Working on recording tone, any tips?

[Cline]

Trying to work on a recording tone. Seems as if most tracks I record come up extremely muddy even without mids or much bass on the amp. I'm using an SM57 not far from the speaker (pic below). Any tips on how I can improve the quality of my tone when recording would be much appreciated. I've put two different tracks below, one single raw track and double-tracked raw.

Signal Chain: ESP Eclipse (EMG 81/85) -> TS9 -> Krank Krankenstein -> Krankenstein 4x12

Single Raw Track: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/single.wav

Double Raw Track: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/double.wav

Also worth mention I suppose is I use the SM57 going into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

 

[iarebrandon]

could start by getting a better cable. looks like u have the off brand kind in the pic. ppl think that it doesn't matter, but honestly it does. i use mogami. also
have you tried the 57 off axis?. i feel like you get more presence when its off axis. but this could be preference i guess.

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

could start by getting a better cable. looks like u have the off brand kind in the pic. ppl think that it doesn't matter, but honestly it does. i use mogami. also
have you tried the 57 off axis?. i feel like you get more presence when its off axis. but this could be preference i guess.

I think you actually get more bass when it's off axis IIRC...
But that can all be solved by some minor EQing.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4463675/double.wav

 

[Cline]

could start by getting a better cable. looks like u have the off brand kind in the pic. ppl think that it doesn't matter, but honestly it does. i use mogami. also
have you tried the 57 off axis?. i feel like you get more presence when its off axis. but this could be preference i guess.

Not much I can do about the mic cable right now, maybe here in a week or so. From videos I've seen, articles I've read a lot of people say putting a mic dead center should give you almost a harsh/shrill tone with tons of high-end in it...but I'm still muddy when I do that, so perhaps a bad mic? I'd hate that since I bought it new and it has been 30 days.

Either way, I tried moving the mic around a bit now it's still pretty close to center but ever so slightly to the left maybe a tenth of an inch.

Single: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/single_2.wav

Double: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/double_2.wav

 

[iarebrandon]

i doubt its a bad mic because its a 57.... those things are nearly unbreakable. but still i guess possible. if your getting mud its probably from the room or possibly the speaker. use more soundproof. if you have to throw a blanket or mattress up then do it... and cut a little around 200hz if you have to.

 

[Cline]

i doubt its a bad mic because its a 57.... those things are nearly unbreakable. but still i guess possible. if your getting mud its probably from the room or possibly the speaker. use more soundproof. if you have to throw a blanket or mattress up then do it... and cut a little around 200hz if you have to.

The room is more than likely my culprit, it is a fairly small room, not sure the dimensions. I'll try to throw some blankets around today and see what I can come up with. In the future I definitely want some acoustic paneling.

 

[Cline]

Alright here's another update. Went out and bought a new mic cable (Livewire, definitely going to get into the more high-end stuff in the future). Also went to Home Depot and bought a $15 moving blanket. Figured I'd give it a shot and see how it did and seems (to me) that both ended up cleaning up the tone noticeably. Still need to tinker a bit with mic positioning and amp knobs, but here it is as stands. Also have a pic of the current setup below:

Now onto the audio:

Single Raw: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/single_3.wav

Double Raw: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/double_3.wav

 

[Cline]

Here we go. Two months have passed now. Have the Krank on the shelf while I try to figure this out. Went ahead and got myself a Peavey 6505+ 112 combo for $300 and decided to try it out. I quad-tracked the guitars:

100/85 - 85/100

Starting to think the problem I was having recording the Krank was the fact I was trying to mic a 4x12 in a pretty small room. Right away I could tell a difference with the 1x12.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/73199788/sad.mp3

Sounds much better to my ears but still a tad harsh. Perhaps that could be something with the Presence and something I can hammer out with some minor EQ.

 

[Robert W]

Wow, that's a big difference.Not a big Peavey fan, but that isn't a bad sounding tone at all.

As for the harshness, maybe back off the tone off a little on the pickup?