Old 09-01-2018, 11:18 PM   #1
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Default Nutshell - Alice in Chains Cover

I decided to try it as a single live performance with no overdubs using an M/S config.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe_-pD7vTxI


The mics were about 24 inches back, and about shoulder high. I took two DLSRs + a Zoom Q8 and set them up at 3 angles, then sync'd in Reaper and exported to MP4. Would have been nice if I had remembered to turn off the AC.
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Old 09-02-2018, 12:55 AM   #2
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Nnnnailed it! Wow, you've taken good care of your voice, I remember having a falsetto a couple decades ago lol. Hey what's in the mason jar mug?
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Old 09-02-2018, 01:31 PM   #3
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Old 09-02-2018, 03:16 PM   #4
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Added to my playlist.

You captured it.. you made it yours. That was real.
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Old 09-02-2018, 03:44 PM   #5
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Great mix, great ambiance and great sunglasses!
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Old 09-02-2018, 07:05 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by karbomusic View Post
The mics were about 24 inches back, and about shoulder high. I took two DLSRs + a Zoom Q8 and set them up at 3 angles, then sync'd in Reaper and exported to MP4. Would have been nice if I had remembered to turn off the AC.
Nice Karbo, it sounded very good. So you used the two DLSRs for left & right and the Zoom Q8 pointed straight ahead. Ha ha, just trying to imagine it, maybe a pict of the mic setup?

That's the new acoustic guitar you just got a short while back isn't it?
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Old 09-02-2018, 07:19 PM   #7
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Thanks Guys. I'm on vacation from work so have been playing around with recording and some video.

@Tod, you are correct. The Q8 is wide angle by default so it is only 24" away from me (where the mics are and you can see it poking out between mics and music stand). The D90 and the D7500 are to the left and right but further back. I used a 50mm and a 35mm lens with low F-Stops to get some blur behind the focal point, I sort of hate videos that are always in focus for every element in the scene. There are also two cheap LED video lights to the left and right (key and fill).

Also, it's not a new acoustic - it is my Taylor 814CE I got back in 2009, it is very, very dear to me.

Here's the setup - you can see the D90 back there on top of the 68 deluxe, the D7500 is out of frame, back in the corner, left of the couch. You can see a little of the blue tape on the floor which I needed because I had to manually focus both of those; and with a low aperture if I move any it'll blur - thanks to my wife for sitting there for me in order to align the shots.



I started with We Just Disagree by Dave Mason (Tod probably remembers). It's still in the works and have a few vids of it, but they aren't up to snuff yet as it takes a little more practice and memorization to sing and play those changes live. Hopefully, I'll get it completed and thanks for checking it out.
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Old 09-02-2018, 10:33 PM   #8
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Very good. For having done a live self recorded guitar, vocal and video song myself not so long ago I can appreciate the dedication, skills, and courage. It is not always easy to 'put ourselves out there' in plain view. You did a better job then myself. I had to do three takes and edit, because I kept messing up the performance (camera shy). Thanks for sharing the technical aspects.
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Old 09-03-2018, 04:02 AM   #9
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thanks to my wife for sitting there for me in order to align the shots.
You know what they say: behind a great man always is a great woman...well...in your case she is in front of you being behind you...
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Old 09-03-2018, 09:13 AM   #10
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Thanks Guys. I'm on vacation from work so have been playing around with recording and some video.

Well it's a good video Karbo, I've never attempted anything like that, and probably never will.

You played and sang all the way through without any flaws as far as I could tell. Ha ha, I don't know how may takes you had, but it's still not easy.

And you captured a good sound too.
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Old 09-03-2018, 10:47 AM   #11
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You know what they say: behind a great man always is a great woman...well...in your case she is in front of you being behind you...
There is. She's really supportive of which makes quite a difference.

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I had to do three takes and edit, because I kept messing up the performance (camera shy). Thanks for sharing the technical aspects.
I'll be doing some multitake videos soon I hope. They are fun, less restricting and allow cool things to be created. One reason for doing some of these live-recorded performances is to push me back to basics. There are a few small EQ adjustments, some light compression, and reverb on the audio track FWIW.

I really want to do the same with this Dave Mason tune I grew up listening to - such a simple but beautiful song. If I were to record vox/guitar as separate takes, I'd have been done a week ago LOL. As you can tell, it's a bit syncopated here and there and the chord changes are too hard for me to do while singing without looking at the guitar while at the same time not having the lyrics memorized. I can play it, I can sing it, both at the same time needs a little more polish but it's getting better.

As far as being camera shy, I certainly get it. My suggestion is to just do it as if it were scientific documentation in order get beyond the mental part. I've had similar challenges in the past (and still do), and sort of take the attitude that if I'm going to suck, I'm going to suck with all my heart - it helps because the same part of the brain that worries about mistakes, is the same part that is needed for a good performance and if they collide, the mistake occurs - or that part isn't up to snuff yet.

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You played and sang all the way through without any flaws as far as I could tell. Ha ha, I don't know how may takes you had, but it's still not easy.

