So I've finally finished setting up a humble recording studio in my dorm room. The setup is Shure SM 57 -->Peavey PV6 mixer -->Emu 0202 USB interface -->Thinkpad laptop. These two were recorded in Cubase LE and converted to mp3 in RazorLame:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=725941&songID=5826883
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=725941&songID=5826894
They are both acoustic guitar recordings, roughly representing my current level of playing, but I'm more interested in feedback on the recording quality. I pointed the mic at the neck joint, around 4" away from the fretboard and angled towards the soundhole, and recorded with flat eq and no effects. The first is fingerpicked, specifically the intros and first verses of "Kathy's Song" by Paul Simon, and "Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez (I don't think I realized just how much fret noise I make on those songs until now). The second is played with a pick, consisting of two verses worth of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done," followed by a verse+bridge of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," followed by the instrumental break from the first song I wrote, "The Bridge." These are all in one take (perhaps two), so pardon the mistakes. I'm really excited about being able to record now, and would love to hear any feedback you have on the recording.
~Sam
it is great to finally be able to record. there is so much to learn. I found the best way is to learn by doing.
and you are doing fine. your guitar sounds very good. I do not hear any booming from a mis placed mike.
both playing styles came across fine.
good job.
now for multi tracking , hey.
Sounded great to me. Had a nice deep quality to both recordings.
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
Sounding good! Welcome to the recording world! :wink: 8) Now let's hear some of your originals! :D
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Good sound! :D
And also good test of "natural amplification" by means of picks!
(I don't think I realized just how much fret noise I make on those songs until now).
Me too! When I recorded by first time I also detected the fret noise! The recordings are one of the best ways to improve yourself.
Okay. Here's my two bits. The volume is a little low. What I would do to remedy this is place a limiter in the inserts(I use the free plugin from Kjaerhaus [classic compressor set to brick wall limiter]). Set the limiter so that it kicks in at around -3 or -6. Just enough to prevent your audio from clipping. You should be able to bring up your audio to a reasonable level.
Concerning string noise, you could try employing a De Esser to take some of the edge off. Be carefull because this can also mess your tone up.
In regards to overall sound. It sounds fine. What I would consider doing though is using a condenser microphone instead of the dynamic. You can back up the mic a bit more(1 to 3 feet or 6 feet even, if you have a decent room). Having some more of the room sound can enhance the woodiness of your tone. As an added bonus, the string noise is less pronounced.
