What SPLS Block Size in REAPER?

"A mackie mixer will not make anything sound 'fuller'" - or "thinner".

I agree with Jay, it does sound like you have a monitoring issue. It could also be a combination of the speakers you are using and the (untreated?) room you are listening in.
 
So, it sounds like the "boomy" part might not be a constant tonal issue but a momentary thump when you make a "P" or "B" sound. The technical term for that is a plosive. Eq can only make that less obnoxious, not eliminate it. The fix is a mesh pop filter. It sounds a bit bright in the 4-8 kHz range.

The guitar is a little thin, like there's nothing below about 500 Hz. That will just take some adjustment to various parameters, starting with the actual tone of the amp, then trying a different mic or a different mic placement. For a combo, or single or twin cabinet, you can try raising it off the floor. I've also heard of people laying an amp on the floor facing straight up. It's trial and error until you find a method that works.

A mixer won't make a huge difference unless something's wrong with it. I've heard great recordings done on Mackie mixers, even the original CR1604. You can certainly find better sounding mixers. I like my Soundcraft GB2R better than my old Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro, but it's not really a make or break difference.
 
The proximity effect bass, I have been negating with a HPF. OK, I will use a shelf instead of a cut.

The proximity bass is why it sounds different from listening medium to listening medium. So I cut the bass 80-120hz and it sounds even on all playing devices, car, cel phone, stereo, etc.

Not that is sounds good just even. I figured I was on to something with that. Guitar was HPF'd at 120, the voice was cut at 60? or so.

It is frustrating I want the guitar to sound closer to the radio. It is not a matter of playing skill. It should be easy. I don't get it.
 
Is a SM58 the same as a SM57? I was told they are identical part # on the capsule. The basket was the difference. This true?

The last recording was a sm58 and md421. They were up close not much room can be heard. I played some chords and looped it repeating the same phrase. I moved the microphones all over the front. Didn't try laying the cabinet on its back..If I backed them off the sound gets weak fast.

What room SPL are you recording at?

Thoughts on a gate?
 
The SM57 and SM58 are very similar. The smaller grille on the 57 means you can get closer, which means less bleed and more proximity effect. It also means they're more prone to plosives.

If you're using two mics, check the polarity and the phase. Either/both of those can affect the tone.

I'll record an amp at whatever volume, as long as it sounds good. If a whole band is playing, I'll want volumes to be comparable to minimize bleed. If one instrument is a lot louder, it's likely to bleed into the mics of the other instruments.

Set your tone with the amp facing your head. If a combo is in the normal position on the floor, you're hearing it from way off axis, which means you'll run it bright. Maybe try just tilting it back so you hear the full brightness of the amp, then set the tone accordingly.
 
If pointing a 57/58 at the edge of the dust cap of the speaker, up against the grill, gives you an unusable sound with too much "proximity effect", chances are the guitar sound is the problem...or your monitors.

Concentrate on one mic for now, adding the 421 will add more lows.

You need enough volume to get the speakers to do what you want them to do. Moderate volume should be enough.

If you unscrew the ball end on the 58, it essentially turns into a 57.
 
This really isn't that hard. A 58 placed properly plugged into a preamp of some sort (that isn't broken), plugged into an interface that isn't clipping and you should have a good, usable guitar sound recorded. If that doesn't work, the guitar sound itself is suspect or your monitors are lying to you.
 
Those both sound good to me (with earbuds) but how do they sound to you? The closer the mic is to the coil, the more treble you will get. Try angling the mic slightly. My usual position is about 3" out, 1-2" in from the edge of the cone, angled slightly towards the coil. I will HP at 100 (the curve still gives me plenty of the 80-100 range), and assuming its a mix with lots of other instruments, I will scoop some mids out.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
You're so mean.

Here are some desktop recordings. I doodled a clean guitar and heavy with the SM58 only. No basket. RAW. Is this what you would expect from a 58?



