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Old 06-04-2020, 11:16 PM
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Default Chasing clarity II

Ok, now I'm recording in a different room. Its an untreated small bedroom, but I can use this spare room whenever I want and I can close the door (as opposed to the computer room which has an open hallway exit or the living room which has no doors except the front door.)

This is El McMeen playing in the first clip:

Clip 1B:


This is me:


So I did my recording without listening to El McMeens's first. I played a little faster than the original recording, but that will be easy to fix. I wanted to see what I could in the new recording area, with my two AT 2035, in a much quieter space without immediate influence from the original recording.

I have the mics set on 45 degree angles from each shoulder respectively. The mics are pointing along the line towards my shoulders and each one is back about 24 inches. (Measured along the angle)

The next recording test I will try the mics pointing at the plane of the guitar, not along the lines to my shoulders, to see if I can get more of a natural stereo effect with greater separation. (Maybe I will also increase the distance as well in yet another test.)


I used the Ozone Imager to try to get a better stereo effect, but like everything else if I can start with a better stereo field I'll take it.

I'm curious if I match the playing speed of the original if it would give me more of the appearance of separation by letting the notes hang a bit. The more I listen to the original it sounds as if each note is being eq'd somehow to isolate it better. The notes of the original sound so "fat and full" for lack of a better description.

Could be I'm just getting my butt whipped both in playing and the guitar used too,

I'm only going to get so far without some kind of gobo or room treatment, I realize that, but what I learn from doing this will also help me a lot and I'm having fun with it.
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Last edited by TBman; 06-05-2020 at 08:21 AM.
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Old 06-05-2020, 12:06 AM
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Barry, that sounds way better! Still have a lot of noise, and some room sound, but it's quite usable for sharing online, IMHO. I'm not really understanding your mic positioning, tho whatever it is, it's working reasonably ok for you.

I'd place mics about 20 inches apart, about 10 inches from the guitar, right in front, straddling the sound hole. Then adjust from there - if you get too much bass back up. If you want less room sound and bass (proximity effect) allows, get closer. If you want a wider sound, go out further than 20 inches. If you want narrower, move them in a bit. and so on. I would not use the Ozone imager to adjust the stereo sound, at least not very much - just do it with mic placement.

Here's a birdseye view of what I'm suggesting as a starting point:

Screen Shot 2020-06-04 at 11.03.02 PM.jpg
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Old 06-05-2020, 12:57 AM
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Sound somewhat diffuse and unfocused. I would go for a less separation, not more and whatever it takes to warm up the tone some.
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Old 06-05-2020, 01:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rick-slo View Post
Sound somewhat diffuse and unfocused. I would go for a less separation, not more and whatever it takes to warm up the tone some.
Possibly the distance from the guitar in an untreated room
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Old 06-05-2020, 09:40 AM
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Ok thanks Doug and Rick. I'll move the mics in towards each other and experiment with the distance. My Avalon can be a little boomy up close. I'll see how it goes.

I can do tests with the Guild all hog dread and Larrivee OM once I get the Avalon settled in the right spot.

I'll start a recording log for each guitar at some point and make notes as far as mic distance, separation and recording result.
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Old 06-05-2020, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TBman View Post
My Avalon can be a little boomy up close.
The 2035 has a hi-pass switch, you might see how that affects things. That or a hi-pass filter in post is usually advisable. Even if you don't have a boomy guitar, there can be low-end rumble in the room, sometimes sub-audible but enough to have an effect.
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Old 06-05-2020, 11:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chipotle View Post
The 2035 has a hi-pass switch, you might see how that affects things. That or a hi-pass filter in post is usually advisable. Even if you don't have a boomy guitar, there can be low-end rumble in the room, sometimes sub-audible but enough to have an effect.
Thanks, I used that feature for this recording. I also ran the Hi pass in my EQ software.
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Old 06-05-2020, 11:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TBman View Post
Ok thanks Doug and Rick. I'll move the mics in towards each other and experiment with the distance. My Avalon can be a little boomy up close. I'll see how it goes.

I can do tests with the Guild all hog dread and Larrivee OM once I get the Avalon settled in the right spot.

I'll start a recording log for each guitar at some point and make notes as far as mic distance, separation and recording result.
That photo I posted was with a Lowden O, so also a big boomy guitar, but that mic placement worked well. You can always use EQ if needed. Tho I prefer to "EQ" thru mic placement, its always a balancing act. You can EQ away boom, you can't remove room acoustics, so if you have to close mic to not get too much room sound, that kind of takes priority. Not ideal, but you do what you have to do to work with what you have.
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