Travis Erwin - "Ain't A Rockstar"
Travis Erwin is on Resource Faculty as Guitar & Bass Instructor at Eastern New Mexico University. His skill on guitar, together with his love for his family, brings a very personable character to this piece, as he performs this sudo-cover of the famous "American Pie" by Don McLean. This was the very first recording that I embarked upon.
Mic Technique:
One vocal mic
One guitar mic
One guitar DI
This was tracked in the area of November, 2008, and as it was so long ago, the exact mic details and images are not available. However, this final mix is very recent, as you will see in the Pro Tools screen shots from the mix below.
This was mixed in the image of a solo vocal with stereo-mic'd guitar, even though the actual tracking method involved solo vocal and solo guitar. The already-present differences in the guitar tracks were manipulated and expanded upon to create the image of a wider guitar image. The original recording wasn't stereo, but the tonal differences of the guitar pickup vs. the guitar mic were enough to convincingly create a wider, more dynamic image and complexity to the overall mix.
Mic Technique:
One vocal mic
One guitar mic
One guitar DI
This was tracked in the area of November, 2008, and as it was so long ago, the exact mic details and images are not available. However, this final mix is very recent, as you will see in the Pro Tools screen shots from the mix below.
This was mixed in the image of a solo vocal with stereo-mic'd guitar, even though the actual tracking method involved solo vocal and solo guitar. The already-present differences in the guitar tracks were manipulated and expanded upon to create the image of a wider guitar image. The original recording wasn't stereo, but the tonal differences of the guitar pickup vs. the guitar mic were enough to convincingly create a wider, more dynamic image and complexity to the overall mix.
Listen Here!
SCREEN CAPTURES
This is the overall session. Quite simple, but it serves as a reference and overview of the project as a whole.
These are the 5 plugins used on the solo vocal track. The 5-band EQ applied was primarily to cut some proximity effect induced during recording, as well as boost intelligibility. The 1-band EQ applied was to specifically remove a proprietary tone that was being too prominent during certain lower syllables. The de-esser was in the chain of command before the reverb (which, of course, added room to his voice), and then the whole thing was compressed for dynamic control.
These three plugins were for the Guitar Mic track. Simple, standard techniques. However, notice the compensation required on the EQ for this guitar track. The room acoustics for this track were obviously very terrible for this mic, as there was far too much low-end reverberating throughout the room.
These two plugins were applied to the DI Guitar track. These particular pickups on the guitar's DI were particularly sensitive in the lower end as well, and particularly in the 250-500Hz range, as you'll see.
