How can I improve this recording?

S

spleenharvester

New member
Upgraded my Seagull S6 with an LR Baggs Anthem and really loving the sound of it. I'm recording through a Behringer MIC500USB valve preampdirectly to Audacity. However I know bugger all about recording and I'm not sure where to start.

The MIC500USB is set to gain +43dB, output +4dB, preamp mode acoustic guitar, no other settings. Audacity is just default settings. The LR Baggs is set to probably 70% Piezo/30% microphone.

https://soundcloud.com/user-351954377/danko-manuel

Any tips particularly to make it sound 'roomier' appreciated.
 
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It sounds fine to me. I guess if you wanted it to sound roomier you could add a touch of reverb to it. You could also double track it and pan it hard left and hard right to make it bigger. You could also add just a touch of chorus at about 10% as well.
 
I agree with Jolly. Sounds great.

So, here are some suggestions, but again, just my preferences, mores than anything "needed"

1. The highs sounds a little 'brittle to me
- maybe roll off a touch of the highest frequencies
- Jolly's chorus suggestion might bee cool too; Not too much, and stereo - left-right

2. The bass notes sound a little distorted, and a little loose. They could be a bit more even volume wise.
- Maybe a compressor on there? Is there one?
- Maybe track them separately

3. Definitely a little dry. I'd put some reverb on - but again, not too much.
 
spleenharvester said:
Upgraded my Seagull S6 with an LR Baggs Anthem and really loving the sound of it. I'm recording through a Behringer MIC500USB valve preampdirectly to Audacity. However I know bugger all about recording and I'm not sure where to start.

The MIC500USB is set to gain +43dB, output +4dB, preamp mode acoustic guitar, no other settings. Audacity is just default settings. The LR Baggs is set to probably 70% Piezo/30% microphone.

https://soundcloud.com/user-351954377/danko-manuel

Any tips particularly to make it sound 'roomier' appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would change nothing. It sounds great, very alive and very present. Maybe scoop out some mid/low mid frequencies but really it sounds awesome. Definitely not a dry sound, has just enough roominess. Dig it.
 
Very nice balanced acoustic tone that would work well in context. I don't hear brittleness in the highs, but I definitely hear a touch of distortion, like your input is being driven a bit, so maybe back off the gain of the preamp a bit and then bring the level back up in Audacity.
 
Sounds decent for an acoustic pickup . . . but it does have a strong piezo flavour. Not bad, but my preference is typically to get as close to the same sound on the recording as you hear from the guitar in the room.

For this I've found it's easiest to use two mics. I use an LDC (Rode K2) up over the right shoulder of the guitarist as he's playing to try to catch what he's hearing and an SDC (SM81) about a foot away, pointed towards the 12th fret of the guitar. Solo each track, and EQ/Compress them lightly to try to bring out the attributes you most want to hear in the track. Then pan one signal 75% right and the other 75% left. You should have a very lush, true to the instrument sound.

Acoustic pickups are a way to get OK sound for live situations without the hassle of micing - but a half decent acoustic will sound best through a microphone (in my opinion anyway).
 
Stuff I hear:
The lowest notes seem to stand out a bit on those chords, maybe reduce the low end a bit with an EQ. I'd also consider parallel compression to tame it a bit without losing all of the dynamics.

What you asked about:
To make it sound "roomier", reverb is definitely the most common way to get there. You could also copy the track and delay it by a few ms with one panned right and one to the left. Recording a second track and panning them left and right would also be an option. Using a mic to record the second track would also provide an additional tone to work with and could provide interesting results. Next time, you might also want to consider using a room microphone in addition to the line out of your guitar. That may help provide some natural roominess without having to turn to plugins, though it seems everyone is trying to record in dead rooms and add everything in the box now.
 
I wouldn't push to +4db. Since it's raw uncompressed acoustic, I'd bring it in lower so you have headroom for detailed spikes in the sound and can treat it later.

For 'roomy' sound, you'd need a room mic added in (placed at the opposite wall, right up against it so you aren't getting secondary reflections off that opposite wall), or just use in-the-box reverb.
 
Eventide has a lot of tools to add depth and space. Check out Eventide Physion Mk II there is a 30-day fully functional demo you can play around with.
 
beaubrummels said:
I wouldn't push to +4db. Since it's raw uncompressed acoustic, I'd bring it in lower so you have headroom for detailed spikes in the sound and can treat it later.

For 'roomy' sound, you'd need a room mic added in (placed at the opposite wall, right up against it so you aren't getting secondary reflections off that opposite wall), or just use in-the-box reverb.
Click to expand...
Like a dynamic close mic paired with a condenser, up, as you say, against the back wall?

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
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