And you captured a good sound too.
It was probably 7 or 8 run throughs over two nights, with the first 4 being practice runs for video/audio/basic performance, 3 of the last 4 were fine but each would have some flaw or flub that ruined it - the very last seemed closer so I went with it. You are right though, doing it this way is so naked with so little room for mistakes.

I'm liking the sound of single-source micing for guitar/vocals. As long as I keep the dynamics/levels of the two within reason during the performance, there isn't much need adjust them later.
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Old 09-04-2018, 08:52 AM   #12
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Default I had to "let the wife go"

She took it well as she was tired of me calling her upstairs every half hour LOL. Found this Styrofoam head on Amazon for like $8; the purple lines are hand-drawn by me for focusing purposes:



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Old 09-04-2018, 08:26 PM   #13
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She took it well as she was tired of me calling her upstairs every half hour LOL. Found this Styrofoam head on Amazon for like $8; the purple lines are hand-drawn by me for focusing purposes:
Wow, heh heh, this looks serious. So is the dummy head positioned where your head will be, or was? Your video looks great so I'm assuming this all had something to do with that?
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Old 09-04-2018, 08:52 PM   #14
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Wow, heh heh, this looks serious. So is the dummy head positioned where your head will be, or was? Your video looks great so I'm assuming this all had something to do with that?
Yep, that head is where my big gourd head goes it's such a let down to pull the files into Reaper and see that one is out of focus, bad exposure, candle burning under my nose, lamp growing out of my head, bad framing and so on. I'm not looking to do anything fantastic, just make it tolerable. Putting that dummy head there allowed me to check everything visually without having to bug my wife. That also gave me more time to double check everything.

To be honest, I think I just need short a break from overdubs, multiple takes, layer after layer, edit after edit and so on. I'm sort of burned out on that at the moment and this is the polar opposite... I just pull the files into reaper, align the vids with the audio track, do some camera cuts/fades and render. The audio on the video tracks is silent.

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Old 09-05-2018, 10:46 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by karbomusic View Post
I decided to try it as a single live performance with no overdubs using an M/S config.

The mics were about 24 inches back, and about shoulder high. I took two DLSRs + a Zoom Q8 and set them up at 3 angles, then sync'd in Reaper and exported to MP4. Would have been nice if I had remembered to turn off the AC.
Nice balanced sound and honest recording. Great playing and singing, and the AC adds character as did the car noise zinging by Abbey Road Studios.
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Old 09-05-2018, 11:05 AM   #16
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Nice balanced sound and honest recording. Great playing and singing, and the AC adds character as did the car noise zinging by Abbey Road Studios.
Thanks Glenn! It would be nice if I could remember to shut it off at least once. Even last night, as I was working on a new one, yep, forgot the damn AC again, it's free tape hiss I guess.
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Old 09-05-2018, 03:00 PM   #17
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Sounds great, gives me chills just like the original does.
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Old 09-05-2018, 04:43 PM   #18
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Sounds great, gives me chills just like the original does.
I saw them live in 1993? at Lollapalooza. Layne came out in a silver tuxedo with tails in 100 degree weather, it was nothing short of amazing.
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Old 09-06-2018, 05:36 AM   #19
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Default Question about used gear

Your recordings sound very pro!

Can you tell me what gear you are using for your recordings?
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Old 09-06-2018, 06:24 AM   #20
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Your recordings sound very pro!

Can you tell me what gear you are using for your recordings?
Kind regards,
Bram
Hi Bram, thanks. It's a fairly simple recording chain:

Mics are an Equitek E200 + Warm Audio W87 set up as Mid/Side which goes into two Neve 511s, which then go into my RME UFX, then to Reaper on stereo track. I use an M/S decoder on that track to get the stereo signal. Here's a pic of the mics as they were for that recording...



I have since switched to this below (no uploads of audio from it yet). I felt the MID mic should really be on top, it's angled slightly to favor my vocal over the guitar. I changed to two WA87s instead of the Equitek for no particular reason - Much of the sound is due to mic placement and the room being treated FYI but the gear isn't hurting things either.

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Old 09-07-2018, 12:11 PM   #21
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Not knowing the original, I think this was really great.
Doing it live even more impressive.
Deep bow
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Old 09-10-2018, 10:14 AM   #22
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Not knowing the original, I think this was really great.
Doing it live even more impressive.
Deep bow
Ah thanks, It's likely that age makes me worry less than it used to. I've been working on a new one for over a week now, I made until the last 10 seconds of the track last night and thought I had it then stupid flub/mistake - arggggggg. Granted, it's more difficult to play and sing simultaneously, if I were to overdub I could probably do it in a couple takes but....

I'm now on a mission, at this point I don't care if it takes me 10 years to get a good take!
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Old 09-10-2018, 10:32 AM   #23
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So good!
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Old 09-12-2018, 03:12 PM   #24
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Very strong falsetto. I'm impressed, really. I lost my falsetto years ago, have no idea why or how.

Performance is tidy and neat, studio take with cameras and all that. Seems you're going for a great sound. I probably would dig a live take in front of a real audience better, even if the "sound" would suffer a bit. But I totally get the circumstances and the intention. Well done.
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