Direct recording sounds thin

[Hubaxe]

a ribbon mic, something next on my buying list.

[a.hun]

a ribbon mic, something next on my buying list.

No argument there. Okay, I don't need one, but they can sound awesome. My Dad had an old Bang & Olufsen stereo one, long tube with two halves, you could twist the top half through 0° to 90°. Fantastic sounding thing as long as you didn't try to hand hold it.

Like my NT2 when you listened to that mic with good headphones it sounded uncannily nice. (Bet it cost my Dad a pretty penny too back then!)

Too bad about my ears these days...


Andy.

Edit: Something for you here maybe?
http://recordinghacks.com/2011/07/11/60 ... -shootout/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Hubaxe]

After reading carefully the shootout, I think I'll buy a chinese ribbon mic
(I've a friend that live in Ningbo, gonna ask him to send me a bunch of those http://www.nbmic.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

I record only to keep track of ideas, or redo a guitar chorus a t home after a studio session.
But I really like that, it's very interesting to record something that sound as expected.

For our recording, we go to a professional studio. Moreover, if I play, I need to concentrate on music only, and forget all technical setup, apart getting a nice sound out of the amp.

[a.hun]

Moreover, if I play, I need to concentrate on music only, and forget all technical setup, apart getting a nice sound out of the amp.

I wish more guitarists I've played with didn't forget that last bit!


Andy.

[jontheid]

direct recording - guitar, Focusrite 2i2, vst plugins, in which I just cannot get the good basic signal which I can see all over videos and forums

I had one of these Focusrite 2i2 interfaces - I couldn't get it to sound good either!
I had terrible problems with clipping when plugging the guitar straight into the interface, with the input selector set to 'inst' for 'instrument'.
Even with the gain on 0 it clipped badly.

It doesn't clip if you set the input to 'line' but it sounds awful if you do that.

I sent mine back and got a full refund, basically it is a design fault.
Google '2i2 clipping' and you'll find loads of posts about this.

To get a decent sound I think you either need to use a different interface, or plug your guitar into a DI box, and then plug the XLR out of the DI box into the mic in of the 2i2.

Cheers,
Jon

[Borderline Productions]

You have to look at every step in the signal chain.

I have a Tech 21 Millenium 10 that has an XLR direct out that worked great. Too bad they don't make them anymore. Tech 21knows how to do this and make the best bass DI out there. That is easy, but doesn't always fit the bill.

Two to three microphones. 1) A 57 or 58 or Beta a few inches from the cone. You need to adjust the position until you get the sound you want. This will give the punchy direct sound.
2) a condenser mic (I've used a cheap made in China one that cost about $75) about six feet away set on cardoid (low pass on if it has one) about two feet off the floor and aimed at the floor about halfway between the mic and the speaker cabinet. It will pick up the first reflection. The advantage to this is that is picks up what the 57/58/Beta misses.
3) (optional) Condenser mic more than 12 feet away to catch the room effect.

Pre-amp: most built-in preamps in mixing boards are not too great. Outboard pre-amps can range from $50 per channel to $1000 per channel. Remember to turn down the pre-amp on the board all the way down and let the outboard gear do the work. Make sure that you have adequate signal without unwanted distortion.

A/D converter: Some are better than others. The good ones are not cheap, but they make a difference.

Be willing to play around with different mic placements, pre-amp settings, and blends of the various mics. When you find what works, write down what you did (also useful when recording drums) so you can use that as a starting point next time.

Listen on near field monitors instead of headphones.

[markjazzbassist]

i've had this revelation as well recently although for bass. i realized it's down to strings. i need a thicker gauge string with more low end and midrange content to fill the sonic spectrum.

not sure if that will work for guitar but worth a shot.

[a.hun]

i've had this revelation as well recently although for bass. i realized it's down to strings. i need a thicker gauge string with more low end and midrange content to fill the sonic spectrum.

not sure if that will work for guitar but worth a shot.

Well Billy Gibbons uses ridiculously light guitar strings (7's I think) and gets MASSIVE tone, so I'm not totally convinced.

I once asked my mate John P. (tech extraordinaire) if he held with the theory that there is an ideal string guage for each individual instrument. 'Absolutely!' was his answer.

Also I think that some people when changing guages probably forget to re-optimise the pickup height for the new strings...

Nothing wrong with experimenting though. Need to find what works best for you!


Andy.

[bclaire]

Good article on string gauge:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/S ... ths_Part_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;