I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

[brianpowers27]

So I thought I'd warm the cold fingers. I used to play daily. It has now been almost 3 weeks since I have played.

This was a fun little experiment. I have never used the ECM8000 mic to record anything other than speakers before. Tonight I wondered around in mono while noodling on the guitar.

Here is what I have.


1. The raw mono track http://sites.google.com/site/bpsound...attredirects=0

2. The same track with phase alteration to create artificial stereo http://sites.google.com/site/bpsound...attredirects=0

3. The track + multiband compression + medium room reverb http://sites.google.com/site/bpsound...attredirects=0

[6thplanet]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

With a mic as "flat" as those I wonder if that be another good way of voicing speakers? If you record said instrument, then appon play back it should sound like what was recorded... huh.. never thought about that really..
As a side note, we used my home speakers to do the mix down of my bands latest cd. Worked out nicely.

[killa]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

Sounds like you play pretty good. It sounds like your a little rusty though
I have heard a lot of people say they play the guitar and the majority of them suck. I play a little guitar a little but I am not that good. I am really good at bass guitar though.

[brianpowers27]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I would really like to get ahold of a second mike and make stereo recordings of various things happening in the room.

I really wanted to show people how the mono track changes dramatically when a slight bit of phase is added.

Here is another track that I wrote some time ago. Near the end of the cut the synth bass changes from mostly mono to super wide stereo. This is similar to some of the effect I postulate could happen when group delay in a speaker system is raised dramatically.

http://sites.google.com/site/bpsoundfiles/quick-dirty-guitar/warmmonostereo2.mp3?attredirects=0

[killa]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

Ive got an eventide ultra harmonizer that could probably do that. It will also do just about any kind of effect you can think of. It can even put effects on top of other effects. Nice piece of studio gear my aunt gave me for free:D

[tom_s]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

Nice tone! It sounds like a pretty good acoustic you have there. Wish I could play more than a few basic chords...

I've used my 8000 to record voice-overs here at home when I left my other mics at work. A makeshift packing foam iso booth, a pop filter, and that mic really sounds great!

[Mark65]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I dig the harmonic chords from "Dee".

Good stuff.

Mark

[romanbednarek]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I must admit that you had much better results using the ECM8000 to record an acoustic guitar than I did when I tried. I liked the song too (I've found that recording can be extremely frustrating at times especially from the perspective of a perfectionist).

Just over a year ago I invested in some recording equipment and found that using dual, matched condenser mics works quite well to record an acoustic guitar. I picked up a matched pair of Behringer C-2 condenser mics (currently $59.99 at most places including where I got mine here... http://www.wwbw.com/Behringer-C-2-Sm...-i1448437.wwbw ). There are many different ways to configure the dual mics for recording but I found that I preferred having them spaced about 18" apart with one mic near the 12th fret and the other mic near the bridge. It produces a very full and spacious sound that still seems natural (although sometimes you can hear the pick more on one channel and the fret/string sounds on the other channel).

I don't have many decent performance quality recordings uploaded to my site (did I mention that recording is frustrating for me, which has really made it tough to take the time and have the patience to put together anything decent). Anyway, there is one song that I recorded in one take with my C-2 mics set up as I mentioned above but I may have added a bit too much reverb to the mix. I played the song on my 1967 Gibson B25-12 acoustic 12 string guitar and the link to the song is here...

http://www.rjbaudio.com/12%20String%20Fury.mp3

I have a few other songs that I recorded a few years back but they are recorded from the Fishman under-the-saddle piezo pickup in my handmade classical guitar. Those songs and some random info can be found here (the 12 string info is dated because I was able to determine the model later)...

http://www.rjbaudio.com/guitar.html


Anyway, it is nice to have another fellow guitarist making and sharing music on the forum. I'm curious to know more about your steel string acoustic guitar because it sounds pretty good to me (and I can be picky when it comes to acoustic guitars). Thanks for sharing and keep on playing!

[brianpowers27]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

This is a hobby that tends to get neglected from time to time... This year has been bad for playing/writing music. I tend to bounce back and fourth between different hobbies. We moved into our first house about 15 months ago and I have been going like gangbusters on home improvements, when the kids let me.



I just put up these cheap and dirty ceiling speakers in two rooms.



Here are a few pictures of the guitar, room and preamp.





I am actually really happy with the soundcard/preamp combination. I am using a m-audio delta audiophile 24/96 and this studio projects preamp. It could do tube but in the recordings l;inked above it was pure solid state done with NO processing.

