Cello recoding sounds muted

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bradstreet14

New member
This is the first time I've tried recording a cello and I'm not too happy with the results. My setup is a cello with a Realist pickup by David Gage. The cello is plugged into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. I'm recording on the computer with Audacity in mono, 44.1KHz, 32-bit float. The recording sounds muted, almost like I filled the cello with socks or something. There's not much I can change on the audio interface besides the gain so I'm now sure why it's coming out so bad. Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
bradstreet14 said:
This is the first time I've tried recording a cello and I'm not too happy with the results. My setup is a cello with a Realist pickup by David Gage. The cello is plugged into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. I'm recording on the computer with Audacity in mono, 44.1KHz, 32-bit float. The recording sounds muted, almost like I filled the cello with socks or something. There's not much I can change on the audio interface besides the gain so I'm now sure why it's coming out so bad. Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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You can record the cello with both the David Gage piezo pickup and a microphone. If you're in a decent room, the mic sound will probably provide the bulk of the sound you use eventually, but the pickup sound can be mixed in to taste.
 
This..Recording Strings

will surely give some guidance. I would LOVE the opportunity to record cello! It is perhaps my favourite instrument vying for the piano?

Cellos are quite big and I would go stereo CO-I (with ribbons if I had them!) . I cannot easily find out if that pickup is active or not but since it seems to contain a volume control I suspect it is active and thus should perhaps go into a line input on the 2i2?

But how do really good recordings of cello sonatas sound on your reproducing equipment? I ask because many musicians find recordings do not sound the way THEY hear the instrument because they listen from a very strange place!

Dave.
 
bradstreet14 said:
This is the first time I've tried recording a cello and I'm not too happy with the results. My setup is a cello with a Realist pickup by David Gage. The cello is plugged into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. I'm recording on the computer with Audacity in mono, 44.1KHz, 32-bit float. The recording sounds muted, almost like I filled the cello with socks or something. There's not much I can change on the audio interface besides the gain so I'm now sure why it's coming out so bad. Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Knowing how easy it is for even lower end recording gear to represent what its sent, it's likely that's what the p/u is doing. There's a chance the p/u would loose highs if you're not using a high impedance (instrument) input -or a special preamp?
Assuming the p/u is decent it could have an awful lot to do with how and where it's mounted.
Ah I see it's not a cheapie.
I have a friend that we went through two dif very expensive Schertler's on his mando we could never get it to sound not dog awful. (we figured the first one must have been bad, returned it for a second.. What he has now does sound quite nice.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I was able to round up a Sennheiser E835 mic and the recording using the mic sounded a lot cleaner. That seems to indicate that the problem is with the pickup. I'm also going to see if I can get a TS to XLR input so I can go into the XLR input of the Scarlett 2i2. According to the manual there are some differences. Apparently the XLR is automatically configured for a Mic input. There is a switch for LINE/INST that applies to the TS jack. I had it set to INST. I would guess that would be the same as Mic input and would go through the preamp stage. The pickup is NOT active so it would need to go into a MIC or INST input.

Has anyone had any luck recording with the Realist pickup? They're expensive ($200) so I certainly would like to make sure it's working properly. Unfortunately it was actually purchased a year or two ago and this is the first time I've tried using it so I don't know how much luck I'll have getting a replacement.
 
I note that Realist website says: "The Realist's signal need not be run through a pre-amp. Plugged directly into an amp or soundboard, The Realist is easily amplified without sacrificing natural acoustic color. "

This suggests that your use was correct, i.e. setting the input to INST.

I wonder how critical placement of the transducer is. Have you tried different positions?
 
No, I haven't tried different positions. There aren't really a lot of positions to try. The pickup is a little copper element that gets placed between the foot of the bridge and the body of the cello. I actually had it installed by the luthier at the shop where I bought the cello.
 
I just tried replacing the cello with an acoustic guitar and recording with the same setup. That sounded fine which is leading me to believe there might be something wrong with the pickup. I also tried switching to the XLR input and that didn't do much.
 
I've recorded 'cello often. I use a Bragg pickup (on the bass side of the bridge) but I also mic the performance.
The pickup gives me the top end that's a little grainy and harsh. I blend it with a microphone & the results can be quite good.
The pickup gets most unblended use when I want something otherworldly - pumped through an effects processor etc.
Mic selection is up to you but the better the mic & placement the better the result.
Using a bass DI like the Behringer BDI21 works well too. I get a much better, fuller sound.
Stereo mic'ing is an option but, realistically, it's not necessary.
Based on the additional information it does sound like the pickup may be the problem.
 
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Instrument pickups at any price can be nearly as good as a microphone. These things have been around for ages now, and double bass players have very similar under bridge feet versions. If you need isolation and/or volume, then can be very useful, but NEVER sound like a real acoustic cello, in the same way electro-acoustic 6 string guitars don't sound like the real instrument. With EQ, they can be usable, but look at a piano - you can get some excellent microphones for a grand piano - but the best ones involve microphones, perhaps small ones, but still mics. Contact microphones cannot include any of the airborn sound, just the vibrations that generate it. I quite like the double bass ones, very usable sounds - but not like the instrument really sounds like. This cello one appears to have the same basic operational style, and presumably the same potential problems.
 
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