Yep! Glad he said something about that, I've done it before with my acoustic stuff, especially with reverb going into a delay then panning to the opposite side.
Couldn't you just duplicate the guitar track, mix one differently then pan them? or record the same piece separately, mix them differently then pan? same thing essentially but saves you $$
@@Sam-me5pl Duplicating the same track will only make the volume louder not the stereo image... But if you don't want to buy another mike... Here's a tip for ya... Record two to five takes of the same guitar through one mic or pickup... One take for original mono lead guitar recording (optional)... Two takes for stereo image, one on the left and another on the right... And another two takes with a Nashville guitar tuning. Also pan them left and right... And you have a nice stereo image and powerful guitar sound.
This is simply the best video on micing and recording acoustic guitar that I have ever seen. I have tried for years to inform folks that the sound hole on a guitar is not for sound. It's actually an air hole, to prevent sound wave reflections and resulting harmonics from destroying the tone. Also, the center and apex of sound production on an acoustic guitar is the bridge. Energy radiates out from the bridge through the sound board [top] of the guitar. Not very much energy is reflected by the back, and very little by the neck. Micing near the bridge is a great location, and micing near where the fret board meets the body is another very good location, as it will pick up the higher overtones. You can see how much louder the input from the bridge mic was in the corresponding wave forms. The mixing and mastering part of this video is sheer brilliance. The use of selected compression and reverb is awesome, and the EQ balance is equally amazing, as well as the additional tracks to fill out the sound, and make it huge and beautiful. This short video was like a free lesson on studio set up and recording. Truly well done!
@@officialWWM OK, good point. But I've miced a guitar using an SM 57 at both areas, and the decibels increase as you move away from the neck. The sound comes from the top of the acoustic guitar.
Perihelion77 can't argue with that, I guess that's why it's called the soundboard. The reason most people point the mic at the 12th fret is because that tends to give the most balanced sound.
I’ve been searching for a tutorial like this for almost a year I think. I really respect the fact that you emphasize that people don’t need to have your exact same gear and tools or spend a ton of money to get good results. Thank you!
The idea of sending the left side’s reverb to the right, and vice versa, isn’t something i’ve heard other people do, but it was something that i thought to try on one recording a while back. I thought it sounded cool, and now i’m glad to see that someone who knows way more than me suggests doing it too
Paul, that's a real masterclass. Best tutorial on acoustic guitar recording I've seen - and heard. Those final touches are amazing. Up until then I was thinking, OK, sounds alright. Then.. Oh man! Thanks so much!
This mic placement technique is now the only way I'll record my acoustic. The moment I hard-panned each channel I was sold. It sounded like I was in the room standing in front of someone playing the guitar instead of hearing a recording of someone playing the guitar. Thank you, Paul, for this amazing tutorial.
As an ex-sound engineer I can add my approval to your mic positioning and EQ. Back in my analog days the reverb trick was a bit harder but we did try something similar when equipment allowed and it definitely worked, but maybe not as well as you're doing here. Nice ot be taken back to those days - keep up the good work!
I bought myself 2 cheap T-Bone mics and tried this recording tutorial. I was surprised about the awesome result I got. Thank you very much Paul and keep up the great video’s you provide. Love it and so inspiring. Lot’s of New guitar energie for me, thx.
i pan slightly left with acoustic from cable, slightly right for mic and use vocals and acoustic and i double track vocals afterwards [like john lennon] on another track even more slightly left. room for bass, effects, solo etc on other tracks.
This is, without doubt, the best guitar recording video I've seen. I have tried for years to learn how to simply record guitar and watched countless hours of TH-cam videos of producers explaining things in too much detail so I get overly lost and confused. This breaks it down perfectly. Thank you!
I thought I knew a decent amount about recording and mixing. Turns out, I’m barely even getting started. The difference he made with EQ alone is amazing. Thank you very much for sharing this video, it’s an absolute privilege that we can get this for free on TH-cam. People have charged money for less useful things
Hi Paul, I don’t usually leave comments for videos I watched. But I really wanted to say this video completely changed my acoustic guitar recording’s standard so a massive thank you from Hong Kong for willing to share your knowledge with us! Liked & subscribed, keep up with the good work and God bless you man!
Holy shit, I can’t believe how good the final product sounds! That panning reverb is amazing and I’ll definitely need to give that a try. I’ve been really struggling with how to properly record solo acoustic guitar and this video is SO helpful!
The production quality of your videoes is absolutely ridiculously amazing. You somehow manage to be concise and yet thorough, and that's truly inspiring. I can tell a lot of thought and intentionality went into the pre-production, and I really appreciate that :D
This is one of THE most useful recording tutorials I've found, and I've been trawling the web for weeks! THANK YOU!! I feel like I finally actually know how to record something now. Awesome sound!
I’ve been following Pauls journey from the beginning and he’s doing a great job clearing up the clutter. He’s always inspiring me to make better content! Love his style as well!
Even though I've heard of the phase problem, I haven't seen it visualized that easily and effectively like you did it. So that's one thing I'll be thinking of next time.
My mouth dropped multiple times throughout this video. Such an insightful tutorial! This is absolutely the greatest walk through I have seen on recording guitar and turning the already beautiful sound of that guitar into something breathtaking. By the end of the video, that humble guitar track turned into a cinematic masterpiece. Incredible and inspiring! Thank you!
