How can I improve my SM57 recording quality? *audio clip*

J

Jsn7821

New member
I recorded a clip to demonstrate the quality im getting...

The first three cords are my LINE IN. The second three are my SM57.


First off, my line in is getting much better of a sound (in my oppinion) than my SM57. You can't tell by the recording, but my amp (vox valvetronix) is cranked up to a decent level when i am recording with the SM57, I wouldn't want it much louder.

Second off, I am getting a MUCH better tone through my amp then I am recorded, which will be very obvious if you listen to the clip. IMO its crap.

What am I doing wrong? I have the SM57 angled towards the cone of the amp, with a decent quality mic line to my mixer, into my delta 1010lt.
 
Jsn7821 said:
What am I doing wrong? I have the SM57 angled towards the cone of the amp, with a decent quality mic line to my mixer, into my delta 1010lt.
Click to expand...

The first chords are obviously line in, it sounds like there is an impedance mismatch too. Sounds bad.

With the 57, it has more balls but loses the high end detail. Try to aim it straight at the center of the cone, that should be a brighter sound. Then just add a little high EQ as necessary.

I have to say the amp tone doesn't sound that great, so work on that too.
 
mshilarious said:
The first chords are obviously line in, it sounds like there is an impedance mismatch too. Sounds bad.

With the 57, it has more balls but loses the high end detail. Try to aim it straight at the center of the cone, that should be a brighter sound. Then just add a little high EQ as necessary.

I have to say the amp tone doesn't sound that great, so work on that too.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what an impedance mismatch is, ill try aiming it more straight on the cone and boosting the high EQ. I will also try taking my amp off the ground, I keep reading this tip but never thought it would help much.

Any other tips besides boosting the highs that I should look for regarding my mixer settings?
 
Jsn7821 said:
I will also try taking my amp off the ground, I keep reading this tip but never thought it would help much.
Click to expand...
It makes a HUGE difference....... there's a reason you keep reading about something, it's because it works.......
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
It makes a HUGE difference....... there's a reason you keep reading about something, it's because it works.......
Click to expand...

How do you get it off the ground? how high up, etc?

I was thinking of just taking a couple small blocks of wood and putting them underneath it to prop it up a few inches, but it would be a little unstable on my carpet. How do most people do this?
 
Jsn7821 said:
How do you get it off the ground?
Click to expand...


My suggestion would be to get someone else to lift it up ... and stand there and hold on to it while you play.

For a cool effect, you could have them jump up and down and swing the amp around. You know ... twirl it around a few times like a ferris wheel.

That's the cheap way of doing it. You can also buy a high end hydraulic amp lifter from Mercenary for like 3,000 bucks ... although I don't think the sound quality is really that much better with them than the DIY method.
 
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chessrock said:
My suggestion would be to get someone else to lift it up ... and stand there and hold on to it while you play.

For a cool effect, you could have them jump up and down and swing the amp around. You know ... twirl it around a few times like a ferris wheel.

That's the cheap way of doing it. You can also buy a high end hydraulic amp lifter from Mercenary for like 3,000 bucks ... although I don't think the sound quality is really that much better with them than the DIY method.
Click to expand...

I found one on e-bay for $1,500 so I think i'm gonna go ahead and get it. Thanks :cool: should be well worth the investment
 
chessrock said:
My suggestion would be to get someone else to lift it up ... and stand there and hold on to it while you play.

For a cool effect, you could have them jump up and down and swing the amp around. You know ... twirl it around a few times like a ferris wheel.

That's the cheap way of doing it. You can also buy a high end hydraulic amp lifter from Mercenary for like 3,000 bucks ... although I don't think the sound quality is really that much better with them than the DIY method.
Click to expand...

Awesome! I am gonna try that. Thanks, chess!!! :rolleyes:
 
Jsn7821 said:
How do you get it off the ground? how high up, etc?

I was thinking of just taking a couple small blocks of wood and putting them underneath it to prop it up a few inches, but it would be a little unstable on my carpet. How do most people do this?
Click to expand...

I've used milk crates. Or, a chair. Or, if you're really a gear snob, get one of those hydraulic lifters. :D
 
Actually, I've heard that the sonic properties of milk crates are far superior than the average chair or bar stool.

Now unless you really want to get laughed at ... never use an end table. Those suck.
 
I used a padded chair for superior isolation. Careful with office chairs though, unless you want a rotary speaker effect that swinging away from the mic is not a good thing ...
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I use Herman Miller crates.... can't beat them for a nice phat, round, tone.....! :p
Click to expand...

You snob! ;) Everyone knows the NADY crates sound every bit as good for 1/5 the price. :D
 
chessrock said:
My suggestion would be to get someone else to lift it up ... and stand there and hold on to it while you play.

For a cool effect, you could have them jump up and down and swing the amp around. You know ... twirl it around a few times like a ferris wheel.

That's the cheap way of doing it. You can also buy a high end hydraulic amp lifter from Mercenary for like 3,000 bucks ... although I don't think the sound quality is really that much better with them than the DIY method.
Click to expand...
LOL!!! Dam! You are a good smartass. :D :D
 
scrubs said:
You snob! ;) Everyone knows the NADY crates sound every bit as good for 1/5 the price. :D
Click to expand...
Oh! Man, I got some Behringer Milk Crates. Do you guys think that's why I'm getting that background noise?
 
fenix said:
you could buy a real microphone instead of messing around with 50 year old technology.
Click to expand...

hahaha...

I guess I never learned how to properly set up the mic preamps and EQ and such, because it seems my recordings are much quieter then they should be... Tips? Links? :cool:
 
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