using compressor sidechain to reduce bass proximity effect

  • Thread starter Thread starter fuzzyween
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fuzzyween

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I'm a bit of a newbie to recording. I'm recording classical guitar and have always been annoyed by how much the bass increases when I get the mics up close to get the signal to noise ratio as high as possible. I've always had the most problems with the open 5th string (110 Hz??). What is the most common way of working around the proximity effect with the bass when recording at 6 to 12 inches away? I know I could just introduce an EQ into my signal chain to solve the problem but sometimes I record with multiple mics at once and I don't want to be bothered with a separate EQ channel for each mic since I have a feeling multiple channel equalizers are expensive (but I don't know much about EQ's just yet). I do use software EQ's right now to get my signals at the right level but this gets annoying when I have to keep messing around with the EQ settings on every track after recording a song.

Does anyone use the sidechain on a compressor to work around the proximity effect? I know that this is used for de-essing, but what about what I'm describing? I'm just trying to figure out what makes the most sense since multi-channel compressors seem to be cheaper than multi-channel equalizers and active multi-channel crossovers that could be tuned to the 80 to 150 Hz range might be expensive too. I have two RNC compressors and I've been toying with the idea of using their sidechain to do this. Any advice?
 
Here are some points to look at;
Are you getting too close to the sound hole with the boomy mic track? (Maybe move it towards the 12th fret?)
Get the sig-to-room noise ratio up with some gobo's or a soft curtain behind the mic(s) so you can back off a few inches.
Try one of the inexpensive omni mic options (no proximity effect) (or if you have a multi pattern..)
A side chain would also duck the highs when ever it see's too much bass. Multi-band might do it though.
Chears :)
Wayne
 
I bet some experimenting with mic positioning will help a lot, like Wayne said. At 6-12 inches the proximity effect should be pretty minimal, depending on what mic you are using. You can probably find a sweet spot that doesn't need much eq at all. You could try aiming the mic from a bit below, so the bass strings are farther away than the trebles, for example.
 
Just as Wayne and easy mentioned, you could, if you have the option and if indeed it is proximity effect that is causing you trouble (though as easychair mentioned 6-12 inches does seem a bit far for proximity effect), try an omni pattern microphone as it exhibits no proximity effect. Of course that way you'll get more of the room sound picked up as well, which might or might not create additional problems.

Best regards.
 
thanks for the advice

Many thanks for the advice from everyone. More experimentation with mic placement is definitely something I can try. I do have one multi-pattern mic, so I'll try setting it to omni and see how I like it. And I'll try out a gobo or curtain to see how that helps. My room isn't acoustically treated at all, so that's something I know I'll need at some point when I have more experience.

Thanks!
 
If any of your mics that you like for AC gtr have a high pass: use it.

Mic placement, as mentioned above will yeild better results anyway. The omni thing can work, but if you are looking for a more focused sound, stay in cardioid and just move the mic around. Put it somewhere "weird" and see what you get. I have recorded certain acoustic gtr's that only sounded good mic'd from BELOW (!) aiming up at the body/neck joint. That actuallly was really weird, but in that case worked quite well. Sounded totally normal, and good.

Try anything. There really are no rules. Figure out something cool and share your experiences!!!

Have fun most of all, and record a LOT.
 
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