Home recordings sounding like crap...for the love of god please help!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dananlayleigh
  • Start date Start date
D

Dananlayleigh

New member
Ok, to make this short and sweet.

I'm trying to recording some stuff on my computer. When I attempt to record the guitars they either sound like they're in a box, WAY too scratchy and unclear, or there's just no life to it whatsoever.

I play metal and from what I can tell it's pretty difficult to get it to sound right. I've messed with the EQ billions of times and I just can't get it to sound right. I've tried everything I can think of.

My only conclusion is that I need to get a decent mic and not some walmart mic.

Could a better mic be my answer or would I need to just tweek my sound coming out of the speaker before I mess with mic's?

Please someone give me some advice. I'm not looking for top of the line...but somewhere close. I'm too much of a perfectionist to have it sound like such crap...

Thanks,
Danny
 
Dananlayleigh said:
My only conclusion is that I need to get a decent mic and not some walmart mic.
Click to expand...
That's a good conclusion.... also get your amp sounding right in the room before you try to mic it.... use mic placement instead of EQ to get the sound you want (after getting the amp in the room to sound good)....

I suggest a Shure SM57 with a decent preamp as a good place to start.........
 
Good advice on the 57 and preamp. You won't outgrow the 57.
 
What kind of amp are you using? What kind of recording setup?
 
What are you using to listen to the guitar as you tweak it? Headphones? Home stereo speakers? PC speakers?

If you are using any of the above, then that's why your guitars sound boxy. Those speakers are de-emphasizing the mid-range, forcing you to overcompensate the sound by boosting the mids. You need to tweak your sounds through nearfield monitors.

Get a mic and preamp as Blue Bear suggests, and if you have extra cash then get a pair of nearfields (assuming you don't have them already). If you don't have enough cash, then get the mic and preamp first, and in the meantime, experiment like crazy with mic placement. Keep the EQ out of the recording, and if you are recording through a mixer, keep the settings flat.

Cy
 
Well as far as equipment goes I'm using a Marshall combo, Fernandes revolver elite with EMG-81 pickups. I'm using a Boss Metal Zone for distortion which might be another reason it sounds lifeless.

And I'm using my Computer speakers as "monitors". I have some pretty good pioneer speakers with high's, mid's, and a woofer in the living room. It would probably sound more accurate if I lugged all that crap to the computer huh?

And just out of curiousity. What exactly would the preamp do? Would it just boost my signal in volume or does it send a cleaner signal all together. I haven't gotten into preamps very much...probably because I don't know crap about 'em huh. *S*

Well I thank y'all for responding so quickly....it's very appreciated...

Thanks,
Danny
 
You never did mention exactly what your recording path is - are you taking a line output from the Marshall directly into the line input of a computer soundcard, or are you using a $6 computer mic into the mic input on a soundcard? What?

BTW, if you're doing EITHER of the above, the main function of a preamp (ANY preamp) would be to boost the level of signal from whatever mic you're using so that you DON'T have to use the (crappy) preamp that's built in to the sound card.

Let us know EXACTLY what you are doing when you record - makes it much easier to suggest improvements... Steve
 
Uh Yea i believe a at least decent mic would do u some justice. i walmart mic would be a major factor in sh1tty sound. also the environment u are recording in can affect your work. uh another can be your pc and its soundcard. try going to your local music store, sam ash or sumthing, and buy a good mic, u can ask a salesperson there or sumthing for help. :|-| hope that helped
 
I've tried 2 different ways to record the guitars. I've tried with the walmart mic going straight to the soundcard mic input. And I've tried just going from the amp directly to the soundcard and that sounded even worse....way too staticy sounding.

And about the preamp....whether the signal is weaker or stronger...if you can boost up the volume on it later what does it matter?

Or is it that you're actually losing some of the signal?

I'm still kinda confused about all that.

Thanks,
Danny
 
Because if you don't have enough signal to begin with, all you'll be adding is noise when you "crank it up" later.

It's called gain structuring to get the best signal to noise ratio out of your equipment. It is vital to producing a good track and cannot be emphasized enough. Next to mic placement, this is probably the most important aspect of a good sounding track.

Besides having decent equipment to start with.
 
Hi Danny,

I use a 100 watt all tube Marshall JCM 900. Tried micing and
direct out recording as you did. I like the direct out method
better than a distortion stompbox straight to a mixer. I like
direct recording so much I think there is no bad distortion tone
really if you know where you want to use them in context of a song. There is no good or bad, just different ways to get
distortion. I like them all. off course I like some better than others.

The problem with recording the distortion is noise. So what I do is
record the distortion cranked and use plugins to reduce the noise
after recording. Careful not to overdo, because the noise reduction can alter the tone in not a nice way.

I'm still looking for somethiong to kill the noise
before getting recorded. But it seems cranking the gain
generates noise naturally. People use noise gates but
I don't have one. So I let the software do the work.
Hope this helps.
 
* Ditch the Walmart Mic and get an sm57.

* Get a decent mic pre.

* Get a real sound card.

* Go from the mic pre's line out to the sound card's line in using RCA or whatever kind of connection scheme it employs.
 
