Recordings sound distant

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fuzzdemon

New member
Hi all hope im in the right section. I have a problem with recordings sounding distant. Ive read similar threads but no solution, some of you were asking the OP to post a clip but they never came back to the thread so I thought id post a clip. Thanks for any help.

Stagg MD1500 mic
charvel charvette guitar
vox valvetronix 60watt amp
nio 2|4 novation audio interface

Amp settings are no reverb, no delay, no effects, medium levels and low master volume. When I add reverb or delay in the mix it makes the guitar even more distant.

The mic is pointing directly at the centre of the speaker and as close as possible, but it doesn't matter where I put it the recordings all sound distant, using EQ helps a bit but adds noise.

edit: I think its a carbioid mic, ive read that these mics dont accept sound from the sides and rear so i tried wrapping the mic in socks and the mic was much much more sensitive, but on playback it was pretty much the same as normal, very frustrating, weeks of playing around and same bland tone.

Also I had the exact same issue when using an SM57 and a Marshall AVT150 last year.
 

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I listen to the sample.

It sounds fine to me. I'm not getting a sense of it sounding distant.

However, I have no idea of the context in which you want to place it or how you want it to sound
 
It'll be interesting hearing more about what you think is 'distant sounding about it? Vs what, or in what way?
Maybe, you mean how it stands up in a mix, where things get masked'. That opens up another whole bunch of things.
 
I think the problem is master volume.
The amp really needs to be loud enough to piss off the neighbours.

My guess is you could comfortably talk over that amp, right?
 
mixsit said:
It'll be interesting hearing more about what you think is 'distant sounding about it? Vs what, or in what way?
Maybe, you mean how it stands up in a mix, where things get masked'. That opens up another whole bunch of things.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I see what you are all asking is what sound im after, good call, I should have said this already sorry, ive learned to play a tune called Time Machine by Satriani after 15 years of failing and I need his tone on that track, if you can be bothered listen to the start of the main guitar, it starts at 1 minute 7 seconds, its a very close fat bassy sound, I even wonder if he played bass along to the guitar to fatten it up? I would be a very happy man if I knew how he gets that, is it just pure quality studio equipment?

volume warning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdHhfhLBZLw
 
Satriani's guitar has heaps of effects on it: there's delay and reverb and who knows what else.

I get that you say your guitar sounds 'distant', but maybe a better word is 'dry'. Start experimenting with effects and see where that gets you.
 
satriani plays real loud.

you need to play real loud.

have a GOOD mic to pic it up (mic is the bottom line here, don't know what the heck a stag mic is, but my bet is that no one would choose that mic to record with.....)

have your levels dialed in.

have your mic position close and exact.

it's not rocket science, but there is a reason satch's tone sounds the way it does,
if you want to cop that tone,
look into his recording path, you may be surprised.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I think the problem is master volume.
The amp really needs to be loud enough to piss off the neighbours.

My guess is you could comfortably talk over that amp, right?
Click to expand...

Yea for sure, I can even whisper lol i tried isolation box even though i was told i must not do it, had to see for myself and the results were pretty good, nice solid sound but it sounded a bit like DI.

gecko zzed said:
Satriani's guitar has heaps of effects on it: there's delay and reverb and who knows what else.



I get that you say your guitar sounds 'distant', but maybe a better word is 'dry'. Start experimenting with effects and see where that gets you.
Click to expand...

GONZO-X said:
satriani plays real loud.

you need to play real loud.

have a GOOD mic to pic it up (mic is the bottom line here, don't know what the heck a stag mic is, but my bet is that no one would choose that mic to record with.....)

have your levels dialed in.

have your mic position close and exact.

it's not rocket science, but there is a reason satch's tone sounds the way it does,
if you want to cop that tone,
look into his recording path, you may be surprised.
Click to expand...

Thanks again guys I think I found a solution but early days yet, i removed the speaker and placed the mic actually touching the speaker cone and im now hearing a much clearer and nicer tone and hearing more of the guitar. Also the bass is there now, it sounded so thin before.

Going to play around more see what happens but so far in the mix its sounding good. I ll get back to you on this, cheers.
 
Damn, its pretty impressive what people can achieve without all that though, but its just not as good, for that drop dead tone youve gotta spend.
 
fuzzdemon said:
I think its a carbioid mic, ive read that these mics dont accept sound from the sides and rear so i tried wrapping the mic in socks and the mic was much much more sensitive, but on playback it was pretty much the same as normal, very frustrating, weeks of playing around and same bland tone.
Click to expand...

