
Love the electronics poking chopstick hanging out on the desk lol
Haha nice catch. That's because I haVE to give my 160X a good whack to make the LEDs work.
I love what you're doing man. The song isn't perfectly recorded but it has so much character. It has a certain vibe/mood. When I was very young I always liked the strange and unconventional songs on the radio. I remember hearing an old german hip hop song that starts with the songs bassline and piano part and it immediately grabbed my attention. Looking back it's just a very low fidelity song that sounded different from everything else that was being played on the radio at the time.
The song is called Jein by Fettes Brot if anyone wants to check it out.
Great song! the lead singer is awesome !! I must say the eq on the drums really saved the day.
Great video as usual.
I wanted to ask as someone who has a home recording “studio” and works on many projects.
How do you record these videos?
It may be a bit meta I guess, but I’d LOVE a video breaking down what camera you use, how you send these audio tracks to the camera or edit in the footage and how you edit your footage.
Keep up the good work!
I keep it VERY simple. I try to rely as much as possible on the content of my videos rather than the visuals/audio quality as it takes a shittttt ton of time making these videos especially with all the edits. Anywhere I can save time, the better. So I have found a process that works the best for me.
I use a CANON XA11 for the camera. Kinda a no frills camcorder but the reason I bought this is that it has (2) two XLR inputs that can either take a mic level input or a line level input. So depending on the situation I'll either send a mic signal or a line signal to the camera. Or in the case in this video where I am talking at my mixing desk I am sending a line level out of my control board, and also a mic level signal from the mic I am speaking into to the camera . So I am using both inputs. This makes it really easy because I no longer have to synchronize any audio file to a video file. The video file has two channels (Left and Right), and I can use either input as needed. This was a game changer for me once I got this camera. Well worth the investment (I bought it used for cheap of course lol).
For most of my videos where I am talking into the camera I am sending my mic signal through my mixing board, adding some really rough compression, then sending a line level signal to the camera. Only utilizing one of the XLR inputs of the camera. Once again , video already has the audio sync and ready to go. No further processing needed.
All of the video editing is done in Davinci Resolve because well...it's free and FANTASTIC. I can't believe we are at a point in technology where a software like that can be had for free. Absolutely insane. Before this I was using a decade old version of Sony Vegas Pro for a while on my also decade old laptop, but that was TERRIBLE and took forever. I wound up 'investing' $1000 on a computer so I can edit videos with Davinci.
Any narration in my videos is simply me just using Audacity. I actually have zero idea how to use a DAW or even the built in DAW for Davinci. Very on brand for me lol. So Audacity is enough for me to record simple narrations.
I do minor editing in davinci resolve. The hardest part is all the text I add. I keep transitions, color editing, audio editing, etc to the minimum because it already takes soo much time to put everything together.
Hope this helps brother,
Mario
This sounds like if black lips and neutral milk hotel had a folk punk baby. So good.
This is great, there’s just something about the reverb on the vocals. Beautiful song!
Check out Milton Nascimento's "Clube da Esquina" record. Early '70's in Brazil. Done bouncing from two-track to two-track and an Ampex mixer. A huge part of that record's sound is from mic bleed.
Very interesting study, as always! Amazing drum tones, I really liked that fluffy bass drum. However, I myself would make the bass a little shorter/less compressed? idk. to me the more it sustains the pitchy it sounds. I once heard some producers debate about "if I have a fat snare I'll have a thinner bass drum" and vice versa, and I began to think about this w/regards to bass drum/bass guitar length. Helped me sort out some mixes.
Maybe the vocals could sound nicer if sent to a slapback delay instead of a spring, in the busier section. But that's just me, anyway.
based on how everyone looks like they're positioned in the room, I think it would really help to adjust the vocal and guitar mic slightly to get them more off axis to the drums. I also think using a mic with a figure 8 pattern pointed towards the 12th fret on the guitar could have added a lot of really good direct acoustic guitar sound with some great indirect drum ambience, as well as adding some high end to the guitar to really help it cut through the mix. fantastic video though, I love seeing recording sessions being documented and discussed.
I’m not saying anything. You’re making videos… and I’m not. Thanks for taking the time, so we can sit at home… or wherever, and watch!
good vibes. love that fostex verb on the vocals.
Steve Albini has a great video on the Electrical Audio channel about recording vocals and acoustic with cancellation of each in each microphone, that technique would’ve been perfect in this scenario if you had the singer facing the drum kit. Great video and track by the way.
The way I position everyone in the room is never ideal for these videos as I try to compose everything so it all fits into camera and you can see our faces. Ideally the guitar plays is always facing me anyway, not necessarily for cancellation sake but so we can communicate non verbally with one another. Cheers
@@Mario_DiSanto Ahhhh makes sense, either way, the video’s a good demonstration of recording everyone in the same room and the limitations that come with it.
You did well considering you had further limitations having to think about video and not just audio.
I do a lot of recording bands live in a single room, and my secret weapon is using the null side of each microphone. Namely, pointing the back side of the vocal and guitar mics toward the kit. This helps a lot with avoiding getting hi hats/cymbals in those mics and leads to a lot more balanced mix
Great point. Something I wrote in another comment and something I should have mentioned in the video is that the way I placed everyone in the room is specifically for the camera's sake. Normally I would have both guitarists facing the drums not only for the nulls of the pick up patterns but mostly for non verbal communication sake when we are playing.
@@Mario_DiSanto Yeah that absolutely makes sense. Groups are always throwing curveballs so its good that you're flexible about stuff!
If I ever get rid of my 635a's I'm sending them to you cause you are the only person I've seen that likes them as much as I do!
this type of video is great! i'd love to be able to listen to the song in a separate video tho.
Having the guitar mic pointed at the 14th fret (approximately) works well. It may have picked up less drums. But nonetheless, it was an enjoyable video to watch.
“Bass is so important to a mix.” ❤ 🙏
This sounds fantastic!
You guys write great songs together, I love it!
Thanks so much Claude!
love the vids!
Let it Bleed. Great video.
Amazing song! I would've maybe cut more lows (below 500 htz?) from the acoustic guitar; another way to make it stand out better, too. The organ really adds a little something.
A song with 4 f bombs in a row - that's what we like right there.
Lay out my navy blue suit for the morning.
Maybe you'll think this is stupid, but i think that if you set up a recording session like this in a bathroom, that would probably interest quite a few people. Maybe it would just tickle *my* fancy but hey
Hey Mario, fellow engineer. I know tape is your ur bag, respect . You should check out the Zulu tape emulator. It’s a passive, analog little box full of transformers that surprisingly mimics the effects of tape well. While it may not be practical for recording to real tape, it would be worth checking out!
I’d like to hear your thoughts on the sound of the unit
Compared to real tape*
Alex G kinda looks like Layne Staley
Hey, dude!
I really like your content
It’s a gem amongst digital production nowadays
My question is: do you hard pan for this style of recording? And if so, how to do it properly?
Thanks in advance
Andrew, for better or worse 99% of my mixes are now in MONO. If they are in stereo I never hard pan anything. I usually don't like the way that sounds.
Ok, gotcha. It seems to me that lots of bands in the late 60s early 70s had that hard panning, so I’m trying to figure this out
I think Alex G needs to respect the house rules and take those shoes off.
Lol I tell him to a lot.
First
Second
This is a good song, has some Replacements vibe, but it is recorded rather poorly