New monitoring setup. Help me out with a balance comment.

[XLR]

I'm using new monitors and room treatment in my control room. Man, it's like starting over... well... but starting over better.

Especially interested in how the lower mids (350-ish Hz) balance out on your system.

An improvisation on nylon string gtrs.

As always, any comments are welcome.

 

[RAMI]

Hey Tim....is this Tim??? if so, when did you change your name to XLR????

Anyway, this is niiiiiiiice. If I had a nit-pick (and only because I'm looking for one), I'd pull the main guitar a little more to the right. Besides that, considering my little knowledge and experience with listening to classical guitar, sounds great to me.

 

[ido1957]

Listening on my earbuds, using WMP sliders, the 250-500 frequencies are a bit loud. When I back them off I get a much clearer, albeit thinner sound. I'll try later on my monitors at home to see if there is any difference.

 

[ido1957]

oh btw nice playing

 

[Supercreep]

Hmmmm....

I'll have to listen again at home to be sure.

The balance sounds good, the guitars sound natural in the mids and low mids.

The only thing bothering me is the noise floor. It could be the system I'm listening on at work - but it sounds a little hissy to me. That's probably just a professional hazard of recording solo instruments, however.


Your consistency and timing are getting better and better, Tim. There are some very very even runs throughout. Thanks for sharing.

 

[CIRO]

Are you , TIM?

Well, and if you are yourself...
Very well played (as usual)
I only will return to home in february, but even with PC speakers what I´m listening now is a noticiable "fatter" and "closer" sound than your previous recordings (less room interaction/reflections, is what I hear now ...are you recording in the same treated room you are mixing?). Sounds sweet.

It seems to me you are using more compression than before (...well, a treated room give us a new perspective of (good) use of compression too).

Congrats

Ciro

www.soundclick.com/openstation

 

[NL5]

Low mids sound fine too me. The hiss is somewhat distracting especially since it fades in and out left and right , swirling, etc..... I'd concentrate on that issue first.

 

[Dogman]

Sounds pretty decent to me...I don't really hear much bad...maybe some extra noise as has been stated already, but the sound of the guitars is quite nice...no boom here.

As far as balance, it sounds like I am facing the stage and they are spread a bit....I hear the rhythm coming more from the left.

Excellent playing as always....

 

[jpw23]

Nice stuff Tim.....nothing to add to what has been posted already

 

[Nicole_Rose]

nicely played.

 

[true-eurt]

Some good Zorro music there Tim...

A carriage moving down the narrow lane, that runs along a stone fence...drawn by two white Steeds with an elderly man at the reins...taking his passenger, a raven haired beauty dressed in charcoal black, away from the Garden of Roses, with it's night blooming jasmine growing along it's spring fed brook...the scents mingling in a heady delight of night air...the formfitting dress reveals of her womanly curves...making for a sensual silhouette against the dusky sky.. the sun nears it's journey beyond her part of the world...a veil of black netting, shadowing her eyes...eyes still dancing with fire as she looks back to see her lover...he standing beneath the wooden arbor laced with white tiny roses, guitar in hand..playing her his song of love until the next time...as the carriage goes around the bend, she closes her eyes ...and listens to the melody of passionate love, now being carried by the wind ...leaving her heart remembering...the same fire that danced in her eyes, was in his too...

Hey Tim....this sounds really nice...did you change anything since last night...? It sounds a bit different to my ears...it sounds like maybe you DID move the more center panned guitar more righty...? I didn't download last night so I can't compare....but from what I hear and what I remember from last night's listening...it is just a tiny bit too right panned and now overshadowing the wonderful pristine plucks you are doing with the left panned guitar...or maybe I am just all confused now... Have I confused now...?

 

[XLR]

Thanks everyone for your comments, especially re low-mids... helpful in getting accustomed to my new monitoring setup. The noise floor on this is high I know... an impromptu recording in my teaching studio with a noisy laptop fan nearby. I used it here because I think it’s typical of the low-mid frequency issues that I so often wrestle with on nylon string gtr.

Rami:

Hey Tim....is this Tim??? if so, when did you change your name to XLR????... I'd pull the main guitar a little more to the right.

Yep. I think a mysterious, cool-sounding name starting with X is much better. So you’d like a little more separation between the melodic gtr and the accompanying part? I often think that adds richness to the overall
effect with classical gtr, though it creates a different soundstage.

Ido1957:

earbuds...250-500 frequencies are a bit loud

]Thanks. I’ll check it out.

