J100 sounding brittle

E

eddbud

New member
Hey People

Im having problems recording a J100 Gibson Acoustic, im getting a very brittle sound as im having to cut loads of bass around 100hz and lower on the pre. Ive tried different mic positions and mics but to no avail.

Im using AT3035s ( 2 ) and also have access to an SM57. Through Behringer and VST plugin compression. I do play with finger, kind of a Neil Young type heavy hand strumming.

Thanks for any help.

Edd
 
GET RID OF THE COMPRESSION. Get as much of the natural signal on the track as possible. Experiment with two track panning - correct panning can really warm up guitar tracks. Double tracking - playing the same part twice on two tracks - sounds good. Try a little chorus or delay on one of the tracks. Pan left and right. Try a combination of the condenser and the SM57 ( if you have a good preamp - a 57 doesn't sound good on acoustic ( IMO ) on cheap preamps. Maybe you're cutting too much of the lows out. If the recording is mostly acoustic guitar, leave as much of the lows as you can with getting boomy. If you have a dense mix, the tinny sound may not be as bad as you think when mixed. Get rid of the compression! Oh yeah, I already said that. Maybe the guitar sounds brittle naturally? If so, get a better guitar. Just a few thoughts. Hope some are helpful.
 
Thanks

I really like the sound of the guitar, i was just unimpressed by the recordings i did. I have recorded without problems when using a finger style or with a pluctrum, but this certain track needed a very rhythmic pattern and no matter were i postioned the at3035 i had way to much bass, which is why i cut it back on the pre.

I started around the 12th fret area, fairly close to the board, but then moved back due to there being to much bass. Now i have great sounding highs but no bass what so ever.

In terms of the comp i used a very low ratio just to catch any peak, but very subtle. I cant believe its this hard to record a guitar as it seems from a listening point of view ( when others have played it ) that it cant be to hard once a good mic position has been found.
 
You may need a good small diaphragm condenser to get what you want out of that guitar. Have you tried the over the shoulder mic trick yet? One on the neck and one over your shoulder pointed down. Try positioning a mic in front of the soundhole with the diaphragm pointed at the floor ( off-axis placements ). Try one pointed at the back of the guitar. Just keep trying until you get it. The magic combination is there somewhere and you will find it. The comp thing - I just don't like what compression does to acoustic guitar sound. Some people do. I like the natural sound of the guitar. I'm using compression now as little as possible. If the source can be recorded without it, it isn't used. Just a personal preference.
 
Cool

Thanks for your help mate, much appreciated!

Ill try the over the shoulder technique later. Nice one, thanks again.
 
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