I use a matched pair of small diaphragm condenser mics on a stereo bar in XY configuration, at a 90° angle. This way, I get two (almost) identical sounding tracks which simply give me the stereo space I want. Admittedly, this does not offer the different timbres you get with different mics in different positions, but it completely removes any risk of phase issues without having to worry about the distances between the mics and the instrument. So yeah, I just learnt something new. 😃 Instead of the hard-panning trick, I usually record the same track twice (or use the two best takes of any recording loop) to pan these almost (but not quite) hard left and right to add more depth to the guitar. This also works great for electric guitar.
Thanks for a great walkthrough on this topic! As a music producer and a cinematographer myself I also enjoyed the framing of your camera shots. Great job! You really thought this through and covered it all in one video ❤
Hi Paul, thanks for this video, I used it to record Hallelujah yesterday to share with my family in Australia (I live in Switzerland) on my father’s passing. It made my ordinary playing sound much better and the result was much appreciated. Cheers !
I could hear it on my bluetooth earphones. Was kinda surprised actually as they're not reall that great. Couldn't really hear a big difference between the eq and non eq though. That also surprised me.
@@lucaguerrinimusic that's amazing to hear! Yes, Paul did a wonderful job! In Germany he said to me I don't do anything special! I believe this is pretty special!
Truly inspirational Paul. Really enjoy seeing what you do and the sheer level of professionalism you bring to creating music. A joy to watch, thank you!
Paul, you are like a ZIP file, not to flashy at first glance but once opened up, I find more tutorials of yours that make you stand out from the crowd in regards to teaching music. I believe you will become more stellar on TH-cam as time goes by. Thank you for your videos and being my guitar teacher. My life has opened up more possibilities with your channel. BRAVO !!
Depending on how much money you have to spend (unless you are DIY), it can go on pretty much endlessly. A good sound engineer is worth their weight in gold and then some.
nope he did it to show that no matter how he explains his technique, it all boils down to his innate talent to determine what sounds good and not. in the end, you still end up sending your projects to him for mixing lol
Hey NICE ONE Paul. I have owned a recording studio in England for many years and when I watch your videos, you remind me what i'm doing wrong when I drift into not recording things right again (like we all do over time). Nice simple techniques, really easy to understand. I have subscribed.
Hey Paul. I just want to take a moment to thank you for the high quality "How To" videos (this one included) that are so well thought out and presented. If I may, I'd like to point out one thing... and ask a question or two. That thing to point out is "Record Guitar Like A PRO" perhaps should be "Record Steel-sting Acoustic Guitar Like a PRO". It goes without saying that recording electric guitar would be an entirely different animal, but also it's important to note that the tones (for better or worse) between steel and nylon stringed guitars (and most notably editing/mixing of the tracks) will vary widely between these two basic types of guitars. The biggest difference being that (generally speaking) those playing nylon stringed guitars are usually going for a very rich, full, clean and clear sound, rather than the steel-string friendly techniques you describe. In other words, what sounds "big and wonderful" greatly varies widely between the two types of guitars (with both sounds being great.) Would you consider doing a future video specifically on obtaining a warm and clear sound from a nylon stringed instrument? That would include, of course, not only the physical recording of the instrument, but also the editing/mixing. (For example, I suspect that if any reverb is used at all, it should be as light as a butterfly with sore feet landing on a leaf. Just as a sample of what I would consider a very good example of nylon string recording, here is a video I recently came across of a talented Russian guitarist Nadja Kossinskaja. Not only is her playing flawless, but whoever recorded/mixed her tracks (be it her herself or a studio), really nailed the beautiful tone of her instrument. It's getting a similar tone that I would love to figure out. (My recordings always seem to have a "computer-ish" sound to them.) Here is a sample of her marvelous tone: th-cam.com/video/2DfwWkOfTi0/w-d-xo.html Do you have any tips on obtaining this full, rich, and clean sound on a nylon instrument? Keep up the great work! 🎸
8:29 - 8:35 Thanks for this part. I'm totally new when it comes to equalizing my songs and well all your advices are good so far but this sentence explains a lot to me.
This is my third time going through this video. There is a lot of good info here. Been wanting to do recording for several years and can finally afford the equipment. Don't want a astronomical studio. I just want to do acoustic guitar tracks and do electric guitar with modeling software. His gear is way out of my budget.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I was most fascinated with your opposite reverb panning method, I will definitely try this technique on my next project😊
So, like, he pans the neck and bridge tracks hard left and hard right, creating a spacious stereo image. He also applies reverb to add ambiance. A unique trick he shares involves sending the neck mic to the right speaker's reverb and the bridge mic to the left speaker's reverb, creating a surreal, larger-than-life effect. He uses a compressor and EQ on the reverb bus to control the overall sound.
Very thorough tutorial. Glad to seem I'm doing pretty much the same thing. I've been using cla unplugged which has two reverbs so you kinda get that effect minus the pan. But will try your suggestion also. Keep up the great work dude.
LOL, maybe the funniest guitar lesson intro ever at 0:22: "I'm not saying that this is the best way" [then cuts to video with Paul saying "this is the best way"]. "There is no right or wrong" [then cuts to video with Paul saying "don't do it this way"]. Paul, love your humor and of course your classes, especially your Intermediate paid class, which is fun and incredibly helpful.
