Recording Clarity

1. Answered: 147 day 4 h (1) | Permalink

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   Martin Swain

   Hi, Rafael.

   Although you have "good mics" it may be that these mics just aren't suited to some of the instruments you're recording. Sometimes a less expensive mic will yield better results than that of a higher price on certain sound sources. I would try and know the mics you're using well and know their sound.

   Listen to how the instrument sounds in the room then move the mic around the instrument until you get the sound you want, and/or change it for a different one rather than just settling for a sound when you put a mic up. If you can get a really good sound going in, then you won't need to use drastic EQ cuts and boosts to fix the sounds in the mix.

   Before spending money on an exciter plugin, make your mics work for you. There's no substitute for knowing what your equipment sounds like.

   • Hi - thanks for your reply - I have pretty good mics, so I think i'm ok in that area. See, most of my tracks are done with DI boxes. My bass guitar is direct, my guitar is direct, keyboards are direct, even my drum tracks are direct from my computer, through an SPDIF connection and into my 24 track recorder. One problem I think I have is that, I am using Yamaha NS10's to monitor with. They sound crappy but they are supposed to.

     Rafael E. Nunez | Jan 12 at 12:01

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2. Answered: 146 day 1 h (1) | Permalink

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   theDAWstudio

   When you say "I use very good mics to record with" your discussion of signal chain stops there. It sounds like you are a victum of missing a much more important part of your signal chain than good mics, good microphone preamps. Since you didn't mention them, I am assuming that you are just using the ones on your audio interface. We've had a lot of discussion about this on other threads. This makes a lot of sense why your clarity is suffering. A mic pre has the daunting task of making the very low signal from a microphone (-60 dB) thousands times louder (0 dB). The better this is done, the clearer and truer the audio is to the original the signal.

    

   The stock preamps on most audio interfaces have a couple of dollars worth of parts consisting of ICs that are great on the pocket book, but not so great on the signal path. Professional preamps have a descrete signal path free of ICs. They also use less efficient (powerwise) forms of amplification (Class A and B) that are a truer to the original signal, but use more power unlike more efficient amplification (Class C and D). These professional level pre-amps usually sit in the price range of $500 and up per channel. There are lots of prosumer ones at $200-300 per channel that are really a waste of time. They sound better than the stock ones, but pale in comparrison to the pro ones.

    

   If you start looking at pre-amps, you'll hear lots of discussion between Tube, Transformer and transformerless (or descrete). All are wonderful and make the sound clear and crisp, but each gives a different character to the sound. Both Tube and Transformer based pre-amps give a thickness and fatness to the sound depending on which tubes and transformers are used in the design. The Transformerless designs are based on the idea that tubes and transformers color the sound so if they were removed there would be a cleaner and truer signal. These preamps sound amazing, but are often construed as being too clear showing all of the mistakes as well as nuances and are often used in ensemble recording and traditional music.

    

   I too would suggest against an aural exciter and try to do the best you can with EQ, but set your sights on professional pre-amps in the future. Not to depress you any more, but the quality of your AD/DA converters is key as well and the next thing to deal with.

   • Hi - thanks for your reply - I have a Universal Audio preamp, so I think I'm covered there. My main problem is: 1. Too much low end, 2. Not enough clarity and 'AIR' 3. the Bass guitar and the Kick Drum clash too much and need separation. If I can solve those issues, I'll be set for life!

     Rafael E. Nunez | Jan 12 at 12:01

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3. Answered: 145 day 21 h (3) | Permalink

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   Astral Plane Studios

   Clarity in recording has more to do with acoustics than pre-amps....If the acoustics aren't there, the sound won't be there either. It will be a muffled muddy mess due to room modes, reflections and whatnot. Acoustics should always come first as a quality issue. Preamps are not the cure all in audio, it always begins with the room. You can have a studio full of Audient ASP008s and bad acoustics and those beautiful preamps will sound horrible.

   Have you done anything different with your setup Rafael? Bit depth, sample rate, etc? If things were great before and suddenly bad there has to be a reason why. If your acoustics are there, then yes focus on preamps. If preamps are there, check your session settings as well as gear to make sure there isn't anything on that doesn't need to be, effects or otherwise.

   Providing audible samples helps quite a bit with issues like these. Only so much can be speculated through textual explanations.

   • I completely agree about making sure the acoustics are sound. I might of assumed based on the lack of mentioning preamps. I firmly believe that acoustics, mic placement, source quality, microphone, mic preamp and converter all are equally important factors in getting good sounding recordings.

     theDAWstudio | Dec 28 at 04:12

   • I can totally understand that one considering the tone of the question. Everything adds up to a great sound indeed. Acoustics, then pre-amps and mics. It's also easier to suggest a pre just for the simple fact they're more economical than doing some great treatment. :)

     Astral Plane Studios | Dec 28 at 04:12

   • Hi guys - thanks for your replies - I think one of my main problem with clarity, is that I am using Yamaha NS10 monitors. I mean, they sound crappy to begin with, but they are supposed to sound that way. If you can get them to sound good, your recordings will sound good anywhere. My other thing is with BASS and Kick drum. I need more separation between them. They seem to 'clash' together too much and there is too much low end. Help!

     Rafael E. Nunez | Jan 12 at 12:01

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4. Answered: 130 day 3 h (1) | Permalink

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   guest

   What mics are you using? 

   • Hi - My current Mics are: Neumann TLM-102, Shure SM7B, Miktek C7. My Mic Preamp is a Universal Audio LA-610 and Compressor is Universal Audio 1176.

     Rafael E. Nunez | Jan 12 at 12:01

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