New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

[Ocifer]

A family friend gave me a mic he had sitting around in his garage the other day, and I've found some time to try recording a clip. This is my first time mic'ing my amp, and the 'setup' was very budget - little stand made of cardboard on top of some books (covered with a rag to stop vibration). A quick wank session yielded...

lo-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3988643&q=lo
hi-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3988643&q=hi

I think it's pretty decent, but there's definetely room for improvement. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on mic placement (I'm looking to get a fairly direct, close-mic'ed sound)? Also, any advice on post-production. I've used EQ and the like before, but I'd really like to step up the quality of my recordings.

I remember Marin or someone mentioning techniques like compression and hard limiting. Could anyone explain how these work, and any rules of thumb associated with them?

ps. The setup is Fender JV Strat -> Vox TL Standard -> Carvin Bel-Air 2x12.

I can't wait to get the hang of this a bit better, I'd like to record the clean channel of the Bel-Air. It is killer!

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

What was the mic, and where did you have it placed, in addition to what software and mic preamp?

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

Nice style and tone.

 

[Funky P]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

sounded great, but too much noise. Did you boost the mic signal during post processing? You want to get as much volume from the amp, with as little volume for the mic as reasonable. Sounded like the amp was set really low.

 

[myxolidian]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

There was monster hiss for the first 30 seconds or so. But after that, it seemed to have gone away. Other than that, I think it sounds great. Nice tone.

As far as mic placement, it depends on what type of mic was given to you. Dynamic or condenser? Omni or directional? You want a directional mic for guitars. Dynamics are usually stuffed right up to the speaker. Condensers are usually further back (6" or so). Some people like the mic pointing at the center of the cone. Others like it a few inches away to the side of the cone. Experiment and see what you like since there's no "right" way.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

As far as the mic goes, I'm not sure what it is. I think it's fairly cheap, I'll try to take a pic in case one of you can identify it. I'm planning on grabbing a Shure SM57 or 58 on Friday for my birthday.

It was placed at a forty-five degree angle, pointing towards the middle of the right speaker. There was no mic preamp (A no-no, I'm sure, but I'm recording on my old PC with the bad soundcard.) and the software was Adobe Audition.

If anyone has any tips on post-production using Audition or Cubase (which I've got on my good PC), I'd love to hear them.

Oh, and yes the mic-boost was on. I'm guessing that was bad?

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

bump

 

[Funky P]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

the software is fine, but after you get the sm57/58 you'll need some interface hardware, or even shell out for a digital recorder. Portable ones are great when you move your gear around from place to place.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

How sensitive are the SM57/58 to room noise? Will I need serious soundproofing?

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

As long as your room is dead-ish, you'll be good. Just make sure you aren't picking up any standing waves based on where your cab is positioned, and that you arent recording in like a concrete garage or basement or something.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

Thanks! So, what are some rules of thumb for post-production. I've used presets in Audition before, but I'd like to learn how certain parameters affect sound so I could do some of the post-production manually.

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

Honestly, just get the best sound possible from the mic. The only post production I do is a highpass filter at around 70hz, and some taming of the fizz at 13Khz+ or so, and maybe some multi-band compression to pin down the low mids, if it needs it.

That said, post production is purely mix-dependant. You shouldn't do any if you're just doing guitar tracks.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

I agree with you there: crap in = crap out. That's why I'm going for the best signal I can.

Much of my recording is done over premade backing tracks (off the net) or over backing tracks made in various programs (using loops in Audition or Propellerhead Reason for drums and bass, etc.) Am I right in assuming that it would be wise to do a bit of post-production in these cases?

 

[Jeff Dunne]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

Depends... again - only use post production if you need it. If the track fits perfectly in the mix... then by all means, leave it alone! But if it needs some taming, definitely do what's needed.

 

[Ocifer]

Re: New Mic - Test Recording [Advice/Know-How Needed]

Thanks for the tips!