I’m using pair of pencil mic as well when recording but I only do some basic mixing. This video is very helpful and it gave me a lot of ideas. Time to unleash my mic’s full potential. Lol. Thank you!
This is one of the most helpful videos you've posted. All your videos are excellent, but I find myself revisiting this one frequently to help improve my own recordings. Thank you.
should have put a nice little before and after in the end... apart from that, great video. come winter, i shall buy a mic and record my acoustic guitar playing for the first time :)
He is absolutely correct in saying that. His playing is out of this world and his processing techniques are too. Loved the tutorial. Many thanks and best wishes.🙏
There is nothing like that feeling of having worked to create a sound and have it really exceed your expectations... and to hear come alive - there's an excitement. That's what he's feeling and that's what he's saying. Can your jelly, it's not about modesty or arrogance.
Or for short: 1. Record with two microphones and eliminate phase-outs 2. EQ (bass cut and treble boost) 3. Compressor (low attack) 4. Panning (Paul likes hard panning to the left and right which I wouldn't do, more like 85% each) 5. Reverb (2.9 miliseconds) (6. little delay) 7. again overall EQ (high-mids or low-treble)
Professional? I am an EIT Engineer specialized in audio amplifier design and application. This is big poop he is doing for a professional level. Might be ok for amateurish stuff, but NO WHERE CLOSE to a professional way of doing it. MATHEMATICS and PHYSICS are huge parts of it. Leaving it out means: amateurism. See here, if you claim to be a professional: www.sengpielaudio.com/Unterlagen01.htm
The definition of intelligent mixing. Very impressive, very natural. Nothing too artsy, just taking those pleasing qualities and enhancing them. Good stuff
"I'm not saying this is the best way" "(This is the best way)" "There is no right or wrong." "(Do not do it like this)" I wonder if anyone else caught onto that haha
The issue with hardpanning like this though is that if you listen to it in mono like on a phone or one of those bluetooth speakers it kinda breaks down. Dan Worrall has a great explanation on how to fix that while still keeping this wide sound in a video called "Headphones Are Not Stereo (mid side phase trickery)"
Good observation. That’s definitely something to consider. However most phones have two speakers nowadays. Even though they are a few inches apart and basically act as a mono source, having separate speakers recreating the stereo information is an improvement over having one speaker do the work. If you do a mix like this hard panned and then do another that is actually a mono mix with the same levels, you’ll notice that the stereo mix doesn’t collapse as much as you’d expect. This is very noticeable on things such as hard panned heavy guitars, even though those are two separate sources. It’s similar to listening to a stereo mix in another room where the speaker spread isn’t as much of a factor. Technology is rapidly changing and improving. Even with those blue tooth speakers. Because of that, I wouldn’t worry much about mono compatibility for listeners on the worst possible systems, and it seems the majority of pro mixers are more concerned with their stereo mix (genre dependent). Having said all that, I’ll contradict myself here and say that I do still try to preserve mono compatibility when I can just as a gut instinct. Doing this same technique but with an x-y pattern instead of a spaced pair might be a nice compromise
@@rawpoweraudio Indeed as you say things are improving there but keeping mono compat is incredibly important and might stay that way forever. You also have to consider live venues, and festivals for example. This likely goes for things like edm mostly, but still. If a DJ plays their track there, people not standing in the middle are going to have a pretty bad time because they'll basically miss half of the sound. This might also happen if they play your music in-between while live bands are switching. Even if you don't make it that big; consider a typical family livingroom where 1 speaker is maybe up on a shelf somewhere and the other one is hidden behind the bookcase or behind the couch or whatever because they care more about the look of their livingroom than a proper stereo image like we have in a studio. This can mean your song will sound very strange to them.
Dude you crack me up. Seriously you have made me really excited about learning guitar, and having fun with it, which I never really was able to do before discovering this channel
One small things that I do additionally to these techniques is to delay one of the acoustic mics a few ms (to taste) to add to the spacial separation. Can help with any accidental phase issues as well.
This video was EXTREMELY HELPFUL for me. I just started out with recording my guitar and didn't know any of this before. This was very helpful. THANK YOU! ♥️
Hi, I'm hoping this comment doesn't come out the wrong way. I'm a full time owner/operator of a recording studio and am just on a quick lunch break and stumbled onto your video. I really like your channel and have just subscribed. I'm glad you've found some strategies that work for you but I spend a lot of time teaching audio to newbies and when a video shows EQ being added because it's what that person normally does or normally likes that's when I have to join the conversation. Imagine watching a cooking video and the chef says, I like to add (or cut) "x" amount of salt and "x" amount of whatever other spices they have in the recipe without tasting the ingredients first as well as along the way. If the bacon is salty and the capers are salty but the chef still says "they like to add a certain amount of salt etc to each dish", well, that literally becomes a recipe for disaster because you will have an overly salty result. To stretch the analogy, Often there are dishes that have no salt added because it's already being added through the ingredients being used. This is the same with microphones and instruments and the rooms the recording is taking place in. All ics allow a certain and differing amount of each frequency to pass through within it's capable range, but at different volume levels (based on the angle of the mic to the instrument (on axis/off axis), the type (ie: condenser, dynamic, ribbon etc), style, brand, make/model, polar pattern, sensitivity etc), Mics should be thought of as EQ's that are placed based on the frequencies you are hoping to include/reduce/remove. The type of EQ does actually make a difference (sometimes a big difference) in how it preserves or causes phase issues when boosted/cut. There is actually a lot more to go into here, but the main reason for my comment is to ask the owner of the channel to use caution when applying "salt to the food" so to speak the same way regardless of the recipe. New strings on a guitar will dramatically affects the perceived volume of various frequencies of the guitar for instance. If the guitar is over a hard floor or soft floor will make a difference in the reflecting off axis information coming back from the room. It is all cumulative and needs to be considered. Panning the mics into the location they will be in the final mix is a great idea to do before ANY EQ or other processing is added, because what and how we perceive audio changes and is dependent on so many things. Use your ears and EQ through placement in the room first and then what the mics are looking at and then EQ after recording is to help move the sound forwards in the speakers or back away from the speakers, combined with volume and any early reflections being added through reverb etc. Hope this at least helps you think about things from another perspective.
