Still trying to get a good accoustic sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter Enchilada
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Enchilada

Enchilada

Strange person.
I posted a crap version of What I Got by Sublime because I wasn't happy with the sound of my accoustic guitar.
I did another sublime song this time Chica Me Tipo.
The guitar was recorded this time with 2 behringer ecm8000 mics. One (panned hard left) 12 inches away,in line with where the neck joins and pointing at the sound hole. The other (panned hard right) was aver my shoulder in line bridge and pointing at where the neck joins. The vocals were recorded with my MXL V67g.
The ecm8000s were run through my UB802 mixer and into my Korg D16 recorder. The V67g went through a Berry MIC200 pre and into the D16.
Again, excuse the out of tune singing and the crap spanish accent.

I'm quite happy with the accoustic sound but it seems to be missing something. It has a littlecompression, some reverb and a bit of EQing but i don't know.
Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks - Ench

EDIT: I am a tool. Here's a link:
 
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Acoustic guitar can be a challenge. I find that for 2 mics either X-Y coincident or a spaced stereo pair works much better than 2 different micing positions. X-Y seems to work best with small diaphragm mics and spaced pair with large diaphragms. I have a pair of AKG C414 large diaphragm condensor mics. For a stereo guitar I place the mics 2-3' in front of the guitar, about 3' apart. I also use a lot of mono guitar. If the guitar is part of an emsemble I usually want a mono guitar I can place in the mix. I use a single C414 2-3' in front of the guitar and I get a nice mono track. I also usually use compression when mixing.
 
i don't see any links to your songs...are there supposed to be any? It's hard to judge what you need to do if you can't hear it. By the way, what kind of guitar are you using? Do you have new strings? Also, you'd be amazed how good of a sound you can get with only one mic...take that and pan it fairly far to one side, then, record another track (played the same or something completely different) and panned to the other side. Anyhoo...just a few quick ideas. Oh, you might want to try a bit more compression and see if that helps or hurts.

good luck!
Tait
 
Hey Robert,

I just got ahold of a stereo pair of MXL 603s's (small diaphram condensers) and used them in an X/Y stereo mic'ing setup for an acoustic guitar track. I pointed them just a bit up the fret board from the sound hole, and sat the guitar about 12 to 18 inches away. I put a little EQ on the track and compressed it a bit, but nothing else. I don't know if the sound I got is much better than your sound, but you can find a link to it here:
http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=261004&T=6890

The song is called "The Way it Has To Be"

I used a dmp-3 for the pre-amp and went into a delta44 then my computer (Cubase SX 2.0)

Have a listen and see if it sounds like an improvement. (Also, I've never used a pair of sd condensers for stereo mic'ing, so the sound might not be as good as it could be, but I'm fairly happy with it)
 
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listening to chica_me_tipo.mp3 it sounds pretty good actually. there are a few things I was wondering / noticed...

1. there seems to be a bit of a hum or something, like maybe one mic is too close to the sound hole of the mic.

2. the vocal sounds a little boxy...did you add reverb to anything on this?

3. did you EQ anything? the left side (guitar) sounds a bit "stringy" or kind of like you crainked up the highs, but that might just be the sound of the strings there. I personally like the mono sound of the right hand side (guitar). I'm guessing that's the mic by the bridge?


Now listening to The Way It Has To Be...this one sound much better put together. I'm liking the sound there. kind of understated guitar, but it's perfect. Are both of these you? The first song I listened to sounded kind of like a scratch or practice song. This one sounds like you've spent a lot more time getting the sound better. Nice.

Tait
 
Robertt8 said:
Now listening to The Way It Has To Be...this one sound much better put together. I'm liking the sound there. kind of understated guitar, but it's perfect. Are both of these you? The first song I listened to sounded kind of like a scratch or practice song. This one sounds like you've spent a lot more time getting the sound better. Nice.

Tait
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Hey Tait,

Actually, "The Way It Has To Be" is me, not Enchilada. For some reason when I posted I thought you had asked the question about a guitar sound, lol. My mistake. I just forgot and looked up and saw your name, didn't think to look up to the top of the post, haha. My bad. Thanks for the compliments, though.
 
Robertt8 said:
Now listening to The Way It Has To Be...this one sound much better put together. I'm liking the sound there. kind of understated guitar, but it's perfect. Are both of these you? The first song I listened to sounded kind of like a scratch or practice song. This one sounds like you've spent a lot more time getting the sound better. Nice.

Tait
Click to expand...

Hey Tait,

Actually, "The Way It Has To Be" is me, not Enchilada. For some reason when I posted I thought you had asked the question about a guitar sound, lol. My mistake. I just forgot and looked up and saw your name, didn't think to look up to the top of the post, haha. My bad. Thanks for the compliments, though.
 
Youve got the tools to get a decent acoustic recording.
Id say move to a larger and more flattering room.
A room with reflective surfaces..like the kitchen or even a decent sized bathroom.

And to get a good acoustic sound you need (druuum rollll pleeeease)

experience. ;)
 
xfinsterx said:
Youve got the tools to get a decent acoustic recording.
Id say move to a larger and more flattering room.
A room with reflective surfaces..like the kitchen or even a decent sized bathroom.

And to get a good acoustic sound you need (druuum rollll pleeeease)

experience. ;)
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Too true I recorded it in my uni room. I did EQ a little and I think that I relly need a set of decent monitors. On my speakers the guitar sounds dull if I don't crank the highs a little.

Robert, the hum is quite possibly just the sound of the ecm8000s. As far as the vocals go I did put some reverb on quickly but I didn't fiddle with it much as it is hard to get a good vocal sound in the room I'm in and I was more trying to get an opinion on the guitar.
I'll bring the highs down and re-post. Might even have another shot at doing the vocals
 
On second thoughts I'll just do a different song and I'll give the X/Y a go.
 
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