recording clarity

[Fatwilly]

So, how do you get the instrument clarity on your recordings ?
I;ve tried eq, compression, panning etc and the instruments just don't have that clarity.
I'm having to record direct because of outside interference, and trying not to distrub the wife and neighbors, could this be the problem ? I need to record " live" mic everything ?
Any suggestions with be greatly appreceiated .
thanks

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: recording clarity

Hey,

Without hearing it I can't tell you much other than good mixing can take years to learn. The key to eg is to eliminate the offending frequencies and enhance the pleasant. A low cut/high pass filter on say a synth pad at 360 hz can do a lot to open up a mix, as well as a cut in the kick drum at about 300 hz plus. There are some good books on mixing why not pick one up as there's just too much to say in a post.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: recording clarity

And a good console...and like with the guitar...loads of practise!

 

[Fatwilly]

Re: recording clarity

^ +1
just doesn't make sense :eyecrazy:
guess I'll do some more reading

 

[ginormous]

Re: recording clarity

+1 to innerdream. There are so many variables that a forum can't cover. What are you recording: voice, guitar, keys, etc? Are you using a stand-alone recorder, a computer-based system, do you have a decent mic, are you going too hot into the input, is the guitar a POS...?

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: recording clarity

There is a good reason why a good concole costs minimum 500 000$!

 

[MarkJ]

Re: recording clarity

Sounds like you are having to do what I do - record directly into a mic. I don't have any recording equipment just a webcam and a very cheap microphone. I do though use a program called Acoustica. I make my recording then I 'normalize' it so that the volume is about right (just one click), and then I run the tune through the noise filter that removes any hissing and background noise. Still very raw sound though but much cleaner than it was. I have noticed though that my recordings are much nearer the volume they should be and the sound graph is much improved over how it used to be. Just hard practice I suppose. Another 5 years and maybe I will be sounding pretty good and won't need such a program. You can download a fully working version - works for 30 days - from here. I think the version I have is an older version of this one - here. There must be loads of other programs out there but the noise filter on this one is very useful I find.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: recording clarity

Buy a Toneport. Problem solved for about $80.
Of course it's not perfect, but it will do great for bedroom recording, and it's SILENT so you can record something at midnight like I did last night, without the wife going mental!

 

[Animal]

Re: recording clarity

There is a good reason why a good concole costs minimum 500 000$!

Tens of thousands of dollars minimum maybe but half a million?

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: recording clarity

^Quite right.....then the mics comes in...and so on....good sound as in really good sound is expensive and not really for the most out there
Find some older console from the days when they where made of less plastic and more substance!

 

[Animal]

Re: recording clarity

Yeh and good preamps, cables, compressors, limiters, EQ, converters, monitors, room acoustics, and so on adds up to a bucketload of money and is what all the bigwigs use but you don't necessarily have to have a million dollar studio get a clear mix.

The hands on the desk are the most important, you still need decent gear but if you're clever you don't need to have the budget of a Warner Brothers production to get competitive results.

 

[arbiter]

Re: recording clarity

what you REALLY do need is a decent mic or two, preferably some sort of preamp or a soundcard with a preamp and some decent speakers (monitors are not a must), and never use headphones to mix. other than that, just use your ears. after a while, you'll know what sounds good and what doesn't. i produced my band's first album on a home stereo, CuBase with some plugins and a SB Live soundcard.

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: recording clarity

Tens of thousands of dollars minimum maybe but half a million?

I recorded withe a Neve 88 RS last week and it was a MILLION dollars!
Yess!:friday:
So many faders ,knobs ,lines ,groups etc...It's really hard work to keep the signal clear.That costs lot's of money.

I agree with Niels ,the older ones had more substance.

 

[Animal]

Re: recording clarity

I recorded withe a Neve 88 RS last week and it was a MILLION dollars!

I know Neve is uber expensive but I didn't know they cost THAT much! I thought the topped out around a few hundred thousand dollars. Don't accidently spill yer beer on it! :friday:

 

[Diocletian]

Re: recording clarity

He doesn't want to disturb his wife and neighbours guys - a million pound console isn't going to be much use to him.

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: recording clarity

He doesn't want to disturb his wife and neighbours guys - a million pound console isn't going to be much use to him.

hHEEH.I have the UX2...