tell me if this sounds good or hurts your ears.

J

jimminy

New member
Hiya, I don't know if this is typically DONE here but...

I'm trying to learn to get the best sound on tape, so to speak, so that I have a good sounding track to work with. So I'm posting a dry track, as I tracked it, of part of an acoustic guitar piece I recently wrote. Maybe its fine the way it is, and I won't wring my hands about whether it sounds 'right'.

I don't have the best stuff, but I do have monitors and some Behringer gear, compressor and preamp. The rooms not so good either so its hard for me to tell if what I got is what I think I got.

I recorded this using my Superlux CM-H8A 1" condensor mic, the preamp, and the compressor (at 3:1, -4db or so). Mic'ed at the 12th fret pointing toward the soundhole. I put a low cut filter on it too, but I don't remember what it was set to cut at. The guitar is a yamaha FG-460SA.

I'm just wondering if the guys who really know what's what will take look at it and tell me what they would do differently to track this. I usually don't know what I'm gonna end up doing with a song at the outset, so its hard to say what I'm really 'going for' sound-wise. I guess just a good track I can do anything I want with.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/dandyrubbishco/singles

ANY help is much appreciated!
 
you definatley got all of it on the track. every note is clear as a bell. There`s an occasional plucked note that peaks out a little, but that might be partially my system. I listen loud. I`m just a guy that dont know much but hangs out and listens to a few tunes, but Id smooth it out just a little with a compressor and gently back a few highs off. cool pickin... :)
 
Wheres the rest of it? A couple of high notes seemed to chime but overall a very descent tone to me. very clear as well. Nice pickin from what I heard:)
 
so what would you do to it? Would you eq the highs down, or compress the whole thing, or possibly compress just the highs, or maybe I shelved too much off the lows...

I tend to like a chimmy acoustic guitar with lots of harmonics, but maybe this is too much. But I also like it have some body.

On the otherhand, if it's good enough, it's good enough. I'd just like to hear it from someone who knows good sound from bad, as I'm not really sure that I do!

Thanks for the input. it definitely helps to know it doesn't sound bad in another room.
 
I'm No Pro

It sounds pretty good...maybe a tad on the middy side for a solo piece, but I like it. If you wanna' be able to use it in "anything," you'll wanna' roll some of the lows off of it.

If this were my track, I'd immediately compress the crap out of it (like 8:1 above -4db) with a long attack so the transients come through. But that's just me.
 
The recording was as clean as a whistle.

I thought it lacked a little at the low end and maybe had a little too much in the mids. Hard for me to tell what's causing it - the mic, preamp, instrument? It's not bad mind you, but for that type of music, I'd go for a warmer tone.
 
It sounds like a good, solid, usable track.

I would save any of the processing you're talking about for later -- wait until you hear it in the context of the mix.
 
This little clip on it's own sounds decent,but a track that sounds good by itself can sound like pure crap in mix.Sounds like a strong enough clean track to work with later in a mix.....just record a whole song and start working on tracks in a "mix" context.
 
groovy, you guys are telling me exactly the sort of stuff I want to know. Thanks.

Kramer, that's been my experience almost every time. I think it sounds fine when I track it, then I put some other stuff in there, and it goes to hell. Then I don't know what's causing the problem, the original track or something I've put in there afterwards. Plus (he says sheepishly) I've usually added a bunch of effects to all the tracks, and then who knows what the hell's going on.

Hmmm, I suppose I could just lay off the effects...but what are the odds I'll do that?!

Again, thanks for checking it out. I'm gonna post a whole song in a minute that you can shred.
 
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