I saw an incredible demo once, years ago, where a guy took two matched wide diaphragm mics and set them pointing at each other right along the neck of the guitar - one at the bridge, facing the headstock, and the other at the headstock facing the bridge. It produced a startlingly clear stereo image of the guitar, from the brightness of the bridge, through the sound of the pick on the strings, the sound hole, and across the fretboard. Definitely worth trying out.
This is insane, I've listened to twenty condenser mic videos and none sounds big on my phone speaker, this sounds like a hifi system on my phone!! It's so big, makes all these other 'experts' like newbees
Hey Paul this is awesome content! Love the tips but you should have done this video two weeks ago because my last video was exactly an acoustic recorded with two mics in stereo :) I would love you check it and give me your honest opinion about the sound ;) Cheers
This could have been an expensive “MasterClass” and I’m glad it’s instead FirstClass n Free. Most excellent
You can pass the savings onto buying those expensive mics! Haha
Very true
That reverb panning trick is insane... time to buy another mic and mess with recording acoustic stuff
Yep! Glad he said something about that, I've done it before with my acoustic stuff, especially with reverb going into a delay then panning to the opposite side.
Couldn't you just duplicate the guitar track, mix one differently then pan them? or record the same piece separately, mix them differently then pan? same thing essentially but saves you $$
@@Sam-me5pl Duplicating the same track will only make the volume louder not the stereo image... But if you don't want to buy another mike... Here's a tip for ya...
Record two to five takes of the same guitar through one mic or pickup... One take for original mono lead guitar recording (optional)... Two takes for stereo image, one on the left and another on the right... And another two takes with a Nashville guitar tuning. Also pan them left and right... And you have a nice stereo image and powerful guitar sound.
@@DuskLight What if I have many other instruments tracks? If the guitar part too powerful, would that affect other tracks' mixing?
Jacob Bentley yes, this is a great video for learning how to record acoustics! He gets amazing results!
This is simply the best video on micing and recording acoustic guitar that I have ever seen.
I have tried for years to inform folks that the sound hole on a guitar is not for sound. It's actually an air hole, to prevent sound wave reflections and resulting harmonics from destroying the tone.
Also, the center and apex of sound production on an acoustic guitar is the bridge. Energy radiates out from the bridge through the sound board [top] of the guitar. Not very much energy is reflected by the back, and very little by the neck. Micing near the bridge is a great location, and micing near where the fret board meets the body is another very good location, as it will pick up the higher overtones.
You can see how much louder the input from the bridge mic was in the corresponding wave forms.
The mixing and mastering part of this video is sheer brilliance. The use of selected compression and reverb is awesome, and the EQ balance is equally amazing, as well as the additional tracks to fill out the sound, and make it huge and beautiful.
This short video was like a free lesson on studio set up and recording. Truly well done!
Perihelion77 agree. Baffled why anyone would dislike it!!!
The waveform could simply be larger because the mic preamp was set hotter or the different mic has a hotter output or any number of reasons 🙄
@@officialWWM OK, good point. But I've miced a guitar using an SM 57 at both areas, and the decibels increase as you move away from the neck. The sound comes from the top of the acoustic guitar.
Perihelion77 can't argue with that, I guess that's why it's called the soundboard. The reason most people point the mic at the 12th fret is because that tends to give the most balanced sound.
Perihelion77 @
I’ve been searching for a tutorial like this for almost a year I think. I really respect the fact that you emphasize that people don’t need to have your exact same gear and tools or spend a ton of money to get good results. Thank you!
The before and after, neck 4:05 then bridge 4:14 and the final combination 15:07
This is the best 16 minutes of TH-cam for guitar recording.
Recording acoustic is definitely not an easy or simple task I believe! Really appreciate the advice and look into your gear man, helps out a ton!
RC32 I’m really impressed with the results Paul gets! Some of the best acoustic tones I’ve heard!
@@Producelikeapro I absolutely agree! Definitely knows what he's doing
First, I liked what he was playing (the music). And then I liked it even more after he embellished it.
@@notbraindead7298 Exactly. I think it adds flavor to an already well done playing.
The idea of sending the left side’s reverb to the right, and vice versa, isn’t something i’ve heard other people do, but it was something that i thought to try on one recording a while back. I thought it sounded cool, and now i’m glad to see that someone who knows way more than me suggests doing it too
Paul, that's a real masterclass.
Best tutorial on acoustic guitar recording I've seen - and heard.
