PreSonus Studio One "The Acoustic Guitar & Vocal" with Guthrie Thomas

[cfogle100]

Very good and informative tutorial. What is your vocal mic set up that leads you to record two vocal tracks at once? I understand your guitar tracks set up but It's not clear to me how you are doing the vocals.

Thanks,

[GuthrieThomas]

@cfogle100 Hello CF..Thank you for your kind words..I use simple, basic Behringer B-1 condensor mics. I use two. There is no special reason why I use 2 tracks for the vocal and guitar other than as a safey measure backup. But, not required. On my solo work I am recording both the vocal and acoustic at the same time. I only use reverb on the vocal. Thus the guitar will bleed into the vocal picking up a touch of phantom reverb. So, I do not add reverb to the acoustic. Hope this helps. GT

[ThatFreshhKiddd]

GREAT video! Learned so much, but I have one quick question. What is a reverb, and what does it do once you drop it in the vocal track?

[GuthrieThomas]

@ThatFreshhKiddd Evening FK..Reverb is like an Echo chamber of sorts. Any sound is "Sustained" for a period of time of your chosing. To understand how it sounds. Well, place yourself in that Stairwell at college, Not actually an echo, but a broad, wide, sustaining sound of the steps or verbal resonance. Reverb has been the one way that not so great singers can be made to sound larger and better...and has been used on most records by all artists since it was first presented.

[Dymondsongs]

(Im assuming that doubling those tracks just gives it that studio sound with stereo?) thanks for posting those i will look over the other videos you have also!

Thanks

[Dymondsongs]

Guthrie thanks for the info, I really appreciate it, I play mostly all acoustic and am kinda new to Studio one Pro and this will help me a lot because i was trying to plug everything in and just couldn't get a good tone with my Martin;-) I wanted to ask why you choose the vocal and guitar template in the preset because you later deleted it, so are their some presets that remain on those tracks even after you make a new vocal or guitar track? (sounds good by the way)

[GuthrieThomas]

@Dymondsongs Greetings DS..I choose the preset just because it brings up

the two tracks..no particular reason to it since I delete the tracks and start

from scratch. It's just a qick way to open the program, and nothing magical.

No, no part of the deleted tracks remain. Once I have the blank recording track

screen I start from scratch. All my best..GT

[AlphaTangoVictor2450]

Sounds like I need to put a bit more money into my projects... I'm gonna try this tomorrow, and see if it works, if this doesn't work, than I know I've installed something wrong, or didn't instal something. You're right though, I might not have had this problem with the software if they put Vocals + Guitar near the top, haha. Good vid, thank you so much for explaining everything.

[vinman2004]

you sound like jonny cash

[GuthrieThomas]

@vinman2004 Thanks, Vinman..!

[TAGGEDrock]

thank you for the video Guthrie. Im having a problem with recording stereo tracks (drums and vocals). When i record the track, it only plays out of the left headphone, even though it is panned in the very center. Do you know how i might solve this?

[GuthrieThomas]

@TAGGEDrock Hello Tagged..Are you only using one channel for vocal? Is this a real set of drums you are playing while singing..? Or a recorded track and you are just recording vocals..

[jtpublsh]

just curious how you separate your guitar and vocal from each other if you are coming in stereo from the same soundcard input source in studio one? or do you have 4 tracks of guitar and vocals together?

Thanks

[GuthrieThomas]

@jtpublsh Hello James.. I record solo work with 2 Condensor mics set up and record direct, just like when I play live. Only difference, when live, I use 1 condensor mic, and 1 directional mic. I record both tracks at the same time in Stereo just as if I was playing live, Vocal and Guitar. There is no separation. If I want the guitar down and back of the vocal, I move the mic back & away from the guitar. This is called a Live Set Up for recording. I will elaborate in the next post.

[GuthrieThomas]

@jtpublsh If you want a separate track for vocal and guitar, you will have to play the guitar, record it, and then record your vocal on a 2nd pass, or overdub it. You have to be quite good at this to get the end result to sould like you did it live. And, one might have to use a click track to do it. I have been recording 40 yrs, and I do not use click tracks at all.

They are annoying, and the end result sounds exactly like you used a click. The perfect song has never been recorded.

