sorry, but not all di boxes will transform mic level input to line level output. that would imply a preamp stage

a di box should be able to do two things (actally it is just one):

• it will transform an unbalanced input signal to a balanced signal
• doing that it brings down impedance. Input impedance high (guitar) will be transformed to low output impedance (like in a mic. but that is not the main effect. the main thing it does is unbalanced > balanced
  

everything beyond these two functions is optional. there are a lot of products that combine preamp and di features like the sansamp boxes or some products for bass players. If you want these features make sure the di box has those.

opty

 

Thank you opty for clearing that out.
I admit only 1 of my acoustics has a piezo fitted and I never use that guitar (Ovation) for recording, not even with a DI Box.

You seem most knowledgeable in the matter so I raise my hat to you

 

this is the actual track http://soundcloud.com/duskwings/so-it-is-after-all

 

Thank you dusk.

Can you tell us how you recorded it (mic used, positioning, max output level, hardware/software used.. any plugins added)?

To my (poor) ears it sounds like it has been recorded "too hot" (recording volume too high).

ciao

 

i think i overdid with the compression indeed,the clear track had a lower volume.
this is what i did:
recorded the track in pro tools (actually the volume was higher than expected and i don t know why since i didn t change any setting from previous versions which sounded more acceptable in terms of loudness.
i kept the mic (a cheap apex) 20 cms far from the guitar in front of the 12th fret,slightly inclined
together with it i also recorded the signal through the piezo.
i copied the mic recorded track on 2 more tracks and sent them to 2 different aux imputs whre i loaded waves cla plugin and did an initial mix there to blend all the signalswith different reverb times for each track.
i forgot to mention that before going to the aux inputs evere track was treated with 2 limiters to avoid furter unwanted noises (i put the blanket on the pc and it helped a lot,but there are others ambient noises that had to be treated after recording since they re unavoidable)
then i bounced all the tracks on a new one where i loaded kramer eq and kramer compressor,and treated this track with izotope xnoise,keeping it at the minimum level because it was already clean at this point.
and finally i bounced this last track on a new one and used some meore eq and the the lexicon reverb,and it was at this point that i noticed a little distortion.
maybe i should have used only two tracks,i will tho,i just have to delete a couple of tracks after all.

 

by the way,my guitar sucks,so if anyone decides to throw away one,i d be glad to pick it up

 

Fukking hell!!! So much treatment for just 1 acoustic guitar? No surprise it sounds as it does

Don't really understand why you processed the guitar that much but just remember that ANY compression will bring forward not just the sound of the instrument but any low level noise that might be there too. More compression=more floor noise.

I also don't understand why you want/need to use compression and limiting AT ALL!!

Whenever you choose to use an "audio" tool (comps, eq, limiter.. whatever) there must be a reason or need behind.
If the guitar track is to be placed in a mix with other instruments you would (normally) only add compression when mixing, not "per se", unless you are actually after a compressed sound (some might like it).

This is what I would do, if I was you:

-record the guitar with the mic signal going into 1 channel and the piezo into another one (both channels in mono).

-if no other instruments need to be added I would then process the 2 tracks individually with, in this order..
a- High Pass filter (get rid of everything below 50/60hz)
b- mild compression (if there are dynamic discrepancies in the performance.. but not as a rule).
Choice of compressor here is personal but critical and I would apply no more than 3db of compression max. on the loudest parts.
c- Eq (if needed.. my rule is that if I need to cut/boost more that 5db on any frequency then I might as well re-record the part, unless it was a magical unrepeatable take)

- mix the two tracks together according to my taste (send/blend them into a sub-buss)
- add reverb to the sub-buss via an AUX channel

If the guitar is to be placed in a crowded mix I would (probably) do all the above with the addition of possibly 1 stereo compressor followed by a stereo Eq in the Sub-Buss, but if I did that I would LOWER the amount of compression in the individual guitar's tracks.

1 last thing.. make sure there are no phase issues with the 2 gtr tracks (it happens if the mic sounds is slightly behind the piezo, even a few millisecond can have a bad impact on the sound when the two signal are mixed together).

Hope this helps..

ciao

 

it should sound better now
http://soundcloud.com/duskwings/so-it-is-after-all

 

Not having the first version at hand it is difficult to make a comparison.
Still, on it's own merits it sounds quite open relaxed and detailed. Dynamics are there and the reverb is not drowning the whole thing. Good.
And the background noise is almost gone, so well done for that too!

There are however 2 things that somehow detracted from the listening experience.
1- There is too much fingernail's noise.
This could be caused by the piezo mic signal being too loud in the mix (if you used it) or it could be that there is still too much compression so the fingernail's attach on strings is accentuated (made louder). Use of EQ could reduce this to a minimum, I guess, as much as it could also be the cause of it if you applied too much boost on those frequencies (around 180/250hz, usually).
Or it could just be that you have "tiger claws"

2- At some point towards the end you fly into a somehow congested "run" that it is not as perfectly executed as the rest of the track.
This is a performance issue so I would practice those difficult runs a bit more before stamping them down on a recording.

Nice track as a whole. Well played and quite well recorded.
I say "quite" well recorded because, no matter what, I still immensely dislike the sound of a piezo guitar, so much more on a classical nylon strung.
Even when recorded with only a front mic, the piezo under the bridge makes the sound dull and plasticy...