Those final touches are amazing. Up until then I was thinking, OK, sounds alright. Then.. Oh man!
Thanks so much!
This mic placement technique is now the only way I'll record my acoustic. The moment I hard-panned each channel I was sold. It sounded like I was in the room standing in front of someone playing the guitar instead of hearing a recording of someone playing the guitar. Thank you, Paul, for this amazing tutorial.
As an ex-sound engineer I can add my approval to your mic positioning and EQ. Back in my analog days the reverb trick was a bit harder but we did try something similar when equipment allowed and it definitely worked, but maybe not as well as you're doing here. Nice ot be taken back to those days - keep up the good work!
I bought myself 2 cheap T-Bone mics and tried this recording tutorial. I was surprised about the awesome result I got. Thank you very much Paul and keep up the great video’s you provide. Love it and so inspiring. Lot’s of New guitar energie for me, thx.
You're like the Bob Ross of guitar
😂 honestly
Happy Little Guitars 😊 but Larger than Life..
i pan slightly left with acoustic from cable, slightly right for mic and use vocals and acoustic
and i double track vocals afterwards [like john lennon] on another track even more slightly left.
room for bass, effects, solo etc on other tracks.
This made me laugh. It's kinda true but not true at the same time.
Chords of Orion is the Bob Ross of guitar
This is, without doubt, the best guitar recording video I've seen. I have tried for years to learn how to simply record guitar and watched countless hours of TH-cam videos of producers explaining things in too much detail so I get overly lost and confused. This breaks it down perfectly. Thank you!
I thought I knew a decent amount about recording and mixing. Turns out, I’m barely even getting started. The difference he made with EQ alone is amazing. Thank you very much for sharing this video, it’s an absolute privilege that we can get this for free on TH-cam. People have charged money for less useful things
Hi Paul, I don’t usually leave comments for videos I watched. But I really wanted to say this video completely changed my acoustic guitar recording’s standard so a massive thank you from Hong Kong for willing to share your knowledge with us! Liked & subscribed, keep up with the good work and God bless you man!
The effort that went into the video is commendable! Thank you so much ❤️
Holy shit, I can’t believe how good the final product sounds! That panning reverb is amazing and I’ll definitely need to give that a try. I’ve been really struggling with how to properly record solo acoustic guitar and this video is SO helpful!
Your Andy McKee 7-14 cover is amazeballs! Comments were turned off on it, otherwise I would've said so there. 3 subs is a crime!
@@melaniepenelope_ Wow, thank you so much! Much appreciated!
The production quality of your videoes is absolutely ridiculously amazing. You somehow manage to be concise and yet thorough, and that's truly inspiring. I can tell a lot of thought and intentionality went into the pre-production, and I really appreciate that :D
This is one of THE most useful recording tutorials I've found, and I've been trawling the web for weeks! THANK YOU!! I feel like I finally actually know how to record something now. Awesome sound!
I've been mixing and recording (mainly vocals) for 5 years and this video tutorial has given me some really valuable information.
Excellent tutorial.
I’ve been following Pauls journey from the beginning and he’s doing a great job clearing up the clutter. He’s always inspiring me to make better content! Love his style as well!
Even though I've heard of the phase problem, I haven't seen it visualized that easily and effectively like you did it. So that's one thing I'll be thinking of next time.
I would've paid to watch this. Thank you, you're a good man.
My mouth dropped multiple times throughout this video. Such an insightful tutorial! This is absolutely the greatest walk through I have seen on recording guitar and turning the already beautiful sound of that guitar into something breathtaking. By the end of the video, that humble guitar track turned into a cinematic masterpiece. Incredible and inspiring! Thank you!
The way you have expressed this and shared your knowlegde is as clear and enjoyable as your recording technique. Thankyou so much!
I use a matched pair of small diaphragm condenser mics on a stereo bar in XY configuration, at a 90° angle. This way, I get two (almost) identical sounding tracks which simply give me the stereo space I want. Admittedly, this does not offer the different timbres you get with different mics in different positions, but it completely removes any risk of phase issues without having to worry about the distances between the mics and the instrument. So yeah, I just learnt something new. 😃 Instead of the hard-panning trick, I usually record the same track twice (or use the two best takes of any recording loop) to pan these almost (but not quite) hard left and right to add more depth to the guitar. This also works great for electric guitar.
Thanks a lot Paul!
Amazing video!
Regards from Portugal!
Brilliant! What a GREAT way to demonstrate the phase issues.... so simple, yet perfect.
I had the exact same comment. Very practical and relateable demonstratoin
Thanks for a great walkthrough on this topic! As a music producer and a cinematographer myself I also enjoyed the framing of your camera shots. Great job! You really thought this through and covered it all in one video ❤
Hi Paul, thanks for this video, I used it to record Hallelujah yesterday to share with my family in Australia (I live in Switzerland) on my father’s passing. It made my ordinary playing sound much better and the result was much appreciated. Cheers !
Really brilliant. I’m so grateful that you are generously sharing these secret tips with us. ❤️
Hi Paul, I hope you're well! I could hear the low EQ on my Lap Top speakers! Haha Have a marvellous time!
yes me too!
I could hear it on my bluetooth earphones. Was kinda surprised actually as they're not reall that great. Couldn't really hear a big difference between the eq and non eq though. That also surprised me.
