Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 so i have this problem where close mic'ing my 5150 combo w/ a sm57 gives me horrible clips (tried hundreds of mic placements), but when i stand in the room playing the amp it sounds awesome! so i'm wondreing if recording with only a condenser room mic would give me better/great clips. anyone have any samples of any amps recorded with just a condensor? or is this just a horrible idea thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lucius Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 I can't record anything decent with my Sm57 either. I actually thought my mic was broken but it sounds fine when I use it for singing. I know many people who have gotten good results with it though. Cheers Lucius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Originally posted by Lucius I can't record anything decent with my Sm57 either. I actually thought my mic was broken but it sounds fine when I use it for singing. I know many people who have gotten good results with it though. Cheers Lucius YES! exactly! I can record vocals perfectly ( i dont sing, just to test) but anything close mic'ed on guitar sounds horrible. even the clean channel doesnt sound that great. any ideas? i've heard some AWESOME clips on this forum and am wondering how y'all do it. I have a m audio firewire solo which is decent enough, fast laptop, now using sonar 4.0 pro, sm57, but nothing sounds good. not even close, i honestly get the same tones wiht my laptop's built in mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 anyone?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 is the clip light on the front of your m-audio box lighting up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Originally posted by garfight is the clip light on the front of your m-audio box lighting up? nope, i have the level set as high as i can but so that it never clips. do i need a preamp or something to get those great tones? i thought the firewire solo had this built in??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 you shouldn't need anything else - it sounds like you've either got some levels set wrong somewhere or a defective unit. you're not using the phantom power with a 57 are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 mtbac, what do you think of these 5150 clips?http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=20688http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=21259 Those were both with a Shure SM57, about an inch off of the grill cloth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 also you could be having sync/ buffering issues with the firewire part of it as well. have you tried all these things? (from m-audio's site) Pops, clicks and crackles, general Q: I get Pops and Clicks or Distortion during Playback and/or Recording. What can I do about this? A: - Check if you have the most recent driver for your M-Audio device installed. - The interference is usually caused by Buffer-Components that are not running in Synch. There is a number of Hardware- and Software-Buffers. Here is a list of the Buffers that allow users to change their settings: 1. Adjusting the Buffer Sizes of your M-Audio device: Open your USB Audio device Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 thanks for the help guys, i'm at work now so i cant listen to those clips or change settings but i will ASAP when i get home.No, phantom power isn't on. I'm using cool edit pro 2 and i also tried Sonar 4.0, both show that I'm getting enough sound on the meter. Could it be that my mic cable is {censored}ty, bad? I bought the firewire solo, sm57, and cable from zzsounds last summer, and heard the cable didnt matter so I just bought the cheapest one there and made sure it didnt have a horrible rating.... I've recorded my voice to test it out and that sounds fine so I doubt its a hardware issue. I'm thinking of picking up a condenser to test out...something cheapI've also tried updating drivers, didnt do anything. any other ideas? thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeathMonkey Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Click my MySpace links - everything except "The War For Unity" was done with a pair of Avlex condensors on the guitars. As was this :http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=19424 This: http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=19603 and this: http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=19421 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alanfc Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 I've =heard=, that the Sennheiser E609 is more faithful to the real tone. I 've yet to try one but I'm going to get one anyway. Also, Audix I-5 here look at this too, just bumped for yahttp://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=17501919#post17501919 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 would it make a difference if my XLR to XLR mic cable was unbalanced. I was just lookin on zzsounds it looks like the one i have is unbalanced! i heard this only makes a difference with condenser mics though? i'm using it with the sm57... this is so weird! ahhh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ermghoti Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 All you need to record guitar is a SM57 and a preamp. Just follow these simple instructions.Seriously though, it's not the mic, it's your technique. Some people like others better, many times the best mic is not a 57, but if you're micing a speaker, the 57 will work. Whatever mic you pick, you will have to learn to use. I was just lookin on zzsounds it looks like the one i have is