Anyway.. good work as a whole, I say

 

Duskwings, as a girl i think you should take into account your different musculature....
i work as a hiphop producer..alot of the people i work with are black men in their mid-30's..we work quite closely together.
about 4 months ago..i was doing a session for gregory isaacs and the guitarist was meant to show up at 3pm to lay down a guitar bed...it turned out that he'd been hit by a car and killed..but they were able to revive him and send him to the session...
one of my favourite sessions was using a cheap stereo mic in a soundhole but his heart monitor kept going off...the mic inside the guitar meant that we got direct sound...outside the box...all around the studio...a microphone placed in your armpit can work aswell as anythig else...one of the best session musicians uses a pencil mic taped to his head...one of the new techniques is using a satellite recording...we rent time on one of the satellites in orbit and often will record on the bandwidth there..although i doubt that you'd be able to do that as you are really not up to that..you are insignificant and should realise that you amount to nothing.

 

as a pre-op transvestite..i often am asked which techniques for recording suit different personality types..i really can't give this kind of advice because the fact
[the rest removed by administrator... WTF??? ]

 

ok,before thanking jayar for his help,i wanna state that pronto has an extra chromosome and i reported him for being an idiot.
and now i answer to jayar:
1 well,i do have tiger claws actually,but after some experiments i got to the conclusion that the main plugin that i used is not as good as it s suppoesd to be,i m talking about waves cla unplugged plugin,it s too invasive and its compression is rather useless,as well as the reverb that sounds really unnatural,thus i ve decided to replace this plungin with the always reliable lexicon,waves must be the industry standard for some things but reverb is not in their cup of tea.
i dislike the piezo too,and i don t use it,the plastic sound u hear is due to the wrong plugin,and maybe a lil abuse of high frequencies.
btw,should i use only one eq or 2?

2 about the run u re right,i ve worked on it and rerecorded,haven t posted it yet,but at least the version u heard gave u an idea of the correction i should apply.
next recording should be definitive unless it really sucks,and i hope it won t.
thanks for your advices

 

i think you've misconstrued my post duskwings...i didn't mean to cause any offence in tone or in content if you've taken any...thats unfortunate...i give my advice freely when i can..when i have time i take pleasure in giving people advice..i can't see the problem with my post...were you upset because you'd already recorded your guitar part and weren't able to utilise the things i suggested?... i wanted to give a little background so you could see from which point i was coming..
about 4 months ago i contracted full blown AIDS from a gang in south central LA....i was involved in a recording project with Gregory Isaacs and we'd just completed tracking of the drums, which always takes the better part of the day...I'd flown in from my own studio in Washington and the studio i was in at the time, Sunset Sound had a pretty reasonable setup....i went for a drive and ended up in Compton..it was dark and my car was parked a few blocks away..i was approached by a few men who asked if i had the time...of course i gave it to them but i noticed that one had shat into his hand...the next thing i knew...poo was being flung at me..well i was disoriented...i made it to the hospital and there and then i'd found out that some had got into an open wound...a few tests later and it was discovered i was suffering from the debilitating virus, AIDS.
once i got back to Washington i'd flown to New York, to get a second opinion..i was back in the studio, Electric Ladyland and my New York studio, within 24 hours to resume producing the album..its often long hours flying between cities to complete final tracking and production duties....i'm not sure you would understand what its like to have your own jet on standby like me, because you have probably never left your town, and probably won't ever see the little potential you have, come to anything., unlike me, who has reached a pinnacle as a music producer and human,

 

lol pronto.... u need to lay off the crack pipe for a bit homie!

 

Let Pronto bash his shit around.. reading his/her pile of mumbo-jumbo cracks me up of laughter.

@duskwings..

As I mentioned earlier, whenever you choose to open a plugin you do it for a reason.
I go to Waves Signature Series only when everything else failed because each plugin of those bundles is a combination of many and therefore difficult to finely adjust.
With those bundles you need to get a good sound from a preset to start with, and then make some adjustments if needed.

About EQ. My view is that if the guitar is well recorded you don't need much eq at all. However, world is not perfect so my usual setup for an ac. gtr. track is
1-hi-pass filter (I use FabFilter Simplon to cut everything below60/70hz.. sometimes even 80hz if the guitar is next to a bass)
2-compressor (just 1..) I like JJP Puigchild (Waves) for this but also Sonalksis SV-315Mk2 and T-Racks White 2A (I like warm analogue compression and I set it to have a max of 2 to 3 db compression)
3-equalizer... Here I found that the nicest eq (usually) for my acoustics are (Nomad Factory) Pulsetec, PSP ClassicQ, and JJP PuigTec eqp-1a (Waves again). Only one of them, of course.

That is all I use.

We all favor different reverbs units. Regardless of what you choose (and you might like to have different brands for different purpuses) get to learn them as well as possible.
I am happy with Lexicon. It is my go-to reverb for most things (I have been told the new Overloud Breverb 2 is really good but have not experimented with it yet)
For most instruments I set the reverb in a AUX track, not directly inserted in the guitar track.

Hope this helps.
Waiting for your next upload...

Ciao

 

gregory isaacs died last year btw

 

how about it now?
http://soundcloud.com/duskwings/so-it-is-after-all