Supercreep:

only thing bothering me is the noise floor

I agree. I'm changing my improv setup to only use my "studio A" from now on.

CIRO: [what I´m listening now is a noticiable "fatter" and "closer" sound... more compression than before...] Thanks. yes, very close mic’ing with an MSH1 and running through an RNLA on this one that adds some smoothness.

NL5:

Low mids sound fine too me

Excellent. Thanks.

Dogman:

...no boom here

Excellent again and thanks.

JPW, Nicole: Comments very much appreciated

True - Wow, a beautifully descriptive scene. Nope, no changes in the file. Were you listening on the same sytem each time?

 

[danny.guitar]

Everything sounds well balanced to me on these consumer, run-of-the-mill computer speakers. For whatever that's worth...

 

[Vaquero Verbal]

Hi,

Yeah its too much in the 200-500Hz area, and get a few more Db in the area around 2500-4000. Maybe just cutting away the lowmids will get you the result.

Nice tune and well played !
Dirk

 

[Greg_L]

Hi,

Yeah its too much in the 200-500Hz area, and get a few more Db in the area around 2500-4000. Maybe just cutting away the lowmids will get you the result.

Nice tune and well played !
Dirk

I agree with this guy. Seems like a low-mid cut and a gentle high boost is in order. The hiss is kinda distracting. Makes me second guess what I think I'm hearing. Very nice playing.

 

[ecktronic]

Gave it a master

Heres what I would like it to sound like. Let us know how it sounds on your new monitors.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=10811

I used 2 bands of EQ to cut around 200-450Hz roughly and boosted at 2.9k and 6.4k. I wanted to keep somd of the low mids in there for the warmth. I added a tad of reverb and boosted the EQ on the reverb from about 120Hz down to add more warmth.
I then compressed the louder notes using a high threshold with a ratio of 2.8, quick attack and almost as quick release.
Hope you like.


Its hard to say whether its your new monitors that is the problem (not that there is any big problem) or if this is how you usually mix.

Id listen to some of your songs (that you mixed on your old monitors) that are of similar style to this song and compare them on your new monitors.

Great playing and great recording and great song!

Eck

 

[ecktronic]

The only thing bothering me is the noise floor.

Yeah I forgot to say about the noise. If you could send me a clip of just the noise (only need a second or 2) then I can get rid of the noise for you pretty easily.
The noise needs to be from both the guitar tracks. So just do a stereo bounce of a few seconds of noise juts before the guitars start playing.

Eck

 

[Incanus]

Hey Tim!!!

Just got a chance to listen (on headphones). I have to agree with what has been said so far--I think they've covered it:

Too much hiss, and maybe just a tad too much low-mids.

I'm not sure a boost of higher frequencies is in order, though. I'd try taming the low-mids first and then see if it may need anything else.

It sounds like compression is making the hiss stand out a little more than it may have otherwise.

Great playing!!!

 

[cmhansen]

Hey Tim,

Have to agree with most of what's been posted here. Don't know that I would cut the low mids to much, if at all though, since I'm not getting any boominess either. A boost around the top could add a little bit of clarity to the piece.

I'm sure when you record again, what ever the hiss is, you'll be able to get rid of it in the recording process. Computer, AC, heater... I have that problem with a couple of my pieces, but have decided to record over instead of EQing it out. I think you lose more than you improve the piece.

As for the reverb put in by ecktronic, don't know that it needs it. To me it starts to get a little muddy. At least to my ears it does. Sorry about that ecktronic. With the same guitar tones competing for the same space, it's pretty hard to keep them separate from one another with the reverb. At least I find it that way when mixing my acoustics.

 

[ecktronic]

Hey Tim,

Have to agree with most of what's been posted here. Don't know that I would cut the low mids to much, if at all though, since I'm not getting any boominess either. A boost around the top could add a little bit of clarity to the piece.

I'm sure when you record again, what ever the hiss is, you'll be able to get rid of it in the recording process. Computer, AC, heater... I have that problem with a couple of my pieces, but have decided to record over instead of EQing it out. I think you lose more than you improve the piece.

As for the reverb put in by ecktronic, don't know that it needs it. To me it starts to get a little muddy. At least to my ears it does. Sorry about that ecktronic. With the same guitar tones competing for the same space, it's pretty hard to keep them separate from one another with the reverb. At least I find it that way when mixing my acoustics.

I took the muddy area out what you are hearing is warmth from the low end.
Cheers for listening though.

Eck