Recording Challenge: capturing acoustic bands

[FiveMiles]

Hi folks,

My band is about to record our first CD. My current recording rig consists of an iBook G4, MOTU Traveler, and an AKG C414 B large condenser mic.

First of all, we're a stringband trying to duplicate the sounds of bands from the 1920's and 30's. All those old recordings were recorded by a single mic, with no overdubs or effects processing. We'd like to do the same, but with a higher fidelity result. We would also like to do our own mastering (I know, I know! It's like doing home dental surgery!)

We are a three piece band: fiddle, guitar, and banjo/banjo uke/mandolin. We sing three part harmonies.

I've been getting fairly good results so far by simple putting the mic in the middle of the three of us, and switching it to omni. I'm recording with AudioDesk at 24 bit resolution. I've read not to exceed -12 db on the input meter to allow for plenty of headroom in the final mix. I'm recording to a single mono track, then duplicating that track for a fake stereo effect, then bouncing the track to disk for the final export to AIFF.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the sounds of the cuts, however. There seems to be a lack of detail, especially in the guitar and banjo/banjo uke. The violin and vocals sound very good I think (I provide samples of the sound below).

I'm wondering the following:

1. Is one mic really going to cut it? I was considering buying a matched pair of good small condenser mics to get ambient music from the room. Is there a better way to do the micing given our goals stated above?

2. I'm using very little of the Traveler's preamps. I'm boosting the mic by about +7 to +10. Is the lack of detail in the interface, or just a product of using a single mic. I'm hoping that the Traveler is up to the task of recording our first CD. If it's not, tell me!!

3. We stand about 2 feet from the mic, and the mic is at shoulder height. Should we be closer? Farther? Any suggestions on this point?

I'd like to provide you guys with samples of our recordings. Granted, there is a lot lost when converting to MP3, but I'm hoping these samples will give you an idea of the sound we're getting. I'll provide the link below.

The first two tunes on our site were recorded just a few days ago. The third one was recorded in a large room with lots of ambient noise from several vending machines. The last two were recorded in a professional studio in the Boston area using a vintage C12 valve mic and some ambient mics:

http://www.newhottimes.com/music.htm

Any suggestions and advice would be welcome. We are musicians primarily, and need the technical stuff spelled out plainly. Also, keep in mind that we don't want the super polished pop sound. We are trying to duplicate that live, unvarnished sound of the 20's and 30's without all the scratchy hiss.

Thanks in advance, folks! We could really use the help!

 

[gecko zzed]

I've been recording a four-piece acoustic band recently (roughly fiddle, guitar, banjo, ukele plus vocals), and they were keen to get a natural live sound.

I figured that I would start off simple, and use a pair of LCDs (Rode NT1a) in front to replicate the older style of recording but get a reasonable stereo picture.

They arranged themselves in a rough semicircle around the mikes (about 3 feet away), which were about shoulder height. I got reasonably good results for the instrumentals. With that distance, I was getting a fair bit of room ambience which gave it a good live feel. I need to be convinced though. I think I would prefer a drier sound that I could control later.

For the vocals, though, it was not as satisfactory. The arrangement I had gave me too much instruments, not enough vocal. Okay, I went for Plan B, which was to aim primarily for the vocals, which I did by raising the mike height, getting closer to the players, and added another pair (in effect, giving them a mike each). Well, this got me the vocals I was after, but I then lost control of the instruments. For example, the guitar started sounding boomy.

In the end, what we did was recorded the instruments as we had done before, then track each vocal separately, then mix together. This gave the best results, and allowed me the control to deal with the characteristics of each voice, but it did depart from the 'purity' of what we were trying to achieve.

 

[BigRay]

grab another 414 and setup a blumlein pair...stand in half circle around it. LDCs(like the 414) are perfect for what you are trying to do. The Motu Traveler can be modded here:
also...another really nice "vintage" sounding mic is the copperphone.

www.placidaudio.com

www.blacklionaudio.com

Hi folks,

My band is about to record our first CD. My current recording rig consists of an iBook G4, MOTU Traveler, and an AKG C414 B large condenser mic.

First of all, we're a stringband trying to duplicate the sounds of bands from the 1920's and 30's. All those old recordings were recorded by a single mic, with no overdubs or effects processing. We'd like to do the same, but with a higher fidelity result. We would also like to do our own mastering (I know, I know! It's like doing home dental surgery!)

We are a three piece band: fiddle, guitar, and banjo/banjo uke/mandolin. We sing three part harmonies.

I've been getting fairly good results so far by simple putting the mic in the middle of the three of us, and switching it to omni. I'm recording with AudioDesk at 24 bit resolution. I've read not to exceed -12 db on the input meter to allow for plenty of headroom in the final mix. I'm recording to a single mono track, then duplicating that track for a fake stereo effect, then bouncing the track to disk for the final export to AIFF.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the sounds of the cuts, however. There seems to be a lack of detail, especially in the guitar and banjo/banjo uke. The violin and vocals sound very good I think (I provide samples of the sound below).

I'm wondering the following:

1. Is one mic really going to cut it? I was considering buying a matched pair of good small condenser mics to get ambient music from the room. Is there a better way to do the micing given our goals stated above?

2. I'm using very little of the Traveler's preamps. I'm boosting the mic by about +7 to +10. Is the lack of detail in the interface, or just a product of using a single mic. I'm hoping that the Traveler is up to the task of recording our first CD. If it's not, tell me!!

3. We stand about 2 feet from the mic, and the mic is at shoulder height. Should we be closer? Farther? Any suggestions on this point?

I'd like to provide you guys with samples of our recordings. Granted, there is a lot lost when converting to MP3, but I'm hoping these samples will give you an idea of the sound we're getting. I'll provide the link below.

The first two tunes on our site were recorded just a few days ago. The third one was recorded in a large room with lots of ambient noise from several vending machines. The last two were recorded in a professional studio in the Boston area using a vintage C12 valve mic and some ambient mics:

http://www.newhottimes.com/music.htm

Any suggestions and advice would be welcome. We are musicians primarily, and need the technical stuff spelled out plainly. Also, keep in mind that we don't want the super polished pop sound. We are trying to duplicate that live, unvarnished sound of the 20's and 30's without all the scratchy hiss.

Thanks in advance, folks! We could really use the help!