too close?

  • Thread starter Thread starter lookingforcool
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lookingforcool

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hey, maybe someone in here can clarify something for me...

there's a guy here in san diego that i have the most respect for of anyone i've ever met in the music business. he records his own records at his apartment, and his records are the best sounding in my collection. i absolutely love his music, but the records are what makes it shine. mind-blowing.

so i was in a project studio that we all borrow from time to time here in san diego listening to his new record with him and giving mix opinions on the last couple tracks.

so while i was there, i decided to borrow the good monitor time and stuck in one of my new demo cd's (i have shit monitors, so i take stuff over there to listen when i think i'm close.)

he said this "your mixes are pretty damn good, and the tracking was done decently. however, it sounds like everything's too close." i said, "so should i mix em off to the side, stick em back a little, what do you think?" he said, "i don't think you can fix it with mixing, it just seems like you're mic'ing everything too close."

i've always thought that i should just get the cleanest signal from everything i do, so i stick mic's really close.

does anyone know how i can solve this problem. i'm not even really sure what the problem is.

the band is normally two vocal tracks, a drum kit, a bass guitar, two or three electrics and an acoustic.

any input at all on tracking this stuff better?

thanks in advance,
pete

ps - the guy's name is gregory page, if anyone was wondering.
 
yeah, i've been waiting for that ingenious response. because gregory's a little busy these days mastering the new album.

thanks, though.

.pete.
 
Mic'ed "too close?"

That sounds like a taste-based opinion. Especially because I personally prefer the sound of close mic'ed instruments. They're more "in your face."

Keep in mind, it is often necessary to close mic instruments. Mainly because you don't have a room with great acoustics. In particular, as you pull the mic back, you are going to get more of the room acoustics into the mix, which won't sound good if you have a crappy room.
 
yeah, that's always been my school of thought, too. the problem is, i LOVE his records. they're seriously amazing.

and i've always had problems with micing things from any distance at all. his apartment is really similar to mine, and he mics this one chick's voice with an 80 dollar shure bullet mic from 25 feet. maybe he just has incredible luck, and i'll have to just chalk it up to that.

he said it seems too in your face. but i guess i'll just have to keep playing around. i was hoping some of the people that have been doing this for forty years were gonna say "hey, i say that to the new kids all the time. this is what i tell them to do to help a little."

thanks for your input, though. i guess i'm not the only one in the close mic school.

.pete.
 
With out hearing your tune it's a shot in the dark.

Along more general lines....
Close micing reduces reflections. Even from close reflections, the are received very low (level wise).
If you record every thing close it will all sound as if it's comming from the same point. Even if you pan them they will still sound as if they are on the same line. You have lost all your distant cues and "space". Basicly you have lost your "Depth of sound". The only way to resort to a more natural sound would be the use of Delay and reverb on those sounds.

However even then you still might not be receiving a "natural sound". If you mic a snare real close you get the smack of the stick recorded but you miss out partialy, on the "general acumilated sound of a snare". Even a few inchs can make a major difference.

I'm guessing he means that and your mix might have that to close ...a bit stuffed...no depth sound.
 
hi lookingforcool,
how are your tracks "effects wise"? Do they sound dry?
Just thinking...if you say everything sounds "too close" try pushing it back with a bit of reverb on the instruments that sound "too close"...or a bit of reverb over the whole mix, so you get the impression that the tune is played "live" in the same room....i dunno man....just 0.02

good luck
 
micing too close is going to give you a lot of peak transients to deal with. Not so much on electric guitars because they tend to already have a compressed sound. But possibly on Jazz or clean guitars.

More important, vocals, acoustic guitars, any instrument which has its own inherent acoustical sound will have transients that may need to be tamed through compression or limiting.

When you mic too close and then limit or compress you are hitting the transients which then brings them forward in the mix. This tends to give you a hard sound because the initial punch of the music ends up right in your face, er... ears in this case.

Some of this too could be your mics. Are you using the same mics as your friend?

A variety of reverbs might help, each with its own room sound for the various pieces in your mix. Reverb and delay set sound sources forward and backward in a mix, Panning of course left and right.

I would just back the mics off the drums and vocals. Guitars and Bass are usually already compressed somewhat. If you’re not doing a DI on the bass then do it as an alternative.
 
okay, so keeping in mind that i am definitely a beginner, and this is "home" recording...

this is one of the recent songs we've been working on. it's sitting in my yahoo briefcase, along with some solo songs i've been working on lately.

"ghosts" is the full band, with the other lead singer in the band, not me.

two quick notes, people are gonna freak about the sound of the lead guitar, but i like it. i know it's not perfect and normal, but i think it sounds cool. also, i know the fade at the end is really bizarre, but i wanted my bass player to have a chance to come through on a song on the demo.

thanks for any input anyone can give.

.pete.

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/pthur...w=l&.src=bc&.done=http://briefcase.yahoo.com/
 
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