GT

[Mednicoff]

Hi Mr. Thomas. Very informative, and I have the exact same set up (software-wise speaking) as you. I do very basic recordings, also when it comes to reverb I'm not sure I'm getting the results I should.

If you go to my YouTube page, the newest videos I posted, were recorded and edited on Studio One by me. Could you give it a listen, and tell me what I should better myself? I know it needs improvement, and I'm looking up to professionals like you, to help me find the right sound =)

Thank you!!

[GuthrieThomas]

@Mednicoff Hello David..Well, your vocal reverb is very close for a higher end voice. You could add a little more, but very little. Actually, your guitar is what sounds off. This happens when you play an Acoustic Guitar that is plugged in. It no longer sounds acoustic. The guitar sounds "Tinty" Meaning, no low end. You might try a mic on your guitar. Any mic will work for testing. Or, add more bass to your Amp and a little reverb to fatten the guitar up overall.

[GuthrieThomas]

@Mednicoff Also, playing live in a garage or room with metal doors and cinder block walls will cause everything to bounce around the room making for a tinty sound. Sound waves change as they bouce from wall to door to wall. Of course, this is a harder problem to fix as it requires many dozens of egg cartons on a budget cost wise. A sound cube, or baffles as they are known, can be set up as a little box room to sit in and would work far better. Hope this helps, All my best..GT

[GuthrieThomas]

@Mednicoff Lastly David, you may want to get yourself a Strat, or Telecaster, or a copy of either, and try Electric guitar with the chord porgressions you use. Bar chords rarely sound good on acoustic guitars unless you have extrmemly low action and very thin strings. Also, if that isn't an option. Try adding the Guitar Rig, 4 or 5, that comes with Studio One Pro to the acoustic. There are many effects on guitar rig to experiment with an acoustic as well as electric guitars. GT

[Mednicoff]

@GuthrieThomas It seems I have some work to do! Thank you so much!!

[littletingoddess96]

hey mr. Thomas, i have NO EFFING CLUE what i am doing. SO artist (the one i have) is complicated for me. all i want to do is plug in my PreSonus audiobox, plug in my electric guitar and record it. that's all! i just have no idea what to do because other programs i have used, you didn't need to map out shit like channels and whatnot. if you could just PM me or comment back to me on how to do that it'll be much appreciated ---- littletin

[GuthrieThomas]

@littletingoddess96 Hi..Once you have Studio One Artist open in screen. Plug your guitar into either input on the front of the Audio Box. Set one of your channels on the screen to input one or two, and click on the record button on that channel. (Not the record button on the bottom of screen)

you should hear your guitar. If not, click the input button on that track, it will change form input one to input two..One input should be your guitar in your headphones. Hope this helps. GT

[littletingoddess96]

@GuthrieThomas thanks bro it does!!!!! i actually got it all worked out cuz a friend of mine has this program too and is a pro at it. thanks anyway.

[visionfirst1970]

@littletingoddess96 Hello littlegoddess,, I just read your post and can totally relate. I bought this presonus for ease of application and for me, I am having the same frustrations. I thought I would tell you that if you have a guitar center store around you somewhere, they have free classes on saturday morns in my area (seattle) for on hand demo on how to use this stuff.

Hope that helps

Thanks guthrie for the tutorial

[littletingoddess96]

@visionfirst1970 wow dude that's fucking awesome! i had no idea. that's too bad though i live in Maine (the state across the entire country from you! lol) and my nearest Guitar center is about a 1 hour drive away in Portladn ME soooooooo yea. i got it figured out pretty well. but thanks, if i need help i'll go there.

[IKjonesBI]

hey i just got this and i can record the music and everything i just cant here it and im so confused and have no idea what im doing. so maybe you have a tip or some knowledge why its not playing any sound?

