HELP_Gosh I hate the fffffffffff!!!!

[YamaYairi]

When you record you should always record dry and add the effects later. No EQ, no reverb, no compression. Like Emeril says, "You can always add spices but you can't take them away."

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Farhad

I have really come to realize how difficult it really is to record acoustic instruments

I suppose that's true, compared to, say, recording a synthesizer. Any "real" sound, whether its an acoustic guitar, or a electric guitar thru an amp or an orchestra ends up involving room acoustics and mic placement. Acoustic guitar is probably one of the easier cases, tho, compared to, for example, micing a drum set properly - tho perhaps background noise is a bigger issue for guitar, since it's quiet. I think it's one of those things that seems complicated and daunting until you figure it out, and then you realize it's pretty simple. Sort of like how hard it was, once upon a time to finger that C chord! But, yeah, getting there can take a while.

There's a ton of info out there on how to do it, tho. I don't know if this will help, but I made this video for Acoustic Guitar to accompany an more detailed print article, focused a lot on mic placement and the process of recording an acoustic guitar. Certainly not as in-depth as I'd wish it could have been - this video was very off the cuff, but maybe some basic ideas in there (especially if you check out the article).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNBRCam2YxQ

Here's an Sound-on-Sound article from quite a while back that also goes over some basics:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug0...cacgtr0801.asp

Here's another basic discussion, from Adam Rafferty, specifically about recording for videos. Might also be useful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuzTkxJ2wKk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EhSVOmq1WU

And last, but not least, check out Fran Guidry's homebrewed music site http://www.homebrewedmusic.com, which has lots of great "how to" videos and blog articles on everything from mics to making videos to acoustic treatment.

[Farhad]

Lots of Great stuff. thanks Doug.

[frankhond]

In a similar thread a way back it was commented by someone at Acoustic Guitar Magazine (probably it was Doug) that sitting in front of good slap/tap players was just like on the record, they really had the dynamics under control. Possibly this is part if the issue, your percussion overpowers the guitar tones. Try to play the perc stuff quieter. This will sound better to a live audience as well.

[runamuck]

The switch on your mic lowers its sensitivity 10db when engaged. You should not have that on when recording ac. guitar; it's used when louder sources might overload and distort the mic.

When you're recording make sure the mic is not pointed in the direction of noise (your computer, a heating vent, etc.). That won't eliminate outside noise from your recording but it will help.

To really get this understood, I think you'll need to read up on gain structure, as someone else has suggested. Although you may have a defective microphone, it's more likely that your problems are being caused by noise in your house along with not knowing how to dial in appropriate levels on your preamp and DAW.

Jim McCarthy

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by frankhond

In a similar thread a way back it was commented by someone at Acoustic Guitar Magazine (probably it was Doug) that sitting in front of good slap/tap players was just like on the record, they really had the dynamics under control. Possibly this is part if the issue, your percussion overpowers the guitar tones. Try to play the perc stuff quieter. This will sound better to a live audience as well.

Yeah, that was probably a comment from me. Back when I interviewed Andy McKee, one of the things that impressed me was that whether he was doing left hand tapping, normal picking, or percussive stuff, his levels were remarkably consistent. I just recorded him with a Zoom H4n a foot or so out in front, and the levels were fine on everything, exactly as he played it.

[Farhad]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Yeah, that was probably a comment from me. Back when I interviewed Andy McKee, one of the things that impressed me was that whether he was doing left hand tapping, normal picking, or percussive stuff, his levels were remarkably consistent. I just recorded him with a Zoom H4n a foot or so out in front, and the levels were fine on everything, exactly as he played it.

Humm..that is controll all right. For an amateur like myself (specially when I played for an audience) it happens that one gets a little too excited in the performance and turn the whole thing into a AC/DC concert instead!

Thanks Doug, good reminder!

[rick-slo]

Just listened to the first video on you website and did not read through all the comments here but:

background noise? (computer, air conditioning, etc)

level or mike hiss is not bad but mike a little closer in

some acoustic room treatment (panels) would help

edit to trim off right to the beginning and ending of the music, perhaps fade the ending