EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 i picked up my sennheiser e609 guitar cab mic today, brought it home and tried it out...well it was an improvent but the sound comin out of my digital recorder is still lacking...its almost as if it sounds like im recording it onto my computer with its crappy microphone...not as bad but the sound is almost distant if you will...im workin on gettin some soundclips so you guys know what im talkin about up, hopefuly it will be shortly. ii have a mixer on its way to my house, should be here in the next couple of days do you think the EQ on that will help any? thanks agian ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 What's the rest of your recording chain - are you using a mic pre? Mixer? What kind of sound card if you're recording onto a computer, and if not a computer, what are you recording on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 oh you missed the discussion about this, well ill fill ya in. I have a korg PXR4 digital recorder (little blue and silver one) anyway, im currently micing my marshall cab with a sennheiser e609 which for now runs directly into the recorder. I have some stuff on order and when that gets here this will be the chain..... amp->mic(senn. e609 and mxl 990 cond.)->mixer->recorder thanks for your time ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Hi Ryan, sorry I didn't read your other discussion, I haven't had time to be on here much lately. I don't know what type of mixer you ordered, but I'm guessing that the preamps in the Korg are really weak and nearly any mixer will get you an improvement in sound. However, here are a couple of other tips which might help a lot: 1) Don't kill the mic with volume. It sounds counterintuitive but you will actually get a bigger recorded sound by turning the amp down. 2) Mic positioning is VERY important. Don't point the mic straight into the speaker. If your cab has multiple speakers, put your ear close to each one and listen for the best sounding one (most amps have one speaker that sounds better than the other). Point the mic at an angle so that it's not in the center of the speaker and not pointing straight at it, but sort of sideways and pointing toward the edge of the sweetest speaker. Otherwise you will end up capturing more "air" than amp, which often explains why it sounds "distant." You might also find that it sounds best with the mic 6-8" off the speaker rather than right up against it. Experiment with that a bit to find the best placement. 3) What's the room like where you're recording? If you have a fairly "echoey" room, reflections off the walls, floor or ceiling can cause phase cancellations which results in a weak, distant sound. Point the amp at something dead like a couch, and put the mic between the couch and the amp, so that the couch absorbs any echoes that would otherwise bounce off the wall. See how that goes, and the mixer will probably help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmass Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 What are you listening to it through ( i.e. speakers, phones, etc)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 the room is just my bedroom for now (picture your standard teenagers bedroom) i know that it doesnt have the best sound quality but im workin on buildin some panels to go around my amp. the e609 is designed to lay directly on the grill and is suppose to be mic'd close but im gonna try it a little a way. also the mixer is a behringer ub1202 thanks so much for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 headphones, descent quality (around 30 bucks i believe) nothin superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Well if you're recording in your bedroom, and you have a bed with a comforter or something that goes all the way down to the floor, try pointing the amp straight at the bed, and put a blanket over the back of the cab too if it's an open back cab. If it's closed, don't worry about it. And yeah, try positioning the mic a little differently, I'll bet that will help a lot. And definitely back off the volume as much as you can and back some of the distortion off too if you're recording a distorted sound. If you want just the right amount of distortion when recorded I often find that you have to use a little less than you normally would live. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 k ill try all that, it kinda sucks i wont have my mixer till at least wendsday, im really anxious to see how that helps. im so new to all this recording stuff, very frustiating at the start...thanks again ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 How "hot" are the levels you're recording to the Korg? Does it have meters that display signal levels? My thought is that you might have the inputs set for line input levels instead of mic inputs - you might need more gain set on the Korg... or not. You want a good solid level without "peaking" or going over and into the red. I don't know that particular unit, so I can't tell you specifics, but I'd definitely check your levels if I was you. And the sound clips will be a GREAT help for us to hear exactly what we're dealing with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 i dont think it has an actual mic input...it says guitar, line and then the onboard condenser mic...i dont think theres anythign else...im thinkin of gettin rid of this and pickin up a fostex 8 mx8(?)