Need advice on acoustic clip

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RideTheCrash

RideTheCrash

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I'm working on a song that starts off with an acoustic. I need some advice on getting a better sound out of the track. I think it sounds pretty good but I also think there are probably some frequencies I can roll off, but I'm kind of lost. Anyways, the guitar is being mic'ed by an ECM8000 pointed at the 12th fret. Any suggestions?


(It's just a short clip, if you want a longer one I'll get it up)
 
I personally like the tone very much. It's very bright, and that appeals to me. However, I have heard some good acoustic sounds lately, that are a bit more subdued in the higher frequencies. Is that what you are going for, more of a modern rock sound, maybe to fit better with an electric later? If that's the case, maybe bump the higher freq's down a db or 2 and see how that sounds.
Ed
 
tuneing
intonation

maby a better guitar?


try putting the mic closer to the 14th fret, but i'd just rent another git.
 
Well I don't know what it'll be with just yet, I'm experimenting. Right now I just have a bass and a fuzz organ going with it.

And the other guy, you think it's that bad huh? Mind you I'm a 'fake' guitar player, heh. I'm actually a drummer, so maybe that's it...

The guitar is a "Minstrel" it was made in Canada, who knows how old it is, and it's made of cherry wood. It's a pretty good guitar I think, the neck is a bit thick, my hands have gotten used to it over time. I put strings on like a month ago but they lost the new tone a while ago.
 
the music store here in town will let me rent a nice (not crazynice, but nice)
acu for a couple of days for like 10$ (under 1000$ retail)

i've done business with them for a while, but the point is, it's probably cheaper then you think.
 
Well this is what I have and it's what I'm working with for now...so it's not a great concern of mine, I just want the best sound I can get out of it for now.
 
it sounds good for a modern pop kind of sound. what is it about the sound that you want to change? do you have any other mics to try?
 
Good rhythm but the tone's kind of harsh - like the gtr's being pushed too hard. Sounds to me like there's a nasty resonance around 1300 Hz, and a boomy low end below 200 Hz. I'd retrack it with a gentler touch.

Tim
 
Thanks guys...the tone is probably kind of harsh because I was strumming pretty hard...the chord shapes wear my hands out quick because they are harder on a thicker neck.
(i.e. (low to high) 7 9 9 8 0 0)

The mic was a little to close as well looking back (like...2 inches, heh), so I'll try doing that. That said, the actually track is just scratch, I'm using it to build out the song, but I wanted advice on ways to improve it after recording it or while recording it. Do you think it would be worth trying it with 2 ECM800s? Like over the shoulder? Just wondering because the way I have my stands set up it'd be a pain to bring the mic over to test it out.
 
I just started experimenting with an acoustic today, and I'm getting quite an opposite tone from you. I'm using a Tacoma Olympia dreadnaught with pretty hefty strings (at least for me) and it darkens the sound quite a bit. I'm close miking (about 3-4 inches) with an Audio-Technica ATM-31 pointed towards the hole and positioned at around the 12th fret. The rest of my set-up is complete crap though, so I don't know how well it measures up with a better system. Here's a clip of one of my favorite video game pieces:

http://ironflippy.dmusic.com/

Sorry for the crap recording, I was just experimenting a bit. And yes, I know the reverb is really cheesy.
 
That was some pretty cool playing. Yeah, I'll have to experiment some more, plus I'm also using really light strings, which might be the cause of a brighter tone.
 
My main concern for IronFlippy is the unbearable noise ... imagine that stacked up 24 times to make a track!!! :eek:
 
IronFlippy said:
I just started experimenting with an acoustic today, and I'm getting quite an opposite tone from you. I'm using a Tacoma Olympia dreadnaught with pretty hefty strings (at least for me) and it darkens the sound quite a bit. I'm close miking (about 3-4 inches) with an Audio-Technica ATM-31 pointed towards the hole and positioned at around the 12th fret. The rest of my set-up is complete crap though, so I don't know how well it measures up with a better system. Here's a clip of one of my favorite video game pieces:

http://ironflippy.dmusic.com/

Sorry for the crap recording, I was just experimenting a bit. And yes, I know the reverb is really cheesy.

Other than the background noise, I thought it sounded fine. And, some good playing.
Ed
 
RidetheCrash...I like the tone and sound of that little acoustic piece. I want to aim for a sound kind of like that. What kind of acoustic do you use? And that was mic'd right? Not played through an amp?
 
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