Been recording/mixing for a while, and the sound comes out sounding like the attached song. I'm interested in developing a fuller acoustic guitar sound. I've double-tracked the acoustic guitar rythm and panned each take pretty hard to opposite sides based on some advice from Whitestrat, which does help, but the guitars sound thinner than I'd like. EQ on the guitar tracks can help somewhat, but the guitars quickly get too "tingy" in the high end, and low end muddies up everything else (which may be because other parts of the mix aren't properly placed?) Looking for any suggestions. Maybe it's partially limited by my acoustic environment and equipment, but hopefully there's something I can do. Using Taylor 314ce on one track, and a yamaha guitar on the other track (don't remember model but it's cheap), both recorded with Perception Condenser mic ($120?). Cubase 5 Studio. Focusrite Saffire Audio Interface ($300) with built-in preamps. I've cut out quite a bit of the song to save you time if you listen, but there's a melodic part to start, and then a more rythmic section. I'm not too concerned with volume levels that aren't exactly right yet. I'm most concerned with overall tone of the different parts. thanks in advance.
Self Portrait Sound Question
- Thread starter twhohen
- Start date
BushmasterM4
New member
Where are you placing the mic ?
"Where are you placing the mic ?"
Hi.
The Yamaha guitar track was recorded about a year ago, and I think I had it mic'd in front of the sound hole, about 12" to 14" away. That guitar isn't solid top, it doesn't create the tightest sound, but I've found that it can come through decent. By itself, it seemed hollow in this song because much of it is played higher up the neck. I decided to try adding in the 314ce to get the sound fuller. The 314 comes through strong in the mids and highs, but I've found it can be lacking on the low end. I mic'd about 10 inches from guitar, aimed at the sound hole, but positioned slightly off-center. This seemed to be the best positioning to bring out some of the lower register without muddying up the mids/highs. Anyhow, I gave it another listen this morning on some cheap headphones (based on what joeym below said), and I liked it better than through my headphone monitors I was working with last night.
The tracks in this demo are all dry. Do you think delay/reverb could do anything beneficial? I've messed with them a little, but haven't liked what's come out. To kinda describe the sound I'm thinking of, think Alice in Chains unplugged. Mainly just one guitar there, but it sounds rich, full, and textured. Granted, the equipment and technical ability behind productions like that are clearly much better than what I'm working with.
Thanks for having a listen.
Hi.
The Yamaha guitar track was recorded about a year ago, and I think I had it mic'd in front of the sound hole, about 12" to 14" away. That guitar isn't solid top, it doesn't create the tightest sound, but I've found that it can come through decent. By itself, it seemed hollow in this song because much of it is played higher up the neck. I decided to try adding in the 314ce to get the sound fuller. The 314 comes through strong in the mids and highs, but I've found it can be lacking on the low end. I mic'd about 10 inches from guitar, aimed at the sound hole, but positioned slightly off-center. This seemed to be the best positioning to bring out some of the lower register without muddying up the mids/highs. Anyhow, I gave it another listen this morning on some cheap headphones (based on what joeym below said), and I liked it better than through my headphone monitors I was working with last night.
The tracks in this demo are all dry. Do you think delay/reverb could do anything beneficial? I've messed with them a little, but haven't liked what's come out. To kinda describe the sound I'm thinking of, think Alice in Chains unplugged. Mainly just one guitar there, but it sounds rich, full, and textured. Granted, the equipment and technical ability behind productions like that are clearly much better than what I'm working with.
Thanks for having a listen.
"I'm listening on cheap phones, but the acoustics sound good to me. They have a nice attack and good clarity."
Thanks for the feedback. I liked it better when I gave it a listen today on some cheap headphones. I think I'd burnt out my listening ability last night messing with this song.
Thanks for the feedback. I liked it better when I gave it a listen today on some cheap headphones. I think I'd burnt out my listening ability last night messing with this song.
BushmasterM4
New member
Dont aim at the sound hole. Big misconception that the hole is where the sound comes from. Here is a great chart to help . You can also check out the entire page with great info http://www.sae.edu/reference_material/audio/pages/Guitars acc.htm
I didn't think the acoustics were too bad.
A little fret buzz here and there. Maybe slightly on the brittle side, but not bad. They're frequency fighting with the vocal.
But they weren't horrible.
I'm hearing some background noise, like someone moving on their chair or something. It's most noticeable after 1:30 or so.
A little fret buzz here and there. Maybe slightly on the brittle side, but not bad. They're frequency fighting with the vocal.
But they weren't horrible.
I'm hearing some background noise, like someone moving on their chair or something. It's most noticeable after 1:30 or so.
thanks for the feedback Triple M. I've recently just gone back to tackle this song after setting it aside for some others. Regarding "frequency fighting with the vocal", most of my recordings have this problem. I've recently started using multiband compression and am finding that it separates my vocals/guitars a bit better than EQ alone.
