Why does mix sound bad?

F

Fiddlermatt

New member
This is my first attempt at recording anything. For some reason it just doesn't sound "right" to me. I think I may have been a little heavy handed with the reverb, but there's something odd sounding about my fiddle is well. Any comments to why it sounds funny to me?
 

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  • Lonesome Moonlight Waltz-001.mp3
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I don''t think it sounds bad at all. I like the tone you got from the fiddle quite a bit.

Even though I can't reliably tell the two apart all the time, it sounded to me more like there was a lot of room sound captured than reverb added. I guess I could stand for it to sound more upfront and immediate, you know? I still thought it was a very nice listen as is.
 
I think you may have hit the nail on the head. The fiddle doesn't jump out at you (which mine definitely does in person!) I haven't got to install my room treatments yet, so that may be why there is so much room noise. Thanks so far for all the helpful comments!
 
I think it would sound nice to bring the guitar up a bit, and maybe separate the instruments with more panning. I like the tone of the fiddle.

Nice little tune. I quite enjoyed it!
 
SloppyJo said:
I think it would sound nice to bring the guitar up a bit
Click to expand...

I agree. I think the trick to making the fiddle "pop" in this mix is going to actually be making it quieter and then carefully crafting a sonic space for the fiddle that makes it pop out without it being overly loud. This is tricky though, and comes with practice. But you'll notice in most commercially produced tracks, lead instruments that jump out at you (vocals, guitar solo, synth, etc.) aren't actually all that much louder than the other instruments. I think you'll find that vocals, especially, are a lot quiet than you might imagine them to be. They have a "perceived loudness" factor that is created within the mix - compression is your friend :)
 
I went back and cut away some of the guitar in the 1-3hz range, which is where my fiddle really sounds good. It did make the fiddle pop out more even at a reduced volume. Now the guitar sounds a little boomy, but I'll work on that tomorrow? Does this mix sound like an improvement?
 

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  • Lonesome Moonlight Waltz Mix 2.mp3
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The basic fiddle sound is pretty good from my perspective.

However, it does sound very dry, and dryness sucks the life out of many melody instruments.

The sound of a violin does not rest solely with the instrument. It's also developed inside the acoustic space in which the instrument is played, i.e. the room is part of the instrument. If the room is dead, then so is the fiddle.

Try adding depth, space and sparkle with some reverb.
 
The sound you're hearing on the fiddle is the sound of the room it was recorded in. If you don't like it, record in a new room, or treat the room you're using, or start using baffles of some sort around the mic. I don't think your mix sounds bad, though, cuz especially with old-timey stuff like this tune, a bit of room sound adds a feel to it that suggests folkiness. New mix sounds a bit better, yeah. Now do the same thing for the guitar, and maybe the mando as well. I put a highpass filter on pretty everything I record, including shakers, just to get rid of low end rumble if not to remove a bit of the low end of the recorded sound. But after you make the next round of EQ changes, then go back and compare the new mix to the way it sounded before before you commit finally. Compare it to some commercial stuff too.
 
That fiddle sounds nice and sweet for a first attempt. Yes I think the room is getting in it just a tiny bit too strong on the one instrument (violin), while other instruments are not reflecting near as much. You want an ensemble so you can't bring room or ambience to one without the other having similar as well, (with the exception of rock or pop music of course) and with the exception of maybe vocals. I dedicate a verb to vocals most the time. I like the room to be honest. You might want to explain your mic position on the fiddle, and the mandolin and guitars. I am a huge fan of recording acoustic music and have been for about 25 or 30 years. A lot of mics. Mics rule. Mics put you there is my motto. If you position the mic for the mandolin and guitar closer to the guitar or mandolin, you will not pick up as much room sound. This isn't a good approach for fiddle, so you want to deal with the fiddle separately and tame the reflections a little more instead. I like to keep the mic about a foot above the players head and pointing down toward the fiddle a little off axis. I would be careful to try and match the band's ambience if you will. Just like they were all off the floor with 3 different players. Picture a microphone in the front of you. You wouldn't ask the fiddle player to stand in the back of the room and the guitar player in front of your face, and the mandolin somewhere in between.(thats what I hear) .so your ears would pick up a difference in ambience. In real life that is what would happen. Mic placement is always the most important thing in acoustic music besides the player themselves. Strumming acoustic guitar blooms more into the room too as there is a mess of frequency content going on.....compared to fingerstyle or flatpicking we will say. So be aware that it can muddy up a bit if not kept under control. To be honest, I think you chewed a little too much out of the guitar by my ears. It's lost it's wood and became all highs and lows without the instruments personality. I also like to record a strummer with a stereo or pair of single small condenser mics, and pan them full left and right and that gives room for the lead or melodic instruments which need to shine, and they will without volume this way. Try getting the dry versus room sound to match a little closer and I think you have a real nice recording here. Love it. Nothing like an acoustic instrument.

Just as a tip for now. Put a thick blanket behind you. The reflection from the walls in front of you will have less chance of returning to the mic a second time. You will still pick up side reflection to give you the sense of space, but there will be no comb filtering or out of phase waves rolling around. This will make for a tighter recording. Here is a link to a frequency chart which everyone should study if they want to make good recordings. For instance you will see that a violin drops off at around 200HZ . Mandolin probably in the same area. Guitar however down to 80 and even 30-40 for baritones and bass instruments. So if your violin dies near 200HZ...take it out in the mix below on both the track and the room and it takes on its own space see.
http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm
Just my two cents.

Lou
 
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