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This is something I recorded (just the guitar) with the mic and preamp before so it did work okay as a combo in the past.
SM57 was about 3" to the right of the centre of the speaker. Bit of reverb and eq added in post.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
I wouldn't have thought a LP though- I might do a bit of sculpting in the 400-600hz range,
I'm listening to the track on my studio monitors (which are flat to 40hz) and I'm not getting a lot of kick drum though.
I'd lift the bass drum and snare and keys up, drop the bass guitar a bit, lift the hammond.
There is some noise in the track as well, not sure what probably guitar hum.
This could be the issue- either there s too much amp gain, too much preamp gain and/or compression from a plugin that is raising the noise floor.
Or the mic has a problem.
I tried to download the track from Soundcloud to run it through Izotope RX (forensic audio cleaner-upper) but it doesn't give me the option for download.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Had a chance to record again now. Getting a decent enough level by having everything on full but a fair old bit of background noise too. An unacceptable level to be honest. Much worse than in that previous recording.
The only thing changed is the mic has been getting bashed about a bit in a box so maybe it's time to give it a nice burial and look at an E906.
Out of interest re mic placement and gain - the recording doesn't have as much gain as the sound in the room. Any tips on where best to stick the mic in relation to the centre of the cone to have it be a little more accurate?
Thanks.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
Here’s how shavering works: Set your amp up, turn it on, and let it warm up. Plug in your guitar and dial up the tone you want. Important: when you have the tone you want in the room, unplug your guitar! Choose your mic (don’t worry, we’ll be talking a lot about microphones in future issues) and plug it into your preamp, interface, or mixing console. Turn off the studio monitors and plug in a set of headphones. Now, turn the gain and the master volume on the amp all the way up. You should hear strong hiss coming from the amp. Warning: before proceeding to the next step, double-check that no guitar is plugged in.
Put on the headphones. Now take the microphone in one hand and hold it up to the amp’s speaker. You should hear the hiss from the amp through the microphone and through your headphones. You may need to increase the gain on your mic preamp, and you may or may not need to turn up the headphones in order to hear the hiss at a decent volume.
One more cautionary note: Be very careful of noise in the room if you have the preamp and headphones cranked, and be wary of someone inadvertently plugging into the amp. Any stray noise could blast you at extreme volume through the phones and damage your hearing. Not to belabor the point, but don’t mess around. Even if you don’t permanently damage your hearing, you’ll blow your ears out and not be able to hear accurately for hours—which will effectively bring the session to a screeching halt.
Now, very slowly, move the microphone around the speaker. You’ll hear the tone of the hiss change as the mic moves—it will sound vaguely like an electric razor (thus Olsen’s “shavering” name). Experiment with angling the mic, moving it in and out, and so on. You’ll quickly begin to hear the differences each of these changes makes to the tone of the hiss.
Here’s where different engineers’ approaches diverge on this technique. Olsen moves the mic until he finds the spot on the speaker where the mic picks up the brightest sound. Other engineers look for the hiss to sound the same through the mic as it does when you’re listening to the speaker in the room. Others look for a “balanced” hiss with a neutral tonality. Still others look for the spot on the speaker where the hiss is the darkest in tone. (I suggest recording some tracks using each approach to see which works best for you. You may prefer different approaches in different contexts.) Once you’ve found the spot, take off the headphones and set the mic in its stand in the location you found most appealing. Return your amp to its normal gain and volume settings, and dial back the mic preamp gains and headphone volume to the settings you usually use for recording.
Rock On
That’s it. Now you’re ready to lay down your tracks. The advantage of this technique is that it gives you a practical method for locating a good mic position. It’s also dependable. If you look for the brightest hiss each time you place the mic, for example, the mic will deliver a consistent sonic image of that amp, no matter how long it has been since you last laid down tracks. Give shavering a try—it works!
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
Multimicing is similar, I choose a primary and a secondary.
Primary is placed as above, secondary is placed next to it.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
If I get a Fethead booster (about £60 so not too bad) it will require phantom power and channels 1-4 on the mixer can be switched for this. However my Kemper runs into xlr port 2 and having phantom power enabled may damage it cos it doesn’t require 48v. Unless I use a line in signal but I wanna use xlr if I can.
I picked up an M3 as a compliment to my SM57, which has the benefit of being battery powered which can be a useful blend when recording.
I know they aren't known as studio legends, but I found it a useful addition to my very limited mic locker, (SM57, matched pair of Rode M5, Rode M3, )
I don't record much live though.
The AKG P170 is £60 and sounds decent, a small diaphragm one might be better as a large one or a too high quality one may pickup background noise too well, I have a neighbour who has an overly noisy cocker spaniel who likes to race out into the garden and bark overly excessively, and this will definitely be picked up by large condenser!
1- if you want less noise then don't use the mixer in line, go direct into the interface.
2- if for acoustics too get something like a basic rode/se electronics/Aston large diaphragm condensor. Will solve your gain/noise & clarity issues. If you insist on a dynamic then try an Audix i5. It won't have that much more gain but it will sound better too.
Will definitely get a condenser for acoustics as the SM57 isn't suited to lower noise instruments. The AKGP170 seems worth a shot. It's a small diaphragm one though. Have heard good things about Audix i5 and they're not overly expensive too.