...it seems a bit more advanced...anyone know anything about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Ahh OK, I just looked up the specs on that unit... Phil's right, it doesn't have a proper mic level input other than the built in mic. That explains your problem. Yes the mixer will help because that'll bring the mic signal up to line level which you can then plug into the Korg's line input. And yes the Fostex MR8 is a bit better, in any case it has two actual mic inputs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylen Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I got my wife one of those Korg recorders last month so she could put some ideas down... I haven't heard it yet and I don't know if this has anything to do with it but the recording format of the device might be a contributing factor... Recording Format: 16-bit MPEG 1 Audio Layer 2 compressed, 32kHz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 well on ebay the korg unit goes for about 180 and i think the fostex actually goes for a little lower than that...both used of course...so you think definatly make the trade? cause ill do it in a second to help my sound and i think it will...kylen im not sure what music your wife records but the unit worked pretty good for me with clean and piano...just doesnt do too good with the heavy stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylen Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Originally posted by EmptinessOFYouth: ...kylen im not sure what music your wife records but the unit worked pretty good for me with clean and piano...just doesnt do too good with the heavy stuffShe's a vocalist first and a budding bass and keybd player - I think she's just gonna use it as a scratchpad. The guy at Guitar Center said he uses his to lay down a few tracks then import them into his DAW, upsample to 44.1KHz and it sounds fine (I didn't ask what he is listening on). I think we're gonna try something like that - I recently heard the latest Melissa Auf der Maur CD in which some really fine hi-fidelity recordings 'fold-down' to lo-fi at certain points adding great effect to the dynamics and immediacy of the music. I guess I'm thinking that sometimes basic tracks can be used in final production and still sound good. I'm guessing but I think 32KHz 16bit might be a step up from the Fostex 1/4" 8 track tape machine I used to use - we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 Ryan, I don't have any personal experience with that Fostex unit, but from looking at specs/features alone I would say it was a better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 yea i agree. espeacilly since im gonna be recordin with 2 mics, with this it looks like i can get em on seperate tracks which is always nice. i think im gonna go for it. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 one more thing, it think, the fostex has no phantoom power on the xlr inputs but that shouldnt matter if im runnin the mics into my mixer (which does) before the recorder...just makin sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 If you run like this: Mic -> XLR mic cable -> Mixing board's microphone input (mic preamp, with phantom power turned "on" but only if you are using a condenser mic - the Sennheiser is a dynamic mic and doesn't need phantom power) -> mixer's line output -> 1/4" cable -> recorder's (Korg or Fostex) line input You'll be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 the e609 doesnt but i also got a mxl 990 condensor mic on its way to my house, thats gonna need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrick Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 The E609 use, for live applications, is to just lay it over the amp. In that situation you have a PA with EQ and your live sound is a combination of your amp and the reinforcement provided. For recording, the E609 should be placed as Lee advised. I find that the E609 is very close to an SM57, maybe a little brighter, and you need to experiment with its placement. As these are different applications, Live versus Recording, adjustments are required in terms of placement, and pre-amp capabilities (mixer or outboard preamp), to achieve what you are looking for. That new condenser that you are getting is likely to be a better option for you in a recording situation. Good luck. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmptinesOf Youth Posted August 8, 2004 Author Share Posted August 8, 2004 the downfall of everything was the digital recorder. i just downloaded the demo of sound forge and it sounds a thousands times better. right now im runn the mic straight into the line in on my comp. i havent messed with the mic posistions yet, but im guessin with my mixer and a little tweakin of the mic, itll sound very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franknputer Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Originally posted by kylen: The guy at Guitar Center said...nothing good ever started this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylen Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Originally posted by Christopher Kemp: Originally posted by kylen: The guy at Guitar Center said...nothing good ever started this way. hehe sometimes I feel the quicksand rising above my neck in there - but what a lot of fun toys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlampson Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Originally posted by Lee Flier: Well if you're recording in your bedroom, and you have a bed with a comforter or something that goes all the way down to the floor, try pointing the amp straight at the bed, and put a blanket over the back of the cab too if it's an open back cab. If it's closed, don't worry about it!I used to put the amp (a 35 watt Peavey) in the closet, put towels and pillows all around it and turn it up a little. The amp was not good and the mic was less expensive than your headphones. The tone was workable. This is a great idea and with your upgraded equipment you should experience an upgraded sound. Best of luck. John ----------- John\'s Songs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.