unbalanced!Look again. Highly, highly unlikely. An unbalanced XLR-XLR cable is something you would have to special order, or make yourself. Even so, in this case, the difference would be -6dB of signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Originally posted by Megadeth7684 mtbac, what do you think of these 5150 clips? http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=20688http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=21259Those were both with a Shure SM57, about an inch off of the grill cloth. yeha, the 2nd one sounds fantasticwhy can't i get that type of recording what preamp/interface were you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 well here's my two cents... if you're getting a nice clean recording with vocals and it's clipping with your guitar amp there's a few things that could be happening. the guitar amp is too loud (or too bassy) and is peaking out the mic . the gain on your m-audio unit is too high and is peaking out the input on your laptop. the best thing to do would be to check the recorded waveform and see if it is being flattened at the peaks and valleys. if it is - the signal going in is too hot and you need to turn the gain down on the preamp.if you don't have enough range to get it to where it's not peaking then you need to move the mic away from the cabinet or turn the amp down. if the peaks and valleys of the wave aren't flattened then it's gonna be a buffering or latency issue and you'll have to start tweaking software. it sounds like you might have some mic placement problems as well.if you can post pics when you get home it might help. and to answer your original question about condensers - using one for a room mic is a great addition to having a dynamic mic close to the cabinet.room mics add depth and pick up alot of things that dynamics miss.but for high gain recorded tones your best bet is a mix of dynamic and condensers- that way you get the upfront-ness of the dynamic and the depth and added frequency response from the condenser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 here's an example : the clean guitar on the left is mostly an oktava mk219 about 4 feet back from the cab-and the gainy stuff is all the same oktava mixed with a beyerdynamic m422 off axis on the grillcloth.http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3954917&q=hi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 17, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Originally posted by garfight here's an example : the clean guitar on the left is mostly an oktava mk219 about 4 feet back from the cab-and the gainy stuff is all the same oktava mixed with a beyerdynamic m422 off axis on the grillcloth. http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3954917&q=hi I think you're right, I tried lowering the input gain and although the sound is very quiet even with my speakers turned up, its starting to sound a lot better. How do I get it louder after recording but retain the quality? I also tried doing a 96khz/24bit recording which sounded pretty good too.atleast i'm getting better i was also thinking about cutting the cloth on the 5150 combo to get the mic closer to the speaker. is this a good idea? the combo seems to have the speakers recessed pretty far back in the cab....thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members umpteen Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Clips dont sound the same as they do in the room. Boost the mids and take out almost all the bass. The close micing gives a "proximity effect" which boosts the bass and smooths out the sound. The reason the 57 works on the guitar speaker is it can take the high SPLs. Most condensers cant take that volume level. Also, some speakers record better than others. Try some V30s. Could be a problem with the mic, but I doubt it. If you are looking for a wall of sound, you need to double track and pan L/R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 17, 2006 Members Share Posted July 17, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac yeha, the 2nd one sounds fantastic why can't i get that type of recording what preamp/interface were you using? Just an M-Audio DMP3 ($150) and a Shure SM57. I used a free recording program called Kristal. Nothing fancy at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 ok gonna try some of the tips, thanks guysand how do i make it louder after i record? lowering the input level helped ALOT i guess i'm just retarded. but now the clips are super silent.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Megadeth7684 Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Originally posted by mtbiac ok gonna try some of the tips, thanks guys and how do i make it louder after i record? lowering the input level helped ALOT i guess i'm just retarded. but now the clips are super silent.... Normalize it when you convert the file to an mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 Originally posted by Megadeth7684 Normalize it when you convert the file to an mp3. OHHH it's when you convert. gracias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted July 18, 2006 Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 try normalizing it in your recording program after you record it and before you start eq'ing things.theoretically you'll get a better signal to noise ratio that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mtbiac Posted July 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2006 what should my peak decibel level be before any processing? i've heard varying reports. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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