Newbie getting too much bass

[WillCart]

Ok, I'm tatally new to recording. I recently bought a new fostex vf 80 ex, that included an mxl 990 mic. Ive been experimenting with multi tracking, but my qaulity just stinks.

For the most part, I play acoustic music, I play a custom cb guitar which for the most part has the same setup and tones as a d-28 Martin. Just getting too much bassiness out of my rythm tracks, Ive adjusted the levels, even tried mic'ing in different places, its just too boomy. Is there any way to take the bass out of this? Laso, Ive played around with the EQ and effect options, yet don't really undertstand what I'm doing yet.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Robert D]

Hi - The prime suspect here is proximity effect. Try moving the mic a bit further back, and about even with the 12th fret, not the soundhole.

Good luck - RD

 

[scrubs]

Martins do tend to have a very full sound. Like Robert D said, you need to move the mic further up the neck, away from the soundhole. Start at the neck/body junction, and try angling the capsule slightly up the fretboard (like 15-30 degrees). You might even try putting the mic over your right shoulder (if you're right handed) and angling it down toward the bridge. This should give you a sound closer to what you're hearing in the room, since the mic is placed closer to your ear.

 

[Zaphod B]

Ditto what others have said about mic placement. When I X-Y my Martin D-28, the mic pointing at the large part of the dreadnought body sounds very bottom-heavy.

 

[up-fiddler]

Martins are notorious for boomy when miked. What everyone else said. A question though; are you mixing/recording through headphones? That tends to make us place a bit more bass in the mix. jm$.02, Dave.

 

[WillCart]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll have to try that. BTW Up Fiddler, I havent even got to much mixing yet, just the tracking itself is pretty boomy, headphones or moniters.

 

[Nick98338]

Yea.. what the others said. Rosewood body guitars are very boomy. Boomy on stage.. boomy when recording. That's why I got a mahogany Martin. Another mic option might be, believe it or not, the backside of the guitar. I've experimented with this idea lately. Maybe give it a try. Let us know what you think about it. I'm undecided about it, so far.

 

[MessianicDreams]

try routing it through a high-pass filter?

 

[WillCart]

I tried mic'ing up the neck, and that helped tremendously. Now if I can get the dog to shut up ill be cooking! Thanks alot fellows!

 

[reshp1]

I sometimes cover up the soundhole when I'm having trouble controlling the boom, when mic positioning and all else fails. You can get a ready made soundhole cover, but I usually just rig up a piece of cardboard. The guitar is a little quieter, but more balanced sounding.

 

[WillCart]

Yea.. what the others said. Rosewood body guitars are very boomy. Boomy on stage.. boomy when recording. That's why I got a mahogany Martin. Another mic option might be, believe it or not, the backside of the guitar. I've experimented with this idea lately. Maybe give it a try. Let us know what you think about it. I'm undecided about it, so far.

Nick,

My Guitars back and sides are made from brazilian cherry. I Love it becuase live, it sounds alot closer to mahogony than rosewood, a little boom and a lot of snap. But recording, it's just as boomy if not worse than rosewood.

 

[notbradsohner]

is the room treated?

 

[Nick98338]

Nick,

My Guitars back and sides are made from brazilian cherry. I Love it becuase live, it sounds alot closer to mahogony than rosewood, a little boom and a lot of snap. But recording, it's just as boomy if not worse than rosewood.

Ah... Prunus Serotina... Really dense, hard. Never owned one, myself. I've heard cherry makes a good tone wood. Boomy, you say. Yea, that makes sense. If you figure out a way to control it in front of a mic., let me know will ya?

 

[WillCart]

Ah... Prunus Serotina... Really dense, hard. Never owned one, myself. I've heard cherry makes a good tone wood. Boomy, you say. Yea, that makes sense. If you figure out a way to control it in front of a mic., let me know will ya?

This is a Chris Bozung Custom Guitar that i bought 5 years ago. All of the specs are pretty much like the d-28. It's a bluegrass cannon, and for this type of (live) music, it's awesome for volume, which is a necessity to compete with the loud ringing banjo. This is really my first attempt at trying to record with it, and it makes things more complicated. Playing live I typically lay off the Mic while playing rythem. On the lead parts, I typically position it where the Mic is between the soundhole and fret board, but toward the top part of the guitar (hope I explained that right).

I have always used medium gauge strings (lately elixirs), but in attempt to take more boom out I tried light gauge the other day, but its just not the same.

AS far as recording, which Im still trying to tweak, my best success with it has been to place the mic over the 12th fret, with the mic slanted upwards on the neck. I keep the levels fairly low on my rythem tracks, and the results are pretty good, but i'm still working on it.