[GuthrieThomas]

@IKjonesBI Hello Mr. Jones. Do you have the Presonus Audio Box..? And what version, Studio One Artist, or the Studio One Pro Version..? I will be at my computer most of the day, Sunday, and we can probably zero in on the problem. And will await your reply..GT

[billhallsongs]

Great Thanks Guthrie,

That is wondrful information! Bill

[billhallsongs]

HI Guthrie,

I was just curious why you duplicated both your vocal track and your 12 string guitar trackk. you essentially armed 4 tracks...Can ou tell me why you needed to do that. Thanks for the advice.---bill

[GuthrieThomas]

@billhallsongs Hello Bill..If you record duplicate tracks on guitar then you can add a preset or add, say, a guitar rig effect on one track resulting in two guitar sounds. And, an older 1970's trick done with tape speed back then, if you have a program that allows you to, you can save one of the tracks as a wav file, transfer it to a program that you can change the Guitar key creating a harmony guitar, and import it back to SO Pro as a new wav file. Same applies to vocals & all else-GT

[billhallsongs]

Thanks Guthrie. Have a good session! --bill

[billhallsongs]

great thanks Guthrie. I actually usually record that way (XY) true stereo using two rode Nt-5 mics. I do some of my live shows that way too..glad to see someone else do that. When I master, I will sometimes do some multi-band compression to bring the vocal out a bit more. I will check Good morning Midnight" out and thanks -Bill

[GuthrieThomas]

@billhallsongs My pleasure, Bill...Have a good evening..Headin' down to the studio myself tonight..GT

[billhallsongs]

Thank you Guthrie. I was curious how you record live with just the two channels of the audio box since you say you always use two mics for the guitar...... How do you manage the three tracks without overdubbing. thanks

[GuthrieThomas]

@billhallsongs Hello Bill, if you use a pair of good quality condensor mic's, you can position them just in front of your guitar raised higher than normal wherein the mic's are somewhat level with your neck...These mic's will pick up both the guitar and vocal quite equally creating a stereo effect. It is similar to just one mic on guitar and one on vocal and mixed to stereo. I do it this way in some live shows as well. If you watch "Good Morning, Midnight" it is set up this way. GT

[deep4d]

Your videos have been a big help, thank you.

[GuthrieThomas]

@deep4d My pleasure Deep...Thanks for the kind words..GT

[JoseVillaDrums]

I'm having trouble doing a final mixdown of my songs with Studio One Artists,Whenever I go to mixdown to audio file it gives me the options to choose the channels i have recorded and a 2 track return channel, the 2 track return is the default but when I do the digital release there is no sound whenever I open it. However, if i choose one of the channels on the output option it only does a mixdown of that single channel. Please help.

[GuthrieThomas]

@JoseVillaDrums Hello again, Jose..Now that I know you have the Aritist version you can't master the works..so,

you may want to upgrade to Pro. This is your best optionl. Artist version is very limited, and mastering is a must for a decent redition of your recording. You have to be able to adjust the EQ. You can do this on each individual track, but it is not quite the same. Mixing every track down to one track will be the same as a studio, much will get buried in the mix.

[JoseVillaDrums]

@GuthrieThomas Thank you so much for the quick reply! So your pretty much saying that you cant publish your multi track song with Studio One Artist? Dang I'm gonna have to start saving up to get the Pro version. Thank You for the help!

[GuthrieThomas]

@JoseVillaDrums @JoseVillaDrums Morning again, Jose..you can mix a song and then publish a song by using the Mix to Audio under the Song tab..but, you can't mix it down to MP3..uncompressed. You have to go the WAV, FLAC, or AIFF..The Flac you can adjust the Compression to none if you prefer. But, you will need a Flac to Wav/MP3 converter. You can download AUDACITY free to convert. And with Audacity you can adjust your overall EQ also. It works not quite as good a SO PRO

[GuthrieThomas]

@JoseVillaDrums So, Audacity is a quick fix..but, with Artist the sound is never quite the same as you hear when you play back the SO Artist recording. With the SO PRO you can get it close but adjusting overall EQ. But, no transfer, digitall release, Artist or PRO is going to be exactly as you hear it in SO. It's a quirk. We noticed the transfer loss also, but the Mastering EQ solved most of it. Try Audacity. Its free, so you go nothing to lose. Hope this helps.

[baysiderecording]

@JoseVillaDrums no need 2 upgrade 2 Pro. Only difference between the 2 is the absence of the mastering suite in Artist & its inability 2 use 3rd-party plugins. Ur problem with mix down is u may have forgotten 2 click the "Open Marker" icon, which looks like a flag at the top corner of ur studio one window. There's a BEGIN marker & an END marker. Drag the End marker toward the end of ur tracks. Click Mixdown To Audio File from the Song menu, click Between Song Start/End Marker, & then click OK.