@@lucaguerrinimusic that's amazing to hear! Yes, Paul did a wonderful job! In Germany he said to me I don't do anything special! I believe this is pretty special!
@@WillayG yes, he did a great job! Very impressive!!
@@Producelikeapro *marvelously well 😁
Truly inspirational Paul. Really enjoy seeing what you do and the sheer level of professionalism you bring to creating music. A joy to watch, thank you!
Paul, you are like a ZIP file, not to flashy at first glance but once opened up, I find more tutorials of yours that make you stand out from the crowd in regards to teaching music. I believe you will become more stellar on TH-cam as time goes by. Thank you for your videos and being my guitar teacher. My life has opened up more possibilities with your channel. BRAVO !!
Can't believe how much effort is done for making a record beautiful.
Depending on how much money you have to spend (unless you are DIY), it can go on pretty much endlessly. A good sound engineer is worth their weight in gold and then some.
That reverb trick is amazing, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom :)
We all know that paul recorded this video only to show his new guitar once again
I's like to know what it is - the model
I didn't. Thx for pointing it out though! :-)
nope he did it to show that no matter how he explains his technique, it all boils down to his innate talent to determine what sounds good and not. in the end, you still end up sending your projects to him for mixing lol
Never taught of recording myself but I really enjoyed watching and defenitly learned new things :)
Hey NICE ONE Paul. I have owned a recording studio in England for many years and when I watch your videos, you remind me what i'm doing wrong when I drift into not recording things right again (like we all do over time). Nice simple techniques, really easy to understand. I have subscribed.
Hey Paul. I just want to take a moment to thank you for the high quality "How To" videos (this one included) that are so well thought out and presented. If I may, I'd like to point out one thing... and ask a question or two.
That thing to point out is "Record Guitar Like A PRO" perhaps should be "Record Steel-sting Acoustic Guitar Like a PRO". It goes without saying that recording electric guitar would be an entirely different animal, but also it's important to note that the tones (for better or worse) between steel and nylon stringed guitars (and most notably editing/mixing of the tracks) will vary widely between these two basic types of guitars.
The biggest difference being that (generally speaking) those playing nylon stringed guitars are usually going for a very rich, full, clean and clear sound, rather than the steel-string friendly techniques you describe. In other words, what sounds "big and wonderful" greatly varies widely between the two types of guitars (with both sounds being great.)
Would you consider doing a future video specifically on obtaining a warm and clear sound from a nylon stringed instrument? That would include, of course, not only the physical recording of the instrument, but also the editing/mixing. (For example, I suspect that if any reverb is used at all, it should be as light as a butterfly with sore feet landing on a leaf.
Just as a sample of what I would consider a very good example of nylon string recording, here is a video I recently came across of a talented Russian guitarist Nadja Kossinskaja. Not only is her playing flawless, but whoever recorded/mixed her tracks (be it her herself or a studio), really nailed the beautiful tone of her instrument. It's getting a similar tone that I would love to figure out. (My recordings always seem to have a "computer-ish" sound to them.)
Here is a sample of her marvelous tone: th-cam.com/video/2DfwWkOfTi0/w-d-xo.html
Do you have any tips on obtaining this full, rich, and clean sound on a nylon instrument?
Keep up the great work! 🎸
8:29 - 8:35 Thanks for this part. I'm totally new when it comes to equalizing my songs and well all your advices are good so far but this sentence explains a lot to me.
Beautiful! That guitar sounds gorgeous to start off with, and the recordings and mix are just wonderful.
What a fantastic video!
14:11 put it on spotify please. It sounds awesome!
Paweł Dutkiewicz what’s that songs name? Any tabs?
@@Ghostflasher Unfortunately, no but i think it's futther part of this: th-cam.com/video/Z3jhVHqd67g/w-d-xo.html
Reminds me of "of monsters and men - dirty paws"
I have been home studioing for a while now and something clicked after watching. feel like i understanding my goal with EQing now
good gosh man, that panning thing is magic, i can't beleive i never thought of doing that
This is my third time going through this video. There is a lot of good info here. Been wanting to do recording for several years and can finally afford the equipment. Don't want a astronomical studio. I just want to do acoustic guitar tracks and do electric guitar with modeling software. His gear is way out of my budget.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I was most fascinated with your opposite reverb panning method, I will definitely try this technique on my next project😊
So, like, he pans the neck and bridge tracks hard left and hard right, creating a spacious stereo image. He also applies reverb to add ambiance. A unique trick he shares involves sending the neck mic to the right speaker's reverb and the bridge mic to the left speaker's reverb, creating a surreal, larger-than-life effect. He uses a compressor and EQ on the reverb bus to control the overall sound.
the guitars really triggered a smile when they got hard panned and you let it play. it just sounds so good, omg
Understanding the phase difference thing was a revelation! Thanks Paul!
this is a beautifully sounding guitar recording! In fact, so simple when you know what to do... Thank you so much for sharing these little secrets
Golden tip - Always check the tuning of your Guitar just before you press the Record button. 🔊
Very thorough tutorial. Glad to seem I'm doing pretty much the same thing. I've been using cla unplugged which has two reverbs so you kinda get that effect minus the pan. But will try your suggestion also.
Keep up the great work dude.
