Live Tone Good / Recording Sounds Bad

[jjasilli]

Been playing out more.  Live onstage my electric guitar tone sounds great.  I even get compliments.  But when I listen to a recording of the event, my tone sounds wooly and indistinct.  Any insights?

[jjasilli]

So I'm thinking maybe its poor mic placement.  Any sound guys out there? 

[pdf64]

Been playing out more.  Live onstage my electric guitar tone sounds great.  I even get compliments.  But when I listen to a recording of the event, my tone sounds wooly and indistinct.  Any insights?

Is the recording taken from a feed from the soundboard, or independent mics on a portable recorder / smartphone?


Who’s giving the compliments, eg soundboard opperative, bandmates, audiences members in front of your rig, or other audience members?

[acheld]

Just like in amplifier troubleshooting, need to know exactly how your sound was recorded. 

What mics, where placed, pre-amps (if used), interface etc.   Also, the room has its role in this as well. 

[jjasilli]

Here's a video https://www.dropbox.com/s/ryrww60myok4q60/Daze%20of%20Thunder.%20Performance.23-04-28%20-%20Trim.mp4?dl=0     from a prior thread on this forum:  https://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=30295.0


I'm on your right.  Recorded on a smartphone in the middle of the room about 7' high.  I'm playing a borrowed Les Paul copy > Marshall jackhammer pedal > Fender Deluxe Reverb.  Amp is also mic'd through front of house. 


To my ears on stage my my tone was distinct in a Marshally 800 way.  But on the recording it seems dark, wooly & indistinct to me.  This recurs with my P-90 LP, in different venues and different  recordings.

[sluckey]

Recorded on a smartphone in the middle of the room about 7' high.

I would not put much value on the quality of that recording. I'm sure the live sound was much better.

[shooter]

there's a good example of "complex tech" , your phone, has everything a human could conceive, and yet...
see if the board folk can jack you out, the monitor feed you hear, plug that jack into something actually designed for audio recording, If you have the means buy/borrow an audiophile quality recorder. 
then you can make a better Is it live or Memorex judgment.


my workcenter at sea had some of the best audio equipment made, circa '79, some of the best test equipment tax dollars would buy, Wayne, Dave n I spent a month comparing audio quality for every brand cassette on the market, I bought a case of no-name Japanese tapes, they beat the big boys in all the metrics we measured including the human ear in a "blind" listening test.


good data, with good ears usually line up pretty well.

[jjasilli]

OK, thanks guys!

[tubenit]

Nice playing!


I agree it's simply the method you're using for recording that's leaving it slightly muted in the mix. An improved recording method would likely capture a superb tone would be my guess.


With respect, Jeff