[JoseVillaDrums]

Loved the video, very informative! I have a question though. How do you do a digital release of your song after your done? I tried going to mixdown to audio file but whenever I do the mixdown it does'nt do all the channels, the recording sounds totally different. On the output options i have the options of choosing channels 1 to 16 and 2 track release. Its default is on 2 track release. Im not sure what I'm doing wrong. The wav file of the song sounds low compared to when I played it on the DAW.

[GuthrieThomas]

@JoseVillaDrums Hello Jose..are you using Studio One Pro Version. If so, you will want to go to your menu bar..up where the File, Edit, Song..etc is on top...Then click the song tab..look for Add to Project in your drop down menu..

and add the project..this will take you to the mastering page. Now, if you have the "Artist" version you can't do this.

Once at the mastering page..tweek up the EQ a fraction and this will increase the sound quality of the original recording.

[GuthrieThomas]

Hello again, MB..

Well, I don;t know exactly what you mean..What sound card is playing it..and, did you

save it as a MP3 file..If you don;t have a MAC..you can't play a FLAC files..

[MrBrademan]

Thank you for your willingness to help I appreciate that. After being so excited the other day I did a recording and finished and mixed it down so I could record it to CD. Now when I go back and try to play it from where I created, I can see all the tracks and when I push play nothing happens no matter if I try to add another track. Even when I try to create a new song I can create tracks but can't get them to actuall record even though I am pushing the record and monitor buttons.

[GuthrieThomas]

Hello Mr. Brademan...Thank you for your kind words..Much appreciated..if you have a particular question on recording...or questions on your Audio Box..just ask, and I will see if I can walk you thru it...All my best..! Guthrie Thomas

[MrBrademan]

Oh, I am soooo freakinig happy. I just tried your exact sequence and I got my mic to record. I am so happy. I am in a wheelchair, but if not I would be jumping for joy, but I sure am in my mind. I have been trying for a week straight just to get any sound to record at all. And seconds after watching your video it worked like a charm. Thank you so very much. Have a great day, because now I am.

[MrBrademan]

Awesome, I appreciate you posting this. The only thing I wished were different is if you would have actually showed how to record and recorded something and played it back. I have had my audiobox for about a week and have not been able to figure out how to actually get it to record. My voice is very similar to yours and I prefer the acoustic as well so this video was particularly helpful to me for when I actually am able to record, which I am hoping is soon, my patience is dwindling. Thank U

[MrBrademan]

Awesome, I appreciate you posting this. The only thing I wished were different is if you would have actually showed how to record and recorded something and played it back. I have had my audiobox for about a week and have not been able to figure out how to actually get it to record. My voice is very similar to yours and I prefer the acoustic as well so this video was particularly helpful to me for when I actually am able to record, which I am hoping is soon, my patience is dwindling. Thank U

[GuthrieThomas]

Hello Patty...Not sure I know exactly what you mean..But, when you add say,

an effect..Like Reverb..you can hear it, of course, but also if you see the

small arrow on your track..if you click that arrow, the track add's will show and

you will see reverb there..now, this arrow is on the bottom in the mix area

where the faders are on each track..all tracks have this arrow..same applies to some instruments..example if you used

Kore player..Hope this helps..Guthrie

[PattyWhomperOFFICIAL]

how do you know which effect is on which track. i don't see anything change when you add something...

[VictorGl3z]

Hello... your video is very interesting, i enjoyed it... I'm starting to use Studio One, i actually have Studio One artist, but in this version the "Quantize" function doesn't seems to work....Here's the question, is it working on Studio One Pro? have you tested it yet? Thanks for the help!

[GuthrieThomas]

@VictorGl3z Hello Victor..Yes, input Quantize works on our Studio One Pro version..I can't say if it is activated on the Aritist version..Although, since we do not use it

on my work..I can't tell you much about it..There are several Quantize vids here on You Tube which may help..or the Presonus Forum on their website is a good place to find your answer as well...All my best..GT

[VictorGl3z]

@GuthrieThomas Allright, I'll try to do a little research on it, thanks for your quick response, and keep up the good work!

[squidskunk]

good info...thanx...