I Want My Life Back (Advice on getting this to sound better?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter PizzImperfect
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Totally opposing advice... you're going to get that... however, the guitar is interesting. I know you tried to do what I suggested but it didnt come out the way it was intended. The way you record an acoustic guitar depends on what is backing it up. If you have a good bass line in the song, then the acoustic would be recorded by pointing the mic at the 12th fret from only a few inches away up to around a foot or so. If you want a deeper fuller sound, then point the mic at the bridge instead. Record it dry (no effects) and try my suggestion on the results. Experiment with mic position and distance and find something that works. You said your guitar doesn't sound that great at source. Try Elixir acoustic guitar strings. They have several types depending on the warmth or brightness that you prefer. They generally make any guitar sound good...

Products - Acoustic Guitar Strings
 
GuitarLegend said:
Try Elixir acoustic guitar strings. They have several types depending on the warmth or brightness that you prefer. They generally make any guitar sound good...

Products - Acoustic Guitar Strings
Click to expand...

I don't want to start a war of opinion in the OP's thread - I use Elixir strings all the time, but their defining quality is not being a good recording string, it's lasting a long time...

There are so many variables in recording acoustic guitar. If I'm recording using Elixirs it's generally when they've been on the guitar for 3 months and have lost a bit of the top end sheen. If I'm doing a serious recording session rather than a demo, then I'd replace them with something else.

But it all depends on the guitar as well. The OP's guitar sound to me sounds like a relatively cheap guitar that's not miked well, both positionally, and with choice of microphone - now if the sound he's got is the sound he's aiming for then it's perfect - I don't like it much, but whatever, as long as he's happy; but if he's looking for advice on making the tune sound more professional, then as the first thing you hear, I think that acoustic sound is not very good, and I'd work on that before anything else.

YMMV...

It's potentially a really nice song, but it's sounding very "bedroom recording" at the moment.
 
Armistice said:
I don't want to start a war of opinion in the OP's thread - I use Elixir strings all the time, but their defining quality is not being a good recording string, it's lasting a long time...

There are so many variables in recording acoustic guitar. If I'm recording using Elixirs it's generally when they've been on the guitar for 3 months and have lost a bit of the top end sheen. If I'm doing a serious recording session rather than a demo, then I'd replace them with something else.

But it all depends on the guitar as well. The OP's guitar sound to me sounds like a relatively cheap guitar that's not miked well, both positionally, and with choice of microphone - now if the sound he's got is the sound he's aiming for then it's perfect - I don't like it much, but whatever, as long as he's happy; but if he's looking for advice on making the tune sound more professional, then as the first thing you hear, I think that acoustic sound is not very good, and I'd work on that before anything else.

YMMV...

It's potentially a really nice song, but it's sounding very "bedroom recording" at the moment.
Click to expand...

No war of opinions intended - varying opinions are useful. What sounds good to one can sound bad to others, You get that all the time. I can say what has worked for me and pass that on. I don't use Elixir strings for their longevity and replace them as often as any other set, with 3 months being an absolute limit on any of my guitars, acoustic or electric. Elixir has a Polyweb version if you prefer the warmth over the brightness but even so, I prefer to have the brightness that I can EQ down if necessary. I can't add brightness as easily. The recording I submitted here for OP is maybe brighter than I would prefer but it was only to demo a method. I agree with a lot of your assessments on the technicalities of OPs recording. Lets just try to help out
 
Hey GL, I'm helping... I'm aksing him how it's miked so I can perhaps give some advice as to a better position, orientation.

But statements such as "Elixir strings generally make any guitar sound good" aren't helpful because it's just not true. I doubt the sound he's getting is as s result of incorrect string choice - more like cheap guitar, not knowing how where to mic and possibly not having the optimum equipment to do so.

None of which the OP can probably do anything about immediately.

However with a bit more information, perhaps we can steer him to the best solution within his current gear.

OP, I think the pickup sound is better than your miked guitar at the moment, which is really irritatingly thin and trebly... you might be able to do something with remiking in terms of positioning, but I'm guessing this is a sub $200 acoustic and you'll be struggling to ever get anything decent from it.

