I´m messing around with my new recording equipment these days. My goal is to put the beautiful sound of my bass down on tape.
Basically the recorded bass sounds great in my earphones, but as soon as I play it on a stereo system it sounds crap. That´s why I suspect that my terrible mixing skills should be blamed.
Check out this recording. It´s just me playing around with a simple melody.
I used a tsm condenser mic that I put right above the F hole...perhaps five cm. away. Any tips on how to make it sound better is appreciated..!
Try pointing the mic straight at the end of the fingerboard or at the bridge. Should yield less boom.
I know that recording engineers discourage using headphones as your main monitoring system.
__________________
John
When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water...
I love the tone.. A little too boomy. You said you fixed it with some electronic work.. try and see if you can fix it "live" ... so you're gigging sounds nice. As for Critique... the playing seemed a little lost. IMHO A melody should sound like a person doing something outdoors... Walking.. Running.. Hopping.. jumping...etc. remember this is just my VERY humble opinion... Your melody kinda sounded like somebody walking, running, and jogging all at the same time.
All that aside I really love the tone of your bass. as for the "boomyness" I'd say play around with the mic location. If the bass has that boom acoustically then see if there is something in your technique that can help it. Otherwise that is a sweet sounding bass.
I think those low notes get lost. Maybe because you put it right in front of the F-Hole? Try somewhere else, as the f-holes can be weird in my limited experience with mics. Maybe lower, say past the bridge somewhere?
Most of the music was ok. Somewhere in the middle it seemed to kinda meander a little too much. Maybe try staying a little more simple and melodic? Nice sound and intonation otherwise.
Nice stuff, I think if you lose the headphones , you are going to get a bigger and warmer sound on the faster passages, tone gets kinda thin there, the bass loses the fundamental. Headphones will never let you hear the fundamental of your instrument clearly, they handicap musical performance, IMHO. Aren't they just earmuffs with little speakers inside? Anyway, I think your on to something good here.
Thanks alot, guys, I really appreciate it. I´ll try to experiment more with mic-placement.
Oh, and about the performance - well, it´s pretty much mindless rambling. So I totally get what you said about the melody, but if anything, listen to it as a rubato improv
Anyway, I think your on to something good here.
