I really think a lot of these early recording terms had something to do with woodstock… they are so damn confusing… i mean High pass, low cut?? Low pass high cut? “Pre delay” for a delayed onset of any effect, then there is delay which also used for echo… someone was smoking something somewhere . For us millennials recording terms are a nightmare.
In all seriousness, as others have mentioned. The acoustics are a major player. Room treatments are key to any recording. With proper treatments in place, a simple recording with a basic mic will sound great. If access to a treated place isnt available, try recording outdoors for minimalism. You will be surprised with the results.
In the two clips in your op, the second guitar has a lot more drive, its been compressed and driven it seems. In your first clip the female vocals are slightly subdued by the guitar. The vocals in the 2nd male version are heavily automated, and significantly eq boosted.
You could experiment with riding the vocals and boosting the consonants slightly to create more power. Cut more lows from the vocals ( you can be quite aggressive with the high pass on her voice ) and Try a bit of dry vocal delay sends along with a small amount of 100% wet reverb. Add a bit of stereo width and panning to the guitar and I think you are good.
Another thing to note is that the 2nd track was likely not recorded live and at the same time as the guitar unlike yours. So it had more flexibility to mix and process. I actually liked your live recorded version tbh good work!
Over in the “what gave you the courage to sing” thread, I posted a Youtube vid I made a few weeks ago, just me and a guitar, in my well-treated room. As you can read in the set of 3 posts there, I did just about nothing but EQ a high-pass and add a little reverb to the track recorded with a single mic. Dunno if I’d call the sound “great” but it ain’t half bad. Thought I’d point to that here, so that the focus can remain on singing in the other thread.
Michelle @FluteCafe makes some really great points here, and the above was something I was going to mention in my reply, but forgot…
If you are determined to record live as a duo together, you really need to practice controlling your guitar volume so as not to overpower the vocals. Even trying different pick thicknesses can make a big difference to the level projecting from your guitar. Experiment to find what works best.
Getting the balance to work live in the room is vital to the success of the finished product, because once those relative signal levels are received by the mic, trying to undo or change that balance is probably only going to result in a deterioration of the sound.
It’s a case of everything is about getting it right at the source.
Yes i have been playing the tracks that @ramshackles provided and it is a lot of work to get a solid feel of the vocals over the guitar. Also I think it would be nice if you put a mic on both vocalists. I know that you are shooting a video so you are trying to keep them hidden but I think it would be better to just go for it and let the mics be in the video to help you with the sound. To me the sound is primary. Anyway that is my 5 cents.
Ok not guitar this time and still work to do to get the natural balance of vox & instrument correct, but its a bit better.
I went for a M/S configuration with a Rode NTR at 90deg giving the sides and a beyerdynamic mc930 for the mid.
It picked up a lot of the room sound of course, but that is the price to pay. Its not an especially nice sounding room, but since it’s there on the recording a decided against any additional 'verb.
Next one we will go back to the guitar and I am determined to work on my natural dynamics and not overpowering her.
Just an aside comment - in general recording like this has been a pretty liberating and motivating experience in terms of actually ‘getting back into’ music. I don’t really spend more than a hour staring and my screen and mixing and all the arrangement is done up front.
I don’t spend any time worrying or thinking about this or that instrument since I’ve committed pretty much to what we can record just together. We’ve already recorded a couple of songs which were written a year ago or more but put aside because I couldn’t come up with an arrangement I liked. It turned out just sitting down and playing them over and over together with an acoustic forced us into a ‘natural’ arrangement (in terms of what to play on the guitar & how to play it). In the end, these are our favourites
. For us millennials recording terms are a nightmare. 