My first love was music composition. As a teen I spent every hour I could doing it. I have a collection of tunes almost as strange as the work from Brian Eno. Today, my hobbies all compete for each other's time.

I don't think the secret is the guitar or the strings. I like the guitar but certainly didn't break the bank ($330 new 2004)I am willing to bet that these straings are at least 18 months old.:eek: I still am a firm believer in the thick pick vs soft pick.

Here is a link to the guitar. It is a Samick (Greg Bennett series) D5 ce lh.

http://www.gregbennettguitars.com/d5lh.html

[PunkSweeper]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I still am a firm believer in the thick pick vs soft pick.

I see what you did there.

[nordhaven]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I got to disagree with ya on the thick pick thing! But here are a few pics of my baby.

[Mark65]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

I got to disagree with ya on the thick pick thing! But here are a few pics of my baby.

I somewhat agree, with you, in that sometimes a thick pick gets you what you want, and sometimes a thin one is what you need. It just depends. I have and use both. But, I suck at the guitar, so YMMV.


What kind of guitar is that? no pic of the headstock, and the bridge is not familiar. Odd (to me at least) to see a cutaway acoustic/electric with a sharp heel like that. It does look very nice though. Oh, wait, I think I recognize that scroll at the twelfth fret, is it an Ibanez?

Oh and Brian, had no idea you were a lefty. That's cool.

Mark

[romanbednarek]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

Based on my experience I have to disagree regarding the sound of different acoustic guitars, the sound of different strings (weight & composition but mainly how new they are) and the sound of different picks.

I recently experimented with different weight picks (in the "rainbow" Dunlop Tortex type) and found that althought the heaviest (purple, 1mm) pick made it easier to speed pick, it had a muting effect on the sound of the strings compared to the orange (0.60mm) or yellow (0.73mm) ones that I usually use. I actually tend to hold the pick closer to the tip when soloing versus strumming (or even curve the pick slightly during solos which makes the pick bend less).

As far as strings go I prefer D'Addario Phosphor-Bronze EXP Custom Light and my guitar is set up for that weight of string (and although the EXP's tend to last a bit longer than most un-coated strings, they still get dull after a few weeks relative to a new set).

There is a huge difference between the sound of different steel string acoustic guitars and I learned a lot recently after helping a friend shop for one at a local store. A lot comes down to the materials for the soundboard as well as the back and sides of the guitar. A lot of less expensive guitars use "plywood" type soundboards which are much less resonant than spruce or cedar. I'm also not of fan of guitars which use exotic wood veneered soundboards because I think that it doesn't make sense to veneer a stiffer (maple for example) wood and ruin the acoustic properties of the soundboard. Personally I prefer the sound of spruce over cedar and I would consider either of them as the best soundboard material in general. The back and sides of the guitar matter as well and I'm familiar with maple, mahogany and rosewood. I find that maple tends to be on the bright side, mahogany tends to be on the warm side and rosewood has the best qualities of both.

I have a friend who is a luthier and knows quite a bit about building guitars. I've built two guitars myself and while they don't look very pretty (they've been through a lot) they sound great. I built my classical guitar from scratch back in 1991 and it has a spruce soundboard and mahogany back and sides. It has a very full and deep sound for a classical guitar which is a huge contrast to my friend's homemade classical which uses a cedar soundboard with maple back/sides and is very crisp but produces some odd harmonics from each note. My steel string guitar is a Stew-Mac Martin HD-28 clone kit (spruce soundboard, rosewood back/sides) and is very loud, crisp and deep sounding. I went way too light with the lacquer and it is prone to scratching but this contributed to its clarity and volume (I read about a famous guitarist who actually sanded down the soundboard on his acoustic guitar in order to improve the sound).

I guess everything above is my opinion but I really do believe that acoustic guitars have a wide range of sound based primarily on materials and build (material thickness, bracing patterns, etc.).


...my HD-28 clone (pre-lacquer)...

[nordhaven]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

"What kind of guitar is that? no pic of the headstock, and the bridge is not familiar. Odd (to me at least) to see a cutaway acoustic/electric with a sharp heel like that. It does look very nice though. Oh, wait, I think I recognize that scroll at the twelfth fret, is it an Ibanez?"

http://www.woodsongguitars.com/guitars/sw-400ce.asp

[Guest]

Re: I used to play guitar... Raw audio track recorded with ecm8000

Tonight I wondered around in mono while noodling on the guitar.

Have you consulted your physician about this? ;)
First track sounds good. A bit noisy. What are you using to record?
Any chance of a WAV instead of mp3?

cheers,

AJ