I am having a problem. .i have been recording for about 2 years and the biggest problem i have alway run into is flat, undefined guitar tracks. I have traveled far and wide looking for different sites that will help me with my situation. I do mostly metal and hardcore bands. So first off there is a lot of gain, but i know that during the recording prosses you use a FRACTION of the gain you would normaly use playing. My big conserns are.
A) What is the best mic placement. I have found that too close to the middle of the cone and its too gritty, too close to the edge and it is too muddy and too far away and it just get completely lost in the mix.
B)Pre-Recording EQ, should the EQ on the mixer be flat?
C) (BIGGEST PROBLEM!) AMP SETTING! I have heard that you change the eq a lot to get a better recorded sound. Alot of bands like to SCOOOOP the mids, but when recorded. it gets lost in the mix easily and sounds like garbage. I have a Randall RG200 Head, Roland Jazz Chorus Head, and a 4X12 Cabinet that was hand made with two celestion Seventy-80's and two circa-70's jensens, a Rane 15 Band EQ, and an Ibanez Smash Box for Dist.
D) Compression, and Post-Recording EQ, once it is on my PC, what do i do with it? I'll list my equipment and tell me what to do.please
I Record from my Yamaha 12/16(?) Board stereo out to my PC's sound cards line in. From there i use Cool Edit Pro.
In my box of Mic's i have
1-Shure Vocal Mic (got it from my old Highschool av dept. the model # is missing and its not a SM57 or 58 i know that.
4-Audio-Technica Drum mic Set
1- Sure Beta52 Kick mic
a buncha cheap-o radio shack mics that i used to use
and i just ordered a MXL MXL990 Condenser Mic with Shockmount from musiciansfriend.com 3 hours ago.
PLEASE HELP! to listen to some mixes i have done please visit http://www.myspace.com/mcmetalproductions (the second song in is the best quality)
Please i'm at the end of my rope and need a lot of help and plus, this was a pain to type (y)
Thanks,
Ron "McMetal"
Comments
EDITED OUT my entire post... You should refer to the link in D
EDITED OUT my entire post...
You should refer to the link in DWOZ's post... Essentially what I would call the essential primer on guitar tracking.
IOW, what I had to say was less than a HIGHLY condensed version of Slipperman's wisdom... why get it from anywhere else than the souce.
Well worth the read.
Max
Re: Not so much a NewB at recording, but kinda a newb questi A)
Re: Not so much a NewB at recording, but kinda a newb questi
A) What is the best mic placement. I have found that too close to the middle of the cone and its too gritty, too close to the edge and it is too muddy and too far away and it just get completly lost in the mix.
Depends on the room acoustics too. You need to experiment a bit more as well as try different mics wont hurt either. Nobody can tell you an exact location without knowing your mic and room specs. Also the stuff your using to record plays a big part also.
B)Pre-Recording EQ, should the EQ on the mixer be flat?
Leave the EQ off, record dry maybe some slight, sligbht compression to keep the peaks at bay. If you record with processing it may be more difficult to fix after it has been recorded.
C) (BIGGEST PROBLEM!) AMP SETTING! I have heard that you change the eq alot to get a better recorded sound. Alot of bands like to SCOOOOP the mids, but when recorded....it gets lost in the mix easily and sounds like garbage. I have a Randall RG200 Head, Roland Jazz Chorus Head, and a 4X12 Cabinet that was hand made with two celestion Seventy-80's and two circa-70's jensens, a Rane 15 Band EQ, and an Ibanez Smash Box for Dist.
This is the only time I would agree to adjust the EQ is on the amp. Get the guitar to how you want it to sound from here and then set-up the recording chain to capture that sound exactly as you hear it.
D) Compression, and Post-Recording EQ, once it is on my PC, what do i do with it? I'll list my equipment and tell me what to do.........please
Once again nobody can tell you to "add this much compression" or "roll off this much lows" etc. It would be better for you to read up on what compressors, limiters and an EQ actually does before you start using them. Understanding what each piece of equipment does will help facilitate using them.
don't want to start anything unsavoury here, but you should chec
don't want to start anything unsavoury here, but you should check this link for some insight to recording guitar, from the absolutely unstoppable master of it, Slipperman
http://marsh.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/287/
Its not a quick read, but slipperman (you've heard his recordings, I can promise you that) is a master that puts the rest of us to shame.
dwoz