Condenser Mic Distortion, no clipping?

S

swonsan

New member
Hey guys, first time poster and relatively new to recording/mixing. I recently purchased an Audio Technica AT2035 and Scarlet 2i2 interface. I recorded most of a song but heard a bit of distortion coming from my single acoustic guitar, which is strange because the signal wasn't clipping and it was only around -10dB. I stupidly dropped the damn mic on a chair trying to remove it from the shock mount but I'm not even sure if that's what has caused the problem. The gain on the pre-amp is set to just below 75%(sorry for the nooby description, not sure how else to describe it), and I'm recording about a foot and a few inches away from the mic.

I've attached a rough recording of part of the song. You can really hear the distortion on the chords. What do you think, am I just recording too loud? Is the pre-amp too high? Could the mic actually be damaged from the fall?

Thanks for the input.
 

Attachments

  • Bridges.mp3
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Hi there,
If you signal isn't clipped at the interface LEDs or in the software then it would seem you're safe, that way.
Another way to get an idea is to zoom out and look at the waveform. If the peak are flattened out that's a good indicator that you've tried to exceed zero.
I'd bet they aren't on this recording, though.


I don't really hear distortion.
To be honest, I think it's maybe just how the instrument sounds miked up and it sounds strange to you because you don't usually hear it that way? Could that be true.
There's a good bit of low energy on the main strums. Try playing with a high pass filter, sliding between 80 and 200 hz to see if you hear a difference, and if it helps. :)
 
Steenamaroo said:
I don't really hear distortion.
To be honest, I think it's maybe just how the instrument sounds miked up and it sounds strange to you because you don't usually hear it that way? Could that be true.
There's a good bit of low energy on the main strums. Try playing with a high pass filter, sliding between 80 and 200 hz to see if you hear a difference, and if it helps. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick response! There is definitely no indication of clipping on the interface LED and the waveform has no flat points. I tried out the high pass and it seemed to help just a little bit, but for some strange reason it's still distorted in my DAW and when I render it to a 24-bit WAV file. Listening back to the MP3 track it seems the distortion has quieted down a lot, but the file is about 16 times smaller, which I could only imagine means it's a lower quality sample.

Your comment about the instrument also makes me wonder considering the guitar is only an Ibanez AC-30 and has seen the inside of a trunk at high humidity for hours on end. Not to mention it's taken a hard hit and had a crack in the body and a brace on the inside come unglued. I definitely don't hear whatever it's picking up when I play it to myself but is it possible the mic can hear some type of distortion I don't?
 
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Here's another recording of the same exact setup only it's recorded with a Studio Projects B-1 condenser. I still hear the same type of distortion in my DAW with the different mic. I'm convinced it's either the guitar or my audio interface.
 

Attachments

  • Bridges(1).mp3
    492.7 KB · Views: 27
I'm not hearing distortion either. I am hearing fret buzz on the picking though which, when strumming, could sound like distortion when close mic'ing.

My money is on the guitar. Try not pushing down too hard on the string and pick/strum softer when you record. See if there is a difference. Acoustic's can be assholes to record but sound awesome when you get it right.

:thumbs up:
 
From what's been described, I doubt anything in the recording chain ought to be overloaded -but it sure does pile on on those strums.
Each of the mics have different tone balances, but have the similar trait of..
My guess being a combo of a) mic a bit too close, b) strumming a bit to hard = string buzz (at the top of their dynamic) c) plus the proximity effect and a few nasty resonance peaks in the low/low mids that are already hot' and stick out- let alone when you dig in like that. All that adds up to an 'unexpected or unnatural rendition -in sound and an exaggerated dynamic.

My money is on the guitar. Try not pushing down too hard on the string and pick/strum softer when you record. See if there is a difference. Acoustic's can be assholes to record but sound awesome when you get it right.
Click to expand...
:)

I'm tempted to say try it a little above and to the left of the neck/body joint aiming back at the guitar.
It's a little less 'direct off the face sound, but a little closer to how you hear it while playing.
 
I couldn't hear distortion and there is no obvious clipping in the waveform which seems to show fret buzz rather than distortion. What is the make and model of the guitar?

Low cut filter at about 120 cleans it up somewhat
 
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Another - no distortion heard post, I'm afraid. As others have said a bit sound hole boomy, but no distortion. I know it's stupid sounding, but you don't have anything in the room that's vibrating to resonating do you? As you can still hear it on the different mic and we can't?
 
swonsan said:
Hey guys, first time poster and relatively new to recording/mixing. I recently purchased an Audio Technica AT2035 and Scarlet 2i2 interface. I recorded most of a song but heard a bit of distortion coming from my single acoustic guitar, which is strange because the signal wasn't clipping and it was only around -10dB. I stupidly dropped the damn mic on a chair trying to remove it from the shock mount but I'm not even sure if that's what has caused the problem. The gain on the pre-amp is set to just below 75%(sorry for the nooby description, not sure how else to describe it), and I'm recording about a foot and a few inches away from the mic.

I've attached a rough recording of part of the song. You can really hear the distortion on the chords. What do you think, am I just recording too loud? Is the pre-amp too high? Could the mic actually be damaged from the fall?

Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...
Facing the same issue with AT2020
Distort without clipping
 
Aashish, you'll need to give more information that that. As you can tell from the thread (you did read through the entire thread, right?) the issue appeared to be with the guitar, not the recording gear. What are you recording? If you have a sample, post that as well.

It's impossible to diagnose any issue with a simple statement of "distort without clipping".
 
I don't hear the distortion either... Could it be that it is in your output chain? Blown speaker? Do you hear it on headphones? Do you listen with the volume on 11?
 
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