need advice on recording setup

stateofflux

Hi,

Im looking to get the right setup for recording a solo EP myself for commercial release and potential radio play.

I am deliberately going to keep things stripped down to acoustic guitar, vocals, some synth pads to keep mixing hassle free (within reason )

I have a roland 2480 multitrack
but i also have an i5 / 8gb laptop with cubase 5 & lexicon alpha interface
I own a Shure sm7b which i have gotten very good results with in the past with my thin voice plus i own 2 x sm57's.

my main questions are:

• do i need a decent preamp / channel strip?
• should even use the roland for even part of the process?
• are my mics good enough / right choice for a daycent sound? - i want acoustic to sound very intimate (have all scratches and plec noises audible) / sharpness - hear breathing in vocals etc

any advice would be appreciated. id be looking to get something close to the Damien Rice 'O' recording sound. if you think im delusional i will consider seeking pro engineer / studio. Most of my mixing experience is with heavy rock stuff where i did not have to worry too much about nuances the mics pick up

Dravokivich

I'm not familiar with the SM7b, but have seen them used in video's for heavier sounding vocals, (much like the experience you've referenced)

The SM57 is a general multipurpose dynamic mic.

To get what you are looking for sound wise, would typically be done with a condenser mic.

Although, here's some things to consider:

If you point the SM57 at an angle against the guitar you might get close to the type of responsive sounds you are looking for from that. Whenever I recorded acoustic, I never aimed directly at the sound hole myself.

With regards to vocals, this is usually also aided by a Compreser. Haven't used Cubase 5, but earlier versions had decent enough presets with compression plugins. Generally the lower the threshold and the higher the ratio, the more breath you'll get. But you'll want to adjust to make sure it fits the sound.

stateofflux

Dravokivich wrote: »

I'm not familiar with the SM7b, but have seen them used in video's for heavier sounding vocals, (much like the experience you've referenced)

The SM57 is a general multipurpose dynamic mic.

To get what you are looking for sound wise, would typically be done with a condenser mic.

Although, here's some things to consider:

If you point the SM57 at an angle against the guitar you might get close to the type of responsive sounds you are looking for from that. Whenever I recorded acoustic, I never aimed directly at the sound hole myself.

With regards to vocals, this is usually also aided by a Compreser. Haven't used Cubase 5, but earlier versions had decent enough presets with compression plugins. Generally the lower the threshold and the higher the ratio, the more breath you'll get. But you'll want to adjust to make sure it fits the sound.

Thanks for the feedback. Im fairly fluent in mixing at this stage. But here im more concerned about the gear and outboard preamp choices (if any) to raise recording quality / stereo fullness for such a sparse track amount to a very high releasable quality. ive no problem spending on an AKG 414 uls if i have to. I would be concerned about a 57 having too much midrange and not enough sparkle

Dravokivich

Fair enough. Did a bit of searching and found this:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/145560-damien-rice-o-what-mic.html

Damien Rice rented our old room for a few days way back when he was recording O. His drummer was a friend. At the time he was recording using a Korg portable multitrack, some TL Audio pres and a pair of 414s (not sure if they were ULS or TLII). Haven't listened to the album in ages but he quite clearly favoured vibe and performance over technical perfection. Always a good call IMHO. I've worked with him on some live TV stuff too and the sound is really just his voice and singing style.

It also seems he had a tendancy to run his vocals either through a valve or a guitar amp.

stateofflux

Many thanks for the link and info. much appreciated