Now Guitar Legend is trying to be encouraging and I don't have a problem with that, but you'll get a lot of people who you don't know listening to your stuff and you can't really tell who can hear what, and what they know anyway. So there's no more reason to trust what I"m saying, which is not so encouraging, than anyone else.

Listen to your track side by side with a well-recorded acoustic guitar (listen to heatmiser's clip which is somewhere around here) and you'll hear a world of difference.

If, after trying whatever everyone else suggests, you're still struggling with that sound (and I'm assuming here you can even hear what I'm talking about) then start saving for a better guitar if I'm right about what it is.

I'm out of this thread now, so good luck...
 
Let me rephrase for the benefit of the pedant... every guitar to which I have ever fitted Elixir strings has always sounded better to me and to the owner of the guitar, to the point where I consider it a fact and I have never heard a single example that falsifies it. An argumentative statement that it is "just not true" does not falsify it either.

If you prefer a different brand of string then go for it but back up your claim with an alternative that we can all try. I admit I have not tried every brand but I have tried every brand that guitar stores have had on offer. And when they recommend Elixir it might be based on sales requirements and it may be based on professional musician requirements. I think they are impressive and so does everyone else who hears them EXCEPT Armistice... and I will STAY in this thread to hear how the work develops :)
 
Hey guys,

Firstly, thanks again for your informed advice.
You're both right, in multiple ways.. I understand you're both passionate about what you're talking about and a bit of banter in this way I believe is healthy!
If everyone played the same instrument, with the same methods, equipment.. How boring would things get?

So on my track..

Yes, its not a great guitar.
It's an old, shallow Fender electro acoustic.
The strings were changed probably about 4/5 months ago.. but in fairness it hasn't been played very much in that time.. it's seen the most action it has in the time i've had it, for this track.

Mic wise, I only own 1 mic.
Its an AKG D5. I'm a vocalist in a band and I bought it as a good, live vocal mic.
It's got a brilliant top end for vocals.. but it may be having a strange effect on the guitar.
It was positioned pointing at the 12th fret, about 3/4 inches from the neck.

I'm in two-minds over the guitar.. part of me likes the sound I got but I do feel it could be better, more like the sample GL recorded.

It's good to know that GL likes it, and it's healthy to know that Armistice isn't keen and has input.
I'll experiment with it and see what can be done.

The strings i'm also unsure of.. I added them to add a bit more depth and fill a gap in the mix, but I can't quite make up my mind... May they sound a bit too artificial?


Any updates will be posted and thanks for your continued wisdom friends! Please keep it coming, its really helped.

Pizz
 
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Hey Pizz, if you dont mind, I took a crack at your original recording and processed it the way I described... this is the result. I dont think you have a "bad" sounding guitar at all.

The process involved converting the guitar to mono using just one side of the stereo image, in this case the right side as it seemed to be a touch beefier. I normalized that and then compressed it. I then processed the result using two copies of the track EQing one high and the other low and panning them right and left. Then combined the tracks into a stereo track. Here is the result

View attachment orig.mp3
 
Interesting.. So thats the original.. recorded directly?
Sounds good..
The only thing I would say is, I like the stereo wideness that the newest version I did has.. only because everything else seems to sit nice in between.
It just pleases my ears hearing the other instruments drop in the centre.

Really interesting what you've done there though GL, i'll have a good play around with it tonight.
I'll also bring the strings up a little, and make a decision on wether or not to use them.. or try a different sound.

Thanks!

Pizz
 
Oh the stereo width can be adjusted however you want, I was a bit mild on this one just seeing what I could do with your original guitar. We could pan each side as far as you like
 
Thats more what I liked yeah.
Wish I was at home to play around with it now!
I'm wondering how that would sound mixed with the rest of the tune.. Obviously it carries more bass.
I like how it sounds, i'm just wondering how it'll sound with everything else on top.

Thanks GL,


Pizz
 
That was all I could get that was just the guitar by itself. Hope you have fun with the rest of the mix. Looking forward to hearing it :)
 
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