some sunday messing around

~j~ · #1 05-14-2006, 06:56 PM

I was just recording myself playing for a bit and it's not intended to be a "song" but it sounds pretty good I think, I would be interested to have some opinions. This was with my 912 with an AKG 890 vocal mic, it sounds pretty good though. I was interested to see if the overtones of the guitar would carry over into a recording, and how some other non-guitar-type sounds I could make come out of the guitar. There's no effects or anything, just me picking and some parts without a pick. Let me know what you think. The file is 5 megs.

http://members.cox.net/jeremyregan/jr1.mp3

~j~ · #2 05-15-2006, 02:33 PM

no opinions, seriously? "it was ok" "too quiet" "you're a ******* for posting this" "don't quit your dayjob" (I won't

).. I haven't figured out in the software yet how to chop off the beginning unfortunately.

ljguitar · #3 05-15-2006, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~j~

...Let me know what you think.[/url]

Hi ~j~...
To give a more balanced tone, back the mic away from the guitar about a foot. Also, if you aim the mic at where the neck joins the body from about 14-18'' it should sound really nice.

Which software did you use to record the file?

~j~ · #4 05-15-2006, 02:49 PM

hi larry, I tried it with the mic farther away but then the the gain is not high enough even if it is maxed out on the board. I can only boost it so much in the software. I'm using a mackie board into tracktion through the firewire interface. I had it aimed as you've indicated where the neck meets the body but I had it angled up towards the top of the guitar, should I aim it straight or at the soundhole for better clarity?

ljguitar · #5 05-15-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~j~

hi larry, I tried it with the mic farther away but then the the gain is not high enough even if it is maxed out on the board. I can only boost it so much in the software. I'm using a mackie board into tracktion through the firewire interface. I had it aimed as you've indicated where the neck meets the body but I had it angled up towards the top of the guitar, should I aim it straight or at the soundhole for better clarity?

Hi J...
The soundhole is everything other than clarity - probably the opposite of clarity. Aim right at the neck/body joint for starters.

So you don't have an interface, only the mixer. Hmmm - you should be able to boost the signal to distortion levels with about any input and interface if set correctly. I've not seen Traction before, so I cannot help with how to set the signal boost, but you should be able to increase your signal. If not, you need better software and a better interface.

Look for input options on the board to increase the signal. It may be labeled ''Gain''. Turn it up. Which Mackie board?

The closer you get a cardioid pattern mic, the boomier it becomes.

~j~ · #6 05-15-2006, 08:06 PM

You're correct, there's another output gain control on the back of the board for the main out that I didn't adjust. we use the same board for our band when we play live. It's an onyx board, 16x2 with one mono out also. It's ok, we mostly have it for the firewire aspect to interface with tracktion. It is also Jud's board, our other guitar player/singer and not my own but he is letting me use it for the past few months to get better at recording so we can have some better live recordings of the band.

Thanks for your input, I am sure it will make a bit difference. We also do have a shure sm58 beta condenser but it picks up the darn refrigerator so loudly. What would the difference be if I were to use that, and should I consider trying to use a combination of two dynamic mics or a condenser and a dynamic mic? the other mics we have besides the AKG are 2 sm58's and 2 of those behringer 58 look-alikes, they do sound pretty good esp. for the price.

The worst of all for me has been trying to record the didgeridoo, it sounds NOTHING like it does in the room when I do it with microphones, it loses all of the nuances of the tone. Any ideas about a setup for that?

bigsbee · #7 05-16-2006, 06:14 AM

Hi Jeremy
You do like Leo Kottke---Don't you have a pickup on that guitar? try mixing the wet pickup sound with a mic or two to get a more solid guitar sound. Sounded pretty good to me.

Bigsbee