tpbiii Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I posted quite a bit about this over on the UMGF, but because there is some interest here on vintage Hummingbirds and recording in all acoustic environments, I decide to put a bit of it here as well. Many of you will remember that maybe five or six years ago I went to a lot of trouble to put together a audio (and video) system intended to provide faithful recordings of vintage guitar tone -- your mileage may vary because much depends on your local audio playback system of course - but for our system we used the DSP processor on the preamp and lots of analysis tools to make it happen. Then we left it alone -- when you sit where you are suppose to and play one guitar, it does what we wanted. BUT, it was never designed to work with a more complex sound environment -- particularly a lot of loud instruments at once, which can overpower the room and mushy up the sound. But our system is an attractive nuance in a sense because there are no knobs and it is so easy to use -- so you want to record other stuff: vocals; multiple people; bands even. But the model/system/room breaks down, particularly when you bring a bass into the mix. But it ought to work pretty well for simpler stuff that covers the frequency ranges similar to guitars, but whatever happens has to happen in a small space because of the defined microphone geometry and there can be no post processing on individual parts -- the "mix" is acoustic and in the room.. For a long time we have sort of felt guilty that there are no recording of such a large percent of what we do -- not the folk revival stuff of our youth or the bluegrass and tradition stuff we do now. But we are only motivated by situations -- we love to play in public with other players, but not alone sitting in a chair looking at a red light. So most of it has been left undone. Well, we decided to try again. The approach is to go slow and start simple, and then add complexity. Well for us a big part is choosing the right instrument -- and the vintage instruments we use for busking and performing are not the ones that seem to make sense. I started out as a strummer doing 60s folk, and if we use a single guitar then it needs to be matched to the materials. The one that turned out to be best for old strumming songs from the 60s was (oddly) our 1962 Gibson Hummingbird. This is a fine bird as birds go, but it is certainly not prewar paint peeler and it not something that would work in a pumped up bluegrass band -- but such a band would overpower our room/system. And of course it is a folk revival era instrument. Well, we are pleased with this particular combination and are now motivated (finally) to archive our old materials. BUT we are now band/group players -- jammers really -- even when we perform, we basically jam on stage. But once you bring a bass into our room (about 25X25), the room's natural bass boost overpowers the room. So the next step is to do a light band. To deal with the bass issues, my wife went to her 48 1/4 Kay rather than her normal 3/4-7/8 Kay, but even with that we had to roll off the bass end. We did that using low cuts on the two large diaphragm mics that are used in the system and a bit more using an equalizer in post processing. This is still very much BAND LIGHT -- using the Hummingbird for rhythm , the Larson for lead and the 1/4 bass -- so the room is not yet overpowered. Here is an example with Rick Pitts -- the lead guitar player in our bluegrass band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AridV65hIY8 The picture stuff just makes us smile -- we did not start out with that in mind. As far as the recording involved, once we get positioned with the lights on, it is just jamming and we can do that for hours and hours. And that is what we do for fun anyway. What I find pleasing is it is a new and compelling way (for us) to use our instruments in combinations that are not just the blow-you-hair-back scream-on-key of our bluegrass world or the solo/duo folkie stuff we often do -- not that there is anything wrong with them. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Here is some other stuff using the same system. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Tom, I love this, and I love the "string band light". Your lead picker is awfully good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Thanks for sharing. Cool guitars, and you and your wife sing very nicely together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Really enjoyed this - you swing, sing and ring. And again the overall sound seems improved in these cans. Not as brittle as before, which serves not least the Gibson well. Hep for the song-choice also ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Interesting project, nice results, T. As a fan of Gibson slopes, I would think in theory like to thin that a like an SJ or J45 could handle such a setup. Fwiw, I had my J35 as a duo Saturday night. Played and sang while my partner did fills on a D28cw (we shared lead breaks). I don't have a recording to back it up but I thought we were well balanced. Still, the 35 had enough going on to hold its own today in an open (un-mic'd) session with several Martin Ds, a mando and a 12-string. Anyway, not to take away from your thing, Tom. Will look forward to hearing future clips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Interesting project, nice results, T. As a fan of Gibson slopes, I would think in theory like to thin that a like an SJ or J45 could handle such a setup. Fwiw, I had my J35 as a duo Saturday night. Played and sang while my partner did fills on a D28cw (we shared lead breaks). I don't have a recording to back it up but I thought we were well balanced. Still, the 35 had enough going on to hold its own today in an open (un-mic'd) session with several Martin Ds, a mando and a 12-string. Anyway, not to take away from your thing, Tom. Will look forward to hearing future clips. Thanks for the observations. We are going to do another session tomorrow. My issue is I want to try different instruments but I also want to scratch my archive itch too. The other thought is that with the bass, this is just our bluegrass band minus the loud lead instruments -- banjo, mandolin, and occasionally fiddle. I normally modulate down for guitar leads and vocals, and with this set up that is all we have -- so the places I usually crank up the rhythm behind the loud instruments are just missing in this setup. Maybe the old AJ or D-18 would be fine -- there would just me no banjos to kill, so they would be no reason to crank them. I am guessing that it may all work its way out naturally anyway. I'll report back later. All the best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Not just for newbies and greenhorns, but for all watchers/listeners, I think it is important to notice that this vintage 1962 Hummingbird features the very rare and original plastic bridge / rosewooden adjustable saddle combo. These solo Bird-performances offer a very good opportunity to check that concept out. Haven't heard them all yet, but Sloop J. B sounded splendid. P.S. - Now trying to re-find Sloop, but can't. Was it a fatamorgana ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Not just for newbies and greenhorns, but for all watchers/listeners, I think it is important to notice that this vintage 1962 Hummingbird features the very rare and original plastic bridge / rosewooden adjustable saddle combo. These solo Bird-performances offer a very good opportunity to check that concept out. Haven't heard them all yet, but Sloop J. B sounded splendid. P.S. - Now trying to re-find Sloop, but can't. Was it a fatamorgana ? Good point. We love this guitar for the kind of stuff we use to do in the 1960s. Here is some -- we are pretty rusty on these . http://vimeo.com/album/150583/video/152381251 https://vimeo.com/153438465 Best, =Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Here is one more. https://vimeo.com/album/150583/video/152381250 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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