Thumpy Sounds

ravindave_3600 · April 20th, 2008, 03:30 AM

I've been doing some recording with my acoustic-electric J185 plugged straight into the board. The tone sounds really nice, but there's sort of a muffled sound in the background, not a tone so much as a rhythmic thump in the air. After I heard it I made sure I wasn't beating on the top or damping with my palm, but it's still there. Any ideas on what it might be? Should I unplug and put a mic on the soundhole?

Big John · April 20th, 2008, 07:28 AM

Why not try with a mic and the guitar plugged in, record both and see if you can pin it down ?, sometimes juggling between the two might even yield a nice sound you can use.
If you are miking it don't put it directly in front of the soundhole, rough rule of thumb is that it will sound progressively less bottomy (thump?) the closer you get to the headstock, sometime pulling away from the guitar helps to 'expand' the sound too.
When you find it --- write it down in case it happens again.

octatonic · April 20th, 2008, 09:00 AM

That is generally life recording with piezeo's.
You have a contact mic on a the vibrating soundboard- it is going to vibrate across a wider frequency range than you perhaps wish it to.
The solution:
Try a High Pass Filter, 12db/oct or higher around 80-120hz.

Or use a mic alone.

Daddydex · April 20th, 2008, 10:09 AM

Here is a little discussion we had last month:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/recording...ic-guitar.html

Hope this helps, it helped me.

Dan

ravindave_3600 · April 20th, 2008, 12:54 PM

Thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes.

pengipete · April 20th, 2008, 02:03 PM

Is the sound rythmnic? If so does it pulse or does it seem to remain in tempo with your playing?

If it's the latter it could be a noise that you are creating so check that you are not rocking the guitar against your body or fretting hand and that your strap is not moving against the guitar.

Also check the lead as they can pick up various sounds including movement.

April 20th, 2008, 03:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
ravindave_3600 Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boise, USA Posts: 932	Thumpy Sounds I've been doing some recording with my acoustic-electric J185 plugged straight into the board. The tone sounds really nice, but there's sort of a muffled sound in the background, not a tone so much as a rhythmic thump in the air. After I heard it I made sure I wasn't beating on the top or damping with my palm, but it's still there. Any ideas on what it might be? Should I unplug and put a mic on the soundhole? __________________ Want my guitar to sound like BBQ tastes! check out the band at http://www.brightredtie.com

April 20th, 2008, 07:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Big John Friend of Leo's Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Suffolk UK Posts: 4,690 36 Photos	Why not try with a mic and the guitar plugged in, record both and see if you can pin it down ?, sometimes juggling between the two might even yield a nice sound you can use. If you are miking it don't put it directly in front of the soundhole, rough rule of thumb is that it will sound progressively less bottomy (thump?) the closer you get to the headstock, sometime pulling away from the guitar helps to 'expand' the sound too. When you find it --- write it down in case it happens again. __________________ If you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly !!

April 20th, 2008, 09:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
octatonic Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2007 Location: An Australian in London. Posts: 1,669	That is generally life recording with piezeo's. You have a contact mic on a the vibrating soundboard- it is going to vibrate across a wider frequency range than you perhaps wish it to. The solution: Try a High Pass Filter, 12db/oct or higher around 80-120hz. Or use a mic alone. __________________ "A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges." Benny Green

April 20th, 2008, 10:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
Daddydex Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,722	Here is a little discussion we had last month: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/recording...ic-guitar.html Hope this helps, it helped me. Dan __________________ Teles are like Mr. Potato head

April 20th, 2008, 12:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
ravindave_3600 Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Boise, USA Posts: 932	Thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes. __________________ Want my guitar to sound like BBQ tastes! check out the band at http://www.brightredtie.com

April 20th, 2008, 02:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
pengipete Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gloucester U.K. Age: 47 Posts: 1,546	Is the sound rythmnic? If so does it pulse or does it seem to remain in tempo with your playing? If it's the latter it could be a noise that you are creating so check that you are not rocking the guitar against your body or fretting hand and that your strap is not moving against the guitar. Also check the lead as they can pick up various sounds including movement.