Is this a question of mic placement, recording volume level (I have this set pretty high), etc., or am I asking too much from this setup? Would different software, such as Cakewalk or Cool Edit, help? Would I get better results recording into a MD recorder? I am considering one of these but wanted to try this cheaper option first.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Clay Collins

The other problem you may have is miking too close to your guitar. With that microphone you will want tto put it 2-3ft from the guitar pointing at the 14th fret on a plane through the 2nd or 3rd string. Experiment with the position relative to the nut and bridge until you find the sound you are after. One parameter you wil be selecting is how much left hand vs right hand noise you get. The other parameter has to do with where your guitar likes to radiate frequencies.

Experiment with the room you are in. If you plan to add a lot of processing and reverb after the fact, you will want a room with lots of carpets and drapes and soft stuff around (e.g. bedroom). If you want to use the natural reverberation, find a room with a wooden floor and lots of complexity (i.e. alchoves, furtniture, decorations on the walls and ceiling etc.). Try to avoid any bare parallel walls.

Reverb tends to make recordings sound better, but if you really want to do critical listening of your playing you will want to avoid it.

To check it, do this:

1. Double click on the speaker icon in your system tray (lower right box).

2. Select Options, then Properties in upper left.

3. In the Properties window select recording and then Ok.

4. Check the settings in this window and confirm that your input source is the one selected. That is, if you're using the Mic In, make sure that one is selected. Also confirm the physical connection to your computer.

5. Once you have everything properly selected, bring the level down a bit and record again.

If this cleans it up then you're on to the nuances of micing that Adrian has suggested for capturing the best sound from the guitar/room you are recording.

If I still have problems, I'll take you up on your offer to give it a listen, Corn Dog.

Thanks again for all the ideas.

The recorded volume still seemed very low, even with the mic-in level set around 80-90%. For playback, I had to turn all my volume controls way up just to hear it - this mainly affected the acoustic, not so much the vocals or my reso.

Could this be related to the impedance mismatch that Adrian spoke of (although I'm not sure exactly what that means)? Also, can I expect better recording levels if I was recording to a minidisc with this mic? I don't want to go out and spend the $250 for one if the results aren't any better.

Thanks again for all the help.

or

buy a combining cable from radioshack

or

1) try a different recording program, more professional Audio such as Audacity (free = http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about.php?lang=en) or fork out some $$ for Soundforge.

2) U may want to fool around with yr settings a bit, or adapt a cheap mixer....this will help with yr imput

3) Always 'normalise' yr recording once it is made, this is mandatory, otherwise the DAC ( digital to analogiue converter in yr sound card) which compresses the recorded audio will only give a limited quality.

4) try a direct pickup to audio in...

5) check the quality of yr sound card..some cheaper cards and cards for general games r not great for recording....

6) always get a test level from yr microphone and normalise a test file to suss out the effectiveness or yr recording capabilities

7) recording direct to computers can be risky as its is easy to get audio artefacts from the amount of electrical interference in a computer system...mini disks, hard drive recorders etc tend to give a better non interference quality unless u invest in a really good recording card with external rack inputs etc ..

cheeeeeeeeeers

Anyway I good er very good mic and a JoeMeek Compressor that I use as preamp. I like what I hear ! Still better recordings shows tghe aWfull truth : I am not a very good guitarist! But the recordings help me improve. I hope.

Like with recording to tape, record so that you saturate and fill up the 24-bit signal by recording as close as possible to the peak (maximum amplitude). The challenge here, from my experience, is that digital clipping, as you exceed the maximum amplitude, is very harsh, and the threshold can be tough to find, depending on the tools you're using. Clipping is more forgiving, and sometimes desireable, on the analogue side due the slight natural compression that can occur. For both, trial and error with your setup and copious session notes will get you to the right levels for consistent good signal recordings.

Back on topic, now that you've checked everything else, it seems like Adrian's pre-amp suggestion may be the cure here for your current setup.

Finn, I come in via USB with my Aarvark USB3 24 bit A/D converter. For acoustic recording, I come in with two mics, one with a tube pre-amp, into my RNC775 compressor, which then feeds the Aardvark. I adjust levels on the tube pre-amp, the compressor, and the A/D converter. I do not make any adjustments in Cakewalk during the recording process, only on the mix down.

Check out Resin8er's material on the IGS Sampler. These tracks were recorded here recently using this setup. Resin8er has a great ear and naturally EQ'ed himself as he played guitar and sang. He heard how he loaded the room and adjusted accordingly for a warm, full, and balanced signal. I didn't need to touch the mix at all, other than some panning.

Finn,- check out the Echo 'Mia' card, costs NOK 3.000- in Norway and that's not much more than the SB I think.
Very good AD/DA converters and reliable drivers, as is the case with all of the Echo family.
I've recorded and produced music for a multi media show, TV commercials and also music for a TV series using that card, I'm very happy with it.

Converting from Analog to digital can be done by using a soundcard or an external converter it seems. Whats the pros and cons of those two solutions?

Is external Converters used for portable PCīs and not For standard PCīs ??

Corndog, you menmtioned two micīs whatīs mic #2 doing for the saound and why use two? One mic is going thru compressor etc. what the other one doing then? (I might be daft here but eh.. Just curious) Also you mention USB3 that is new for me. USB2 Iīve heard of ..

Is anyone using the internal (highlander) mic inside the guitar as a recordingdevice?