what am i doing wrong here [mp3]

im' specifically asking for feedback on the recording job here not the song or the playing (because it's just a few generic chords i came up with in my bedroom last night)

http://talkingmeat.com/acousticsong.mp3

it sounds god awful coming out of my computer speakers but sounds okay in headphones. anything i could do differently? aside from be better at guitar

recorded to Garageband via nady mic positioned 12 inches from sound hole at a 45 degree angle

Sounds pretty good to me. A common technique is to use two mics to broaden the sound a bit. Another thing to consider is the mic quality, of course. The Shure SM81 for example is good for recording acoustic.

Sounds good here too.

hmm... you're not hearing that "plunk" noise on every hard strum? maybe my speakers are just terrible

sm81 is a $400 microphone are you nuts

I hear a little "boominess" but I thought it was from it being an acoustic and using a mic. More of an air pressure thing. Not really a problem.

Do you have an acoustic p/u to try? Maybe run both mics at same time and blend the sounds together.

On my shitty speakers I can barely hear the chord changes as the (muted?)strumming overpowers everything.

These speakers are quite shitty however.

yeah there's an electric pickup in the guitar, didn't even think of giving mic + pickup a try either panned or mixed on one channel...

and the only muted part is the lead up to the half assed solo interlude, otherwise it's all open strumming, but if it sounds muted, that's the chunky boominess i was talking about, and i can't figure out if that's EQ or just the way i positioned the mic

I'm listening on my shitty speakers at work, but I can hear the frequency you're talking about. It wouldn't be that noticeable in a full mix with accompaniment, especially since it's percussive and goes with the rhythm of the song. With just guitar though, you would want to tweak the tone. Do you have proper reference monitors? Good monitors are key if you want your mixes to sound decent on different systems.

There are a couple different things you could try to get rid of that dull "plunky" sound. The first thing I would try is different mic placement (and different mics if you have a couple). Try different proximity, angles, etc. If that's not working you could "notch" out the frequency with EQ. Use a really tight Q setting, sweep for the frequency, then lower it until the plunk goes away. EQ notching is somewhat sketchy though, careful not to affect the overall tone of the guitar too much.

If that's not working you could "notch" out the frequency with EQ. Use a really tight Q setting, sweep for the frequency, then lower it until the plunk goes away.

that worked pretty well for this

I just sent trav the mp3

I would never place a mic in front of the soundhole of an acoustic. It's just way too boomy.

My usual setup is two mics. One is a large diaphragm condenser - an MXL V57M. I point that at the bridge of the guitar about two feet out. The other is a R0DE NT5, a small diaphragm condenser. I put this 8-12" out and point it at where the neck meets the body. I mix these to taste and pan for a smaller or bigger sound.

Two things you need to do when mixing: Roll off the low end (this will bring out the sparkle). Using EQ, roll off the low end using a highpass EQ (usually the lowest frequency EQ knob) 4-6 dB starting at around 200Hz. Second, use a compressor of some sort. You want a fairly fast attack (5-20ms) with a slow release (100+ms), using a loose ratio (2.5:1 or so). Lower the threshold until you get a 6dB reduction during the loudest parts, and adjust your makeup gain to +6dB. Simple and effective.

Your Nady mic sounds okay - but mic placement means a lot for recording acoustic. Another tip: if you're going to insist on having those two parts play at the same time, tighten them up a bit and don't pan them so wide.

Here's a good example of a decent acoustic sound. (http://www.whitneyb.com/whitney/music/Our_Own_Story.mp3) I recorded that in my basement studio. There's lots of acoustic in that tune, mixed with electric.

one major difference i hear in your recording there is the clarity... the ambient high frequency background-noise hiss is not there. are you EQing that out? i record in complete silence in a basement but i still pick up that hiss

I'm not EQing any hiss out, no. No idea where it's coming from for you, except - try turning *everything* off. Is your computer nearby?

One thing I do is wait until the A/C or heat has shut down for a bit before trying a take. Even the hiss of air through a vent can wind up audible in a mix.

