Quality?

  • Thread starter Thread starter zebadee
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zebadee

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I've just got a shure sm57, a midiman audiobuddy mic preamp and a terratec EWX 24/96 soundcard.

I have only tried recording by close micing my guitar amp and playing at lowish volumes and the recordings I got were awful. There sound had no bass and the high end was all messed up. Should I just be playing with my amp at higher volumes to correct this? Should I set teh recording levels higher and use a lower gain setting on the preamp?

Sorry if this is really obvious but I'm totally new to all this recording stuff, but I weas really expecting better quality then this.

Thanks
 
micing a guitar is difficult....but two things are: find the sweet spot for the gain settings on your preamps....and are you getting any noise? record while you don't play a note to find that out...you will be getting some noise, the question is how loud is it? and then the question is, is this causing problems with your sound? if it's not noise, then it's probably mic placement, or the mic. if you can get an acceptable track , then you can process it with plug ins to achieve the desired sound for your track.
 
Are you using the "mic in" or the "line in" on your soundcard? Since you have a preamp you should be using the line in. If you are using the mic in that could be the source of your problem.

If you're already using the line in, then it is probably some combination of your pre-amp settings, gain setting in your windows mixer, and/or mic placement.

What recording software are you using?
 
Help!

I'm using Cooledit 2000 to record and I'm going in to the line in on my card. I have tried all kinds of mic placements and I still get the same problem. I've tried putting the gain on my preamp up and the level in windows down and the other way around and it still happens!!

I've even tried just going from the lineout of my amp and I still get the same problem (but a bit worse).

I'm get hardly any noise at all too so it can't be that.

Any ideas would be really appreciated 'cause after spending almost £400 I should be able to get a better sound that this.
 
if you're going line out of the amp into the soundcard and still getting the unpleasantness, then it is probably the soundcard...i'm not familiar with your card...what type of inputs does it have on it?

i haven't used COOL EDIT, but all recording programs take a bit of setting up, which i'm assuming you've done...
 
Card

The card has 2 analoge ins which are RCA. My preamp has a 1/4" TS out so I'm using a cable with TS on one end and RCA's on the other. Does it matter weather the ins/out are controlled or uncontrolled? because my preamp manuel said something about this...
 
if by 'controlled' you mean balanced, then this shouldn't be an issue.

if you are getting a good sound out of your amp, then it is probably something in the recording chain. the best way to pinpoint the problem is to test each link in the chain. if possible, try out each device with a different setup....the first thing you might want to try is going from your guitar into your pre amp then to the sound card. it isn't much fun doing this, sounds very dry, but it can tell you a lot about your sound....
 
The sound clean is absolutly fine but it's when I try and record distorted stuff I get the problem.

I'll try just going from my guitar into my preamp and see what happens.

Thanks for your help
 
Z,

Make sure your sound is not clipping, turn the volume on the amp up and turn the trim on the input down.


sondriven
 
I've tried every combination of levels and preamp gain and I've made sure there is no clipping and I still get the same problem.

If I go stright in from my guitar through my preamp to my soundcard the sound is fine (through not quite like what I'm getting out my amp) so I don't know what is messing it up.

I'm about to give up and go buy a pod...

Cheers for the ideas so far guys, maybe I'll get my sound engineer friend to look at it.
 
the pod is pretty cool for recording direct, but if you're thinking about getting a pod , try out ReValver, a guitar amp simulation plug in.

http://www.alienconnections.com/downloads.htm

try running the dry guitar tracks you recorded thru ReValver and see how you like it. i am able to play ReValver in real time with CAKEWALK'S SONAR and WDM drivers. ReValver also works as a stand alone program , but i never use it like this.

regarding the problem with recording your amp: have you tried to record any other sound sources with the mic and pre amp?
 
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