LOL, maybe the funniest guitar lesson intro ever at 0:22: "I'm not saying that this is the best way" [then cuts to video with Paul saying "this is the best way"]. "There is no right or wrong" [then cuts to video with Paul saying "don't do it this way"]. Paul, love your humor and of course your classes, especially your Intermediate paid class, which is fun and incredibly helpful.
I did mic and direct and still sounded so big, can`t wait to have another mic to do it again! This a great tutorial.
Sounds beautiful as always. Thanks for the insight!
I’m using pair of pencil mic as well when recording but I only do some basic mixing. This video is very helpful and it gave me a lot of ideas. Time to unleash my mic’s full potential. Lol. Thank you!
You could be a professor !
Man u r awesome! Keep It Up!
He was. He resigned and went full time in youtube.
This is one of the most helpful videos you've posted. All your videos are excellent, but I find myself revisiting this one frequently to help improve my own recordings. Thank you.
Thanks!
I have to get my sound together at my recordings, thanks for sharing this tips man 👍
"I'm not saying this is the best way."
"This is the best way."
😂😂
should have put a nice little before and after in the end... apart from that, great video. come winter, i shall buy a mic and record my acoustic guitar playing for the first time :)
Thanks a lot! I did not understand the phase issue until this!!! (and came back to learn this again 3 year after!) Thanks!
That reverb trick is so sick!! Never seen anyone before do it!!
*listens to his own playing*
"This sounds otherworldly great"
I love your modesty 😂
He is absolutely correct in saying that. His playing is out of this world and his processing techniques are too.
Loved the tutorial. Many thanks and best wishes.🙏
Its the TONE silly....
There is nothing like that feeling of having worked to create a sound and have it really exceed your expectations... and to hear come alive - there's an excitement. That's what he's feeling and that's what he's saying.
Can your jelly, it's not about modesty or arrogance.
Or for short:
1. Record with two microphones and eliminate phase-outs
2. EQ (bass cut and treble boost)
3. Compressor (low attack)
4. Panning (Paul likes hard panning to the left and right which I wouldn't do, more like 85% each)
5. Reverb (2.9 miliseconds)
(6. little delay)
7. again overall EQ (high-mids or low-treble)
Awesome
Try pointing a cheap SM57 at the lower right of the guitar body, amazing.
Doesn’t capture enough of the detail of the sound. I like an SM57 for recording an amp, not an acoustic.
This is probably one of the most helpful recording videos I’ve seen.
15:32 "Plz like" -> I will definitely do that, thank you for an amazing tutorial Paul, all the best.
Very useful advices for those like me who can record, but every day with different results... :)
I’m a professional sound designer and I learned several things from this video! Incredible teaching and demonstration.
Professional? I am an EIT Engineer specialized in audio amplifier design and application. This is big poop he is doing for a professional level. Might be ok for amateurish stuff, but NO WHERE CLOSE to a professional way of doing it. MATHEMATICS and PHYSICS are huge parts of it. Leaving it out means: amateurism. See here, if you claim to be a professional: www.sengpielaudio.com/Unterlagen01.htm
I've only got the one mic so I have to double up on my tracks but the effect of the subtle differences are amazing. Great video btw
Double tracking the same parts will make your stereo image even W I D E R !!!
Your content is absolutely top notch, educational and understandable easily. You are on of the best and I thank you for you contribution to music.
The definition of intelligent mixing. Very impressive, very natural. Nothing too artsy, just taking those pleasing qualities and enhancing them. Good stuff
"I'm not saying this is the best way"
"(This is the best way)"
"There is no right or wrong."
"(Do not do it like this)"
I wonder if anyone else caught onto that haha
N o o n e e l s e
Haha......Yeah, caught that
I think literally everyone caught onto that
literally everyone
I caught that😂
The issue with hardpanning like this though is that if you listen to it in mono like on a phone or one of those bluetooth speakers it kinda breaks down. Dan Worrall has a great explanation on how to fix that while still keeping this wide sound in a video called "Headphones Are Not Stereo (mid side phase trickery)"
Good observation. That’s definitely something to consider. However most phones have two speakers nowadays. Even though they are a few inches apart and basically act as a mono source, having separate speakers recreating the stereo information is an improvement over having one speaker do the work. If you do a mix like this hard panned and then do another that is actually a mono mix with the same levels, you’ll notice that the stereo mix doesn’t collapse as much as you’d expect. This is very noticeable on things such as hard panned heavy guitars, even though those are two separate sources. It’s similar to listening to a stereo mix in another room where the speaker spread isn’t as much of a factor. Technology is rapidly changing and improving. Even with those blue tooth speakers. Because of that, I wouldn’t worry much about mono compatibility for listeners on the worst possible systems, and it seems the majority of pro mixers are more concerned with their stereo mix (genre dependent). Having said all that, I’ll contradict myself here and say that I do still try to preserve mono compatibility when I can just as a gut instinct. Doing this same technique but with an x-y pattern instead of a spaced pair might be a nice compromise
@@rawpoweraudio Indeed as you say things are improving there but keeping mono compat is incredibly important and might stay that way forever. You also have to consider live venues, and festivals for example. This likely goes for things like edm mostly, but still. If a DJ plays their track there, people not standing in the middle are going to have a pretty bad time because they'll basically miss half of the sound. This might also happen if they play your music in-between while live bands are switching.