I don't really hear any hiss in your sound, but I don't hear any room ambience, which may have been EQed out.

What's coming through the left speaker is super boomy. I don't know that it can be fixed by anything but re-recording. It's pretty unusable. I hear your compressor(s) working...I think they are pretty slow on the attack for acoustic.

The compressor on the lead seems OK, but it's hard to hear through the mangled rhythm tracks.

Love the lead, by the way.....but it seems like it cuts off half way through.

What are you using for a preamp?

the EQd version triple sent me kills that boomy noise well enough but i'm still going to re-record now that i've installed soundforge and have something to properly edit tracks with... the worst thing is the mis-timed strumming

Mic > Behringer Mixer > Line in on laptop. that's it

i just did one take for the left track, one for the right, and i think two for the lead, and that was the better take - obviously i am not a lead guitarist

Behringer preamp. Ew!

The ART Tube MP is a nice, cheap preamp you could also plug directly into your laptop's line in. Even better would be a firewire or usb interface. Presonus makes some good, decent examples of both.

okay how's this?

http://talkingmeat.com/acoustictest2.mp3

same setup except now ive got it simultaneously plugged in and miked... of course this is a finger plucked one but is it still booming for you? 100% raw recording just with a little reverb on it.

Much nicer. The mix of the piezo sounds okay. There's a buildup at 183Hz and another at 280Hz. I would do two things:

1. Add a highpass filter (EQ) on the acoustic channel that rolls off the lows from 200Hz on down. I would roll it off as much as I could to de-mud the low end but leave enough so that the guitar still sounds like it's in the same room.

2. Add a bandpass filter (EQ) on the acoustic channel that sculpts out maybe 4dB at around 250Hz. Adjust the Q (width) to taste. This will clear up a little of that low-mid mud around the fundamental.

Both of these issues could have been solved with mic placement. But that takes a shitton of practice, and I haven't mastered it yet, either, so don't feel bad! Regardless, doing this things is going to bring out string definition and a little extra clarity.

Most important thing I learned about acoustic guitar: The sound you hear doesn't come out of the soundhole. It's focused mainly on the top of the guitar just behind the bridge. Try close-miking that area sometime for an interesting sound. Another fun area to mic up: the back of the headstock. You get all kinds of interesting string chime up there.

sounds good here.

Presonus makes some good, decent examples of both.

The firebox preamps (not sure about the rest of the presonus line) actually really suck, so much that I returned the unit. Right now my mic is hooked up to a mackie that runs into my new interface.

Here, try this. I quasi-mastered your tune.

http://www.uvalan.com/whitney/music/acoustictest2_remixed.mp3

Here's what I did:
EQ -4dB @ 7700Hz; 3.8Q
EQ -6.2dB @ 257Hz; .2Q
EQ -10.6dB @ 176; low shelf (highpass)

De-esser applied at 4500Hz for all your ssss and shhh and fffff sounds; threshold set to -35dB or so

Stereo compressor set to opto mode (Waves RComp):
Attack 150ms
Release 45ms
Threshold -13.8dB (adjusted so it sort of maintained a -3dB reduction)
Ratio 1.5:1
Makeup gain 3.0dB

Waves L2 Ultramaximizer (mastering limiter)
Threshold -6.9dB
Out Cieling -0.3dB
Release 1.00ms
IDR 16 bit, type 1 dither, normal shaping

I think it sounds a little better.

sounds good here.



The firebox preamps (not sure about the rest of the presonus line) actually really suck, so much that I returned the unit. Right now my mic is hooked up to a mackie that runs into my new interface.

The preamps are actually pretty much the same as the rest of their solid-state ones. They're XMAX preamps and they vary only in the DAC each unit uses, which is the key. The pres in my Firebox (when it works) sound okay - a little thin. The ones in my Firestudio, however, are thick and punchy.

Let me know what you wind up with. Why weren't you happy with the firebox?