Shopping with somebody else's money...

Lets assume you are going directly from the mic into the sound card, and that you have a garden variety (but decent) PC. I'll wager you have a Creative Soundblaster card - maybe an SBLive! Value card, if it's not integrated with the motherboard.

If the sound inputs are on one of the expansion slots, then you have a separate card. If they're more to one side of the back of the computer, maybe near the mouse connections and so forth, then the speaker care is probably integrated with the motherboard. Separate cards are better in that you can go shopping for a higher end card (which would be available for maybe a couple hundred bucks) which will be a better fit for this use. The cards that come with computers are targeted to the gaming market; they're impressive and cheap, but are not high fidelity.

Sounds like the simplest, cheapest path for you is to pick up an SM57 mic (about $75 or so) and a simple preamp, like an M-Audio Audio Buddy (about the same price). Run a cable from the preamp output to the LINE IN on the soundcard (avoid the "MIC" jack) and you should have a signal. If you don't, then go to the soundcard software controls (programs / accessories / volume control) to see if you have the line in shut off.

You should have a decent signal (probably registering as two R/L signals) and if you're only doing one track at a time, it'll work.

MF and 8th Street are good price competitive vendors. You can do pretty well on ebay, but make sure you account for shipping charges in calculating a bid. You can go through a lot of fuss there to save five bucks on this stuff.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...5078192725/search/g=home/detail/base_id/53872


http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=8775&Category=Gift_Ideas

While you're at it, why not upgrade to a condenser mic? This is not a substitue for an SM57, mainly because its delicate and not as versatile, but people have found it to be pretty effective for the money. Originally intended to measure room acoustics.

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=2248&Category=Microphones

Or get crazy...

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=11188&Category=Microphones

For replacement sound cards, well, the sky is the limit, but here's a decent "bang for the buck" unit by a well respected company:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=7587&Category=Audio_Interfaces
 
Well it seems pretty clear what I have to do. It sounds like I need the mic the preamp and perhaps a better sound card.

I want to thank all of y'all for all the help. I never expected so many people to respond. I'm really glad I found this site. I've been trying to teach myself all this recording crap by myself. I bought a decent sized book about recording but without being able to get any hands on with any of it....it really did me no good.

So yea, many thanks....

Danny
 
I've been trying to teach myself all this recording crap by myself.
Click to expand...
Don't feel alone. Just about everyone here has had to learn on their own.

Merry Christmas.
 
Basically in a nutshell...

This is coming from a person who used to have the same problem as a guitar player.. trying to get a good sound on recording...

Basically it's like others have mentioned.. you have alot of things messing you up from recording a great guitar sound...

1. Yes, get you a Shure SM-57 and mic stand (small or boom) so you can place the microphone in the right place.. you'll have to read up on this.. but just move the mic for best sound.. in front of one of the speaker cones...

2. Yes, you need a better soundcard.. recordings will sound lifeless if not recorded with a quality soundcard... the A/D converters in cheap soundcards are horrible... I've heard that Sam-Ash has a deal on Delta 1010LT .. for 279 dollars you can get a great soundcard for the price.. it has two very good Mic PreAmps built in it.. or anything from Aardvark, etc.. many great soundcards out there.. just research to find what best fits your needs..

3. Yes, your Boss Metal Zone pedal is half the blame also.. it's a great pedal to use to boost your sound some.. but it doesn't do a very good job of carrying the distortion load... it's not gonna get you an AC/DC guitar tone by no means..

Looking at all this I can honesty say I'd recommend you checking out something along the lines of a Line 6 POD... so you can record directly into your computer with great sound and no hassle to boot.. but that's just me.. maybe you can do better by just buying a microphone and better effects pedal... Either way I think you'll be alot more pleased with your results.. Good Luck
 
Hey Danny, do you have any refference the sound closest to what you're looking for ? Whose the artist, which album, which song, which part ? And/or it would be a good idea if you just post some of your guitar tune, so everyone here can hear how good/bad it was...
;)
 
Well this is a little clip of what the staticy lifeless crap is. The only thing that makes this sound as decent as it does is the hours of trying to save it with the EQ...which I really don't think is normal. I like to think it should sound damn near perfect before it even hits the mic...ya know?

But yea, there's a little bit if you're curious. And I'm using a drum program that has crap for drum sounds...so don't laugh. *S*

Thanks,
Danny
 

Attachments

Oh yea, I forgot to tell you what kind of sound I was looking for.

I like bands such as System of a Down, PanterA, Pissing Razors, so on and so forth. The thing I like most about them is the thickness of the guitar and how much power it has and they overdrive the hell out of it...but there's still clarity. I hate music where you can't just hear the guitars and learn to play it from ear. Like when it's all muddy sounding or staticy. Some people, that's their style...but I don't much care for it.

I just had to go off in my own world for a brief second...sorry.

Thanks,
Danny
 
Hi again Danny,

I heared the clip. Sounds O.K to my ears.
You wanted a Panteraish rythm guitar
and got it. I'm not an expert on that, but
it sounds convincing to me. Doesn't sound like
a Home recording at all. I guess you're a real perfectionist
with such high listening standards. That's quite admirable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top