So I finally set up my studio monitors and....

Modulus_Amps · June 2018

.....I don't like just about everything I have recorded in the past.

listening through the rockits I am hearing way to much compression, especially on the bass side, making the guitar sound small and squashed rather than big which is the way it sounds in the room when playing.

I know it is my recordings as comparing to other youtube tracks does not have the same issues.

So the rabbit hole just got a bit bigger, I assume mic and mic pre amps will be affecting this, I normally use an SM57 that I have compared against other units and it seems good, so I need to go fiddle about with pre amp settings etc Do good pre amps make that much of a difference?

I also tend to record at high volume where everything sounds different, maybe now I have the monitors will try record at listening volume with the speaker in another room, will probably change the way I EQ the amp too.

If you have any thoughts on this please chime in.

Thanks

Cirrus · June 2018

Mic placement has a lot to answer for. Especially with an SM57 right on the cab, a few cm one way or the other can make a big difference.

And yes, being able to hear what the mic hears and adjust as appropriate is a big help.

Be careful when making comparisons to other music. Like, I'm sure you've thought this through but if you have an amp that's got tight low end naturally and you're comparing it to a bunch of recordings where they used a totally different amp setup, much fatter sounding speakers and cabs, different mics etc... you might end up going down the rabbit hole. Just make sure you know what you're comparing and what you're actually hearing.

Winny_Pooh · June 2018

A 57 cuts in a band mix but on its own is not great. You might want to additionally mic with a ribbon (or a large dynamic like a senn 414 re20) to get a fuller sound and blend to taste. Where you point a 57 along the dustcap to cone) also radically changes the tone.

TTBZ · June 2018

Ive been experimenting with a shit load of mics and positioning the past few days as I decided it was time to up my game.. 57+ribbon has been a bit of a revelation for me in terms of capturing that "in the room" sound with solo'd guitar parts and is certainly what I'll use going forwards. By themselves i don't like them but blending the two lets you find the sweet spot. Don't underestimate the power of mic positioning, and make sure they're both in phase otherwise it'll sound like crap no matter what.

Cabicular · June 2018

If you don’t have the luxury of a live room and a bunch of mics (who does these days) The best thing I’ve found these days is running the amp into a load box and putting it into the two notes plug in
You can mess about with multiple cabs multiple Micings and compare against IRs
you can get a real sense of what mic placement does in a virtual live room
even if you end up doing it the analogue way it’s good practice

Jalapeno · June 2018

Don't forget studio monitors are supposed to make everything sound flat - so you can hear the effects of mixing etc.

Using them for other playback gets tiring on the lugholes.

Modulus_Amps · June 2018

Thanks guys, ok so I will spend a bit of time with mic placement and eq settings, I now need to build a speaker isolation box in the room next door.

I have tried dual micing before, sounded good one day and then harsh the next day, so will probably revisit it with the new set up.

If I can stop it being so compressed I will be happy and will report back

thanks

Cabicular · June 2018

Modulus_Amps said:

Thanks guys, ok so I will spend a bit of time with mic placement and eq settings, I now need to build a speaker isolation box in the room next door.

I have tried dual micing before, sounded good one day and then harsh the next day, so will probably revisit it with the new set up.

If I can stop it being so compressed I will be happy and will report back

thanks

Maybe you are trying to put to much range in
a high cut of 6-8 kHz and a low cut of 100 might let the music breathe?

Modulus_Amps · June 2018

Cabicular said:

Maybe you are trying to put to much range in
a high cut of 6-8 kHz and a low cut of 100 might let the music breathe?

That might be it, I need to go fiddle with the post EQ in the software, however I suspect I am hitting the mic too hard and with too much bass.

Rocker · June 2018

Jalapeno said:

Don't forget studio monitors are supposed to make everything sound flat - so you can hear the effects of mixing etc.

Using them for other playback gets tiring on the lugholes.

This is something I have been saying for years....

Stuckfast · June 2018

It won't be the preamp.

Most likely culprit is that the frequency balance of the mix as a whole is out of kilter. Try using a master bus EQ and see if you can shape the sound closer to your references. Inexperienced mixers often end up with too much bass / low mids and not enough upper mids.

Modulus_Amps · June 2018

@Stuckfast said:

It won't be the preamp.

Most likely culprit is that the frequency balance of the mix as a whole is out of kilter. Try using a master bus EQ and see if you can shape the sound closer to your references. Inexperienced mixers often end up with too much bass / low mids and not enough upper mids.

Unfortunately this is just dry guitar sounds I am listening to, not even got to the mix part yet.

I am pretty sure it is micing technique and eq based on the monitors rather than the sound coming out the amp speaker that will help the most, reason I questioned the pre amp was I used to get a better sound recording into a cheap Roland Boss mini desk and then transferring that to the computer.

I am really busy with amp build at the moment so probably won't get to look at this properly until July, unless I can steal some hours here and there

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

So I finally set up my studio monitors and....

Comments