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Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B) on December 26, 2014, 08:26:48 AM
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I recorded a show last weekend that was WAY heavy on the bass. I ended up rolling the shit out of the bass in post and it sounds fine now, but wanted to find the cause of it.
The show did not sound bass heavy (typical indie rock band), but my mics were placed directly in line with the left stack, and only about 4 inches from the back wall of the venue. I'd say the distance from the stacks to the mics was 25 feet. This is a small 200 person venue.
Could placing the mics that close to the wall cause that trouble?
I was running my Beyer CK930's (cards).
TIA.
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Mike do you have a sample of your file we could listen too?
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I'd say yes, there's a very good chance that wall 4" behind you was responsibe for your bassy recording.
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The closer you get to a wall the more likely the wall will have an effect of increasing the low end of your recordings. This is exactly how the PZM mic works. The larger the boundary the more low end you get. A wall is good. You could also have been in an area with extended bass build up. 25 feet from a PA in a given room could be where things started to couple at the low end. Its so hard to "guess" where the mics will sound best and obviously you don't get to choose the idea situation or placement in some cases.
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Thanks. I didn't have a choice on where to put the mics...luckily I was still in a reasonable spot. Even my first spot I wanted was right against the wall (just closer to the center of the room).
Here are some samples:
Original: https://mega.co.nz/#!B8sVTapC!r83qJyeY7YjnhuPymue4xwKJnEe_pjyYzFqhbldJfYE (https://mega.co.nz/#!B8sVTapC!r83qJyeY7YjnhuPymue4xwKJnEe_pjyYzFqhbldJfYE)
After rolloff: https://ia601409.us.archive.org/2/items/centromatic2014-12-21.ck930.flac16/centromatic2014-12-21t04.mp3 (https://ia601409.us.archive.org/2/items/centromatic2014-12-21.ck930.flac16/centromatic2014-12-21t04.mp3)
Now that I listen to it again, the original isn't that horrible, but just a lot more bass/muddiness than I'm used to with my mics. Also A LOT worse than it sounded in there. I was standing to the left of my mics and it sounded worse there, but still reasonable and not muddy at all. When I stood directly in front of them it sounded pretty good.
Also of interest was that the opener's recording sounds great, but he was playing guitar only and singing. I think the full band was just too much for being that close to the wall.
Here's a sample of the opener:
https://ia902709.us.archive.org/5/items/pattersonhood2014-12-21.ck930.flac16/pattersonhood2014-12-21t10.mp3 (https://ia902709.us.archive.org/5/items/pattersonhood2014-12-21.ck930.flac16/pattersonhood2014-12-21t10.mp3)
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If you find yourself setting up 4 inches from the back wall, switch to omnis, place them directly against the wall, and let the wall make the omnidirectional microphones behave directionally for you. Use that the proximity to the wall to your advantage rather than fighting it.