Even if you don't make it that big; consider a typical family livingroom where 1 speaker is maybe up on a shelf somewhere and the other one is hidden behind the bookcase or behind the couch or whatever because they care more about the look of their livingroom than a proper stereo image like we have in a studio. This can mean your song will sound very strange to them.
5:03 I really heard "I have a hype-ass filter" and thought "hell yeah dude your filter IS hype"
Some developer needs to name their hp filter this!
Haha! It will forever be known thus!
Dude you crack me up. Seriously you have made me really excited about learning guitar, and having fun with it, which I never really was able to do before discovering this channel
One small things that I do additionally to these techniques is to delay one of the acoustic mics a few ms (to taste) to add to the spacial separation. Can help with any accidental phase issues as well.
Please tell me where you got that jacket 🤷🏼♂️🤓
Me: Aight let me get this setup. (Clicks the amazon links)
Wallet: WTF.
Wtf I just finished buying all my gear for acoustic recordings and now you upload this. Eerie, so coincidental
The guitar gods are helping you
This video was EXTREMELY HELPFUL for me. I just started out with recording my guitar and didn't know any of this before.
This was very helpful.
THANK YOU! ♥️
Hi, I'm hoping this comment doesn't come out the wrong way.
I'm a full time owner/operator of a recording studio and am just on a quick lunch break and stumbled onto your video. I really like your channel and have just subscribed. I'm glad you've found some strategies that work for you but I spend a lot of time teaching audio to newbies and when a video shows EQ being added because it's what that person normally does or normally likes that's when I have to join the conversation.
Imagine watching a cooking video and the chef says, I like to add (or cut) "x" amount of salt and "x" amount of whatever other spices they have in the recipe without tasting the ingredients first as well as along the way.
If the bacon is salty and the capers are salty but the chef still says "they like to add a certain amount of salt etc to each dish", well, that literally becomes a recipe for disaster because you will have an overly salty result. To stretch the analogy, Often there are dishes that have no salt added because it's already being added through the ingredients being used. This is the same with microphones and instruments and the rooms the recording is taking place in.
All ics allow a certain and differing amount of each frequency to pass through within it's capable range, but at different volume levels (based on the angle of the mic to the instrument (on axis/off axis), the type (ie: condenser, dynamic, ribbon etc), style, brand, make/model, polar pattern, sensitivity etc),
Mics should be thought of as EQ's that are placed based on the frequencies you are hoping to include/reduce/remove. The type of EQ does actually make a difference (sometimes a big difference) in how it preserves or causes phase issues when boosted/cut.
There is actually a lot more to go into here, but the main reason for my comment is to ask the owner of the channel to use caution when applying "salt to the food" so to speak the same way regardless of the recipe. New strings on a guitar will dramatically affects the perceived volume of various frequencies of the guitar for instance. If the guitar is over a hard floor or soft floor will make a difference in the reflecting off axis information coming back from the room. It is all cumulative and needs to be considered. Panning the mics into the location they will be in the final mix is a great idea to do before ANY EQ or other processing is added, because what and how we perceive audio changes and is dependent on so many things. Use your ears and EQ through placement in the room first and then what the mics are looking at and then EQ after recording is to help move the sound forwards in the speakers or back away from the speakers, combined with volume and any early reflections being added through reverb etc.
Hope this at least helps you think about things from another perspective.
5:20 I was listening on my smartphone,ran to get my headphones xD
Are you recording the audio directly to the SD card in the sound design or a DAW and transferring them to the daw?
It seems hes recording directely to the sound design(as its a portable recorder) but you can record directly to any DAW if you have a audio interface.
L
@@endoffate5475 BB VP bi b bibiiiiii
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I NEED to know what you are playing at 3:22!
Yaaaassss
yeees
From what I can tell it's most likely a guitar. You're welcome! 420
Me too! Sounds so damn good.
Try a Dorian scale, may be Dorian E with an Em at the end.
I saw an incredible demo once, years ago, where a guy took two matched wide diaphragm mics and set them pointing at each other right along the neck of the guitar - one at the bridge, facing the headstock, and the other at the headstock facing the bridge. It produced a startlingly clear stereo image of the guitar, from the brightness of the bridge, through the sound of the pick on the strings, the sound hole, and across the fretboard. Definitely worth trying out.
But what about the ring that is behind hands?
This is insane, I've listened to twenty condenser mic videos and none sounds big on my phone speaker, this sounds like a hifi system on my phone!! It's so big, makes all these other 'experts' like newbees
larger than life
Him: "wow that sounds way different!"
Me on my cheap earbuds: 😐
Hey Paul this is awesome content! Love the tips but you should have done this video two weeks ago because my last video was exactly an acoustic recorded with two mics in stereo :) I would love you check it and give me your honest opinion about the sound ;) Cheers
th-cam.com/video/Yk_IlRJa7Bo/w-d-xo.html
Finally, a guitar recording video that is clear and easy to follow. Thanks for the great info!
This foot moving the mic stand trick is worth gold
it's no big secret he is just so darn good period
Man, you need to start a second channel about beard care and maintenance... that is another thing that you seem to do very well.
Did someone else spotted the “Plz like” in the video? Haha I automatically like every video as soon as I click it
Seems so simple but the use of you pushing that left mic away to demonstrate phase issues was brilliant to hear!
Cool. Love all the criss crossing "irregular symmetry". Thanks for the tips/tricks!