Click to expand...

Holy cow! Those sound great. Most of the distorted guitar tones I use have more low end than that, but those are actually great tones. In a mix with drums and everything, you may need to do some shaping, but there is no reason to high pass either of these sounds.
 
Farview said:
Holy cow! Those sound great.
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Not yet. You can hear dark boomy proximity bass. The highs are not trimmed off either.

These don't have the lows cut off like my other recordings. If I listen to these tracks from device to listening device it is radically different.

Klipsch have a flat setting in the EQ. They should be monitor flat.
 
mjbphotos said:
Those both sound good to me (with earbuds) but how do they sound to you? The closer the mic is to the coil, the more treble you will get. Try angling the mic slightly. My usual position is about 3" out, 1-2" in from the edge of the cone, angled slightly towards the coil. I will HP at 100 (the curve still gives me plenty of the 80-100 range), and assuming its a mix with lots of other instruments, I will scoop some mids out.
Click to expand...
They sound raw.

Now I agree, turning the axis toward the speaker coil is like a direct injection of treble to the sound.

If I turn the mic axis out toward the room, it sounds like crap. My room sound is poor. But angled toward the center of the cabinet, gets it to sizzle.

3" from grill? or speaker?

If i HPF at 150 all that bass is gone. Then again so is all that sound that I probably need for the mix.

In old threads I was told to turn the treble down at the amp. I changed the presence to do this. Like for a room or bar. So my presence is at 1/4. My gain is 1/3 up. Not real loud.
 
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What type of sound are you looking for?

The only thing I would probably do to these recording would be to add a bunch of high shelf at about 8k. There isn't any super low end that needs cutting.

Part of what is missing is context. Everyone has a go-to method for getting great sounds, but it is always shaped by the equipment they use, the sound they are going for, what the rest of the mix sounds like, how many instruments are in the mix, song arrangement, genre, etc...

For example, the clean guitar with vocal thing you did earlier needed the extra low end on the guitar, because there was nothing else in the mix. However, that same guitar tone you got in that recording would work great in a more dense mix with bass, keys and a distorted guitar part or two.

The 'raw' sounding guitar is actually a pretty decent approximation of an EVH tone, nothing wrong with it...unless you are playing country or something.
 
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LazerBeakShiek said:
Not yet. You can hear dark boomy proximity bass. The highs are not trimmed off either.

These don't have the lows cut off like my other recordings. If I listen to these tracks from device to listening device it is radically different.

Klipsch have a flat setting in the EQ. They should be monitor flat.
Click to expand...
Nope, no one else is hearing that boomlness. The 'flat' setting on your Klipsch doesn't mean a flat response, it just means there is Los or hi cut or boost being applied
I a about 3"out from the grill, which is 1/2" from the edge of speaker mount. Mote my mic is near the rim of the speaker when I angle it towards the coil
 
A little eq can clean up the tones in those samples. It's better to have the low end and filter it out than to have too little. I think both could use a little HPF and some shelf cut, nothing extreme.

There's something slightly phasey about the Van Halen sample that doesn't quite match the original. Otherwise, tailoring the low end will bring it closer. A big part of that sound was the reverb.
 
Would you like to make a raw clip with a SM58? Something I could compare to. Strum an A chord. Doesn't need to be nothing mind blowing.

One of the most helpful exercises was looping a few chords and moving the microphone around the cabinet. I could find the best place for a fixed gain setting. Now if I could stretch to the recording interface gain knob too, that would be cool. Its too far. In a week Ill have a laptop again.
 
If I back the SM58 off 3" is it cool to replace the basket? It shouldnt effect the sound, or does it?

Is that the secret? No baskets?
 
Removing the pop filter from a SM58 will change the sound slightly. Less muffled, more prone to picking up vocal plosives. Closer to an SM57, but without the influence of the 57's rather unique pop filter. Your call as to whether or not it's necessary.
 
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