Just a heads-up, wrapping the mic in socks, etc. will likely hinder your efforts rather than help. When you do this (or cup a mic on stage with your hands) it essentially changes the pickup pattern and turns it into an omnidirectional mic. The areas that your are blocking off are actually vital in the directionality of the mic by keeping phase under control. It actually causes the mic to pic up equally in all directions, which in your case will pick up more of the room noise. This will likely make it even more "distant" sounding.
 
dudernut said:
Just a heads-up, wrapping the mic in socks, etc. will likely hinder your efforts rather than help. When you do this (or cup a mic on stage with your hands) it essentially changes the pickup pattern and turns it into an omnidirectional mic. The areas that your are blocking off are actually vital in the directionality of the mic by keeping phase under control. It actually causes the mic to pic up equally in all directions, which in your case will pick up more of the room noise. This will likely make it even more "distant" sounding.
Click to expand...

Ok I will try recording in a separate room and do a comparison. Its a bigger room too so that might help, I dunno, im thinking this close mic thing is helping a lot, its allowing me to get a nicer sound from the EQ, still a bit distant sounding though but the mic was a bit offset, need to do more tweaking.
 
I admire the OP's persistence in experimenting with mike placement . . . but it seems a bit back to front to me.

Satriani's sound comes primarily from technique and equipment, not from mike placement. The picture of his amps shows them miked up in an unspectacular way with a pair of unspectacular 57s. There is not a sock in sight.

I think the OP should work on developing the sound until what he hears from the amp with his ears gets close to what he wants. Then mike it up. I think you need the sound first.
 
If you aim the mic toward the center, it will be brighter. As you move the mic towards the edge it gets darker sounding. My starting point is Where the cone meets the dust cap. (the little circle in the middle)
 
gecko zzed said:
I admire the OP's persistence in experimenting with mike placement . . . but it seems a bit back to front to me.

Satriani's sound comes primarily from technique and equipment, not from mike placement. The picture of his amps shows them miked up in an unspectacular way with a pair of unspectacular 57s. There is not a sock in sight.

I think the OP should work on developing the sound until what he hears from the amp with his ears gets close to what he wants. Then mike it up. I think you need the sound first.
Click to expand...

I hear you but this is an education for me, things like socks and tape are part of that process, its taught my ear a lot about how to change the shape of the tone.

Ive gotta say guys I think ive cracked this, placing the mic 1mm from the cone is giving me those lovely deep lows and mids.
 
Yep im familiar with that but even though it sounds different its always been distant as if the pickups are 1 mile away from the strings, now it sound like they are 3mm away.
 
Simply turn the amp up. That'll change the balance between direct sound from the speaker and the reflected sound from the walls/surfaces of the room. The "distant" sound you hear is room reflections, and by simply turning the amp up, the direct sound from the speaker will drown out the room reflections. Also it gets the speaker more involved in the tone. That'll add heft and meat to the sound. And you should probably start saving up the $100 it takes to buy a new SM57.

Like zzed said, it's not rocket science. Get a tone you like from your amp, then stick a mic right up against the grille, about where the dust cap meets the cone (like Farview said), get enough master volume to really get the speaker cooking, and hit record. It'll sound present, dry, and depending on your preferences in tone, nice and clear.
 
Tadpui said:
Simply turn the amp up. That'll change the balance between direct sound from the speaker and the reflected sound from the walls/surfaces of the room. The "distant" sound you hear is room reflections, and by simply turning the amp up, the direct sound from the speaker will drown out the room reflections. Also it gets the speaker more involved in the tone. That'll add heft and meat to the sound. And you should probably start saving up the $100 it takes to buy a new SM57.

Like zzed said, it's not rocket science. Get a tone you like from your amp, then stick a mic right up against the grille, about where the dust cap meets the cone (like Farview said), get enough master volume to really get the speaker cooking, and hit record. It'll sound present, dry, and depending on your preferences in tone, nice and clear.
Click to expand...

I guess thats the way to do it but I cant make that much noise, not without an isolation box. Ill try it as a test tomorrow just a quick 10 second recording then hope the neighbours dont come knocking.

I had the SM57 but I wasnt very impressed but I didnt know much back then so took it back, ill get another one. This Stagg is pretty good considering its not made for guitars, someone said my clip sounded good, but now ive fixed this issue its showing it true potential, I can hear everything now right across the frequency range.
 
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The closer the mic is to the speaker, the more in-your-face it will sound. The farther away, the more distant it will sound.

The 57 really is the right mic for the job.
 
Farview said:
The closer the mic is to the speaker, the more in-your-face it will sound. The farther away, the more distant it will sound.

The 57 really is the right mic for the job.
Click to expand...
I just bought one, again. The Stagg is louder and brighter than the 57 but not so good at handling the highs.

What do you guys think about XLR cables? The one that came with my Stagg is much better than the one I got for my 57 last year. Do you recommend a particular brand?
 
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