[Jim Soloway]

This is not about the music or the playing. It's about the sound. This a passage I've played for years and I'm comfortable with it but I've always struggled with recording it properly and I've gotten way too involved to have any objectivity left. It's the intro to a much longer piece and I really want to get the whole thing done. Any thoughts on the sound or tone?

VERSION 4:
Here's a fourth take with a completely different setup: different guitar, tuning, strings, mic and amp. It may actually still be too much bass but I like the basic sound a lot better and if I have to fix something, better it should be something I actually like to begin with.

http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/S421-Montreal-03-27-17-1B.mp3

Version 5 ... My first attempt at a high pass filter
http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/S421-Montreal-03-27-17-1-EQ-2.mp3

TUESDAY ... After a bunch of experiments this morning I'm now up to version 6. The bass has been reduced at the amp, the mic has been moved further from the cab and a high pass filter has been set at 100. Even with the changes, this is still probably more bass than some of you will like but for solo guitar I clearly like more bass than some of you.

http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/MtrlTest421-03-28-17-3.mp3

TUESDAY LATER

This will be it for today. I'm trying to get less muddy but without getting what I think of as shrill. So there's going to be some compromise. Here are two versions of a single recording. The first one has the high pass filer. The second one also pulls back the highs a bit to try to get it a bit less brittle.

http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/MtrlTest421-03-28-17-3B2.mp3

http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/MtrlTest421-03-28-17-3B3.mp3

 

[Guncho]

Too much bass.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks. I'll have a second version up momentarily.

 

[BGood]

I listened to it on good speakers and sound card, not on crappy computer speakers. Nice. Maybe too much bass, but more likely not enough sparkle. There is no audible high frequencies, tone seemed muffled, almost as if you played on old strings. Good but ... humph ... it could come forward a little more.

Will there be other instruments present in that segment ?

 

[Jim Soloway]

I listened to it on good speakers and sound card, not on crappy computer speakers. Nice. Maybe too much bass, but more likely not enough sparkle. There is no audible high frequencies, tone seemed muffled, almost as if you played on old strings. Good but ... humph ... it could come forward a little more.

Will there be other instruments present in that segment ?

No other instruments. It's strictly solo guitar. I've just posted a second take with less bass and maybe a bit more sparkle. Thanks.

 

[keto]

Jim, I just listened to take 2. Have you got a high pass filter you could run it through? Still a little bassy, not the notes themselves or the attack, but the floating sustain is extremely rich. I don't know what the magic number to hpf, 100-120 would be a rough guess though that could be high or low a wee bit.

Or maybe that's how you want it to sound, it's not going to wreck speakers or anything.

 

[Guncho]

How do you hear the second version?

 

[Guncho]

Yeah way too much bass. Bass eats up headroom. You are going to have to make the whole thing so much quieter to not clip due to the bass.

 

[Jim Soloway]

How do you hear the second version?

Not very well. That's why I'm doing this. I've been playing this forever and I can never get it to record like it sounds in the room. I don't generally play with a lot of open strings and this has a bunch of them right at the lowest end of the instrument. It's a chore but I'll keep putting up new ones and letting you guys guide me if no one minds.

 

[Guncho]

Try turning the bass way down til it sounds obvious and slowly turn it back up to where it sounds good.

 

[Jim Soloway]

Try turning the bass way down til it sounds obvious and slowly turn it back up to where it sounds good.

done. I've very much a bass slut and this runs completely against my basic nature so pleas bear with me if I'm going down in increments that may be too small. It may also be that i have to change more than just the bass to get there and if so, so be it.

 

[Guncho]

Give me no bass and then a little bit of bass.

 

[BGood]

-7.5 on bass, +15 on treble in Audacity. Sounds real nice, almost King Crimsony. How can I send the track to you. I don't want to upload it on my Soundcloud account.

 

[Guncho]

Pull up a solo electric guitar jazz piece you like and compare it.

 

[BGood]

Here ... -7.5 dB on bass, +15 dB on treble in Audacity. It sounds very King Crimsony like this.

Vocaroo | Voice message

 

[Guncho]

 

[Guitar101]

This is not about the music or the playing. It's about the sound. This a passage I've played for years and I'm comfortable with it but I've always struggled with recording it properly and I've gotten way too involved to have any objectivity left. It's the intro to a much longer piece and I really want to get the whole thing done. Any thoughts on the sound or tone?

EDIT 2:
Here's a third take with more bass rolled off.

http://www.solowayguitars.com/Recordings2017/Flip-03-17-17-1-EvenLessBass.mp3

I see your updating the link as you go. Since I'm late to the party, I never heard the earlier versions but the one you've got up there now sounds pretty nice to me on both my studio speakers and headphones.

Update: I stand by what I said Jim. Don't overthink it. On my DAW system which has it own high quality sound card. Ver.3 (which is gone now) sounded clear (no hiss) and well done. I wish I could get my guitar to sound like that.

 

[Guncho]

All I hear is BAAAASSSSS.

 

[Guitar101]

All I hear is BAAAASSSSS.

I run my bass and treble flat on my studio system. I know it's a dumb question but do you have your bass turned up?

 

[Guncho]

No I'm listening on a logitech headset through my laptop but I listen to music all day on these so am quite familiar with how they sound.