I'm about to give up...

Hey all,

Well, here it is. Way back more than two or three years ago I recorded a lot of stuff with my acoustic guitar. I had a great full sound that was the best I have ever done before. But as it seems now, I am unable to replicate that sound no matter what I do. I know my ears are not so good anymore, but when I listen to some of my older recordings they sound really good. Nothing that I have done in the past year is even close. I've tried zeroing everything back out and starting from scratch and still all I get is garbage. I have a sound that I like on mu DAW computer, but when I export the mixdown and take it to my internet computer it sounds like crap.

Just a rant...

Roger

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Check your export setting it maybe reducing the ( kbps ) quality to make the file smaller .Or the internet computer maybe reducing the quality.
You'll lost bottom end.

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Hi, It is all about your recording settings on your recording and editing software. Very important is Sample rate, if this is not correct recording is crap. In my DAW this is 44100.

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Okay Roger...I listened to your most recent track from October and then a couple from 2019.
Yes you have a huge difference.

Im hearing way to much ..whats the term..... ambiance?, overhead? hollowness? I hear your microphone picking up too much open room .You somehow became more "tinny", more "hollow".
As you said , your older recordings are "fuller". The signal fills the space more whereas currently , you have alot of unfocused "room" in with the acoustic track. Im guessing but my first instinct is the recording device has changed like pickup or microphone. Something is maybe miss-set or dirty.

What changed? Maybe the microphone was dropped? Its not set the same distance as before?, It is dirty? (Microphones when left sitting out get alot of garbage inside them). Refer to Youtube how to safely clean a diaphragm.
Or is that a pickup?

If a pickup...is the magnet height the same? Is it one of those with the brass shim underneath the pickup?Maybe changing strings something didnt go back correctly? If its a pickup, sometimes simply changing batteries for the preamp helps or you have a preamp going bad inside the acoustic pickup control.

If it sounds good before mixdown then its Daw settings.
Is something now enabled that shouldnt be in your track effects?
Is your sample rate 441 to 44 k?

Id start with the first point of the audio where the string is being picked up by mike or magnet. On pickups Ive seen where people get a build up of gunk from cleaning oil inside the magnets or else the bridge fell out while changing strings and they lose a shim that should be there.

Sometimes an OP Amp in the recording interface gets old and tired and starts "fading out" and its time for a new interface.

You can probably figure out ways to verify all of this methodically.

Get yourself some canned air, rubbing alcohol and real drinking alcohol, a lint free cloth and a ruler and clean your PC and interface of the years of dust, wipe down and blow out any pickups but be careful with microphones and watch Youtube as the diaphragms are fragile.Lookup optimal pickup and microphone distance to the strings and measure that.

https://homestudioexpert.com/how-to-clean-a-mic-diaphragm-easy-guide/

Track #157798 is great by the way! Bravo!

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It would appear that in the interest of making things better, I have instead made them more complicated and much worse. I used to use an old Dean Markley sound hole pickup in my old 54 Martin 0-18. I plugged it directly into the USB interface for my DAW (Presonus - Studio One), and used the EQ plugin as well as amp and speaker emulators. I don't remember exactly when, but I had a K&K multi-pole bridge transducer installed and bought a Fishman Platinum Pro DI/Pre-amp.
I removed the old sound hole pickup and started using this new setup a couple of years ago, and at first it sounded pretty good at least to my ears. But I did notice the issue of it sounding different on my main desk computer as compared to my DAW workstation computer with a pair of studio monitors. (Which also was added later.) I also used to play a lot through headphones until they began to cause me problems with my left ear.(I damaged that eardrum many years ago.)
I even setup a makeshift home studio in a spare bedroom and treated the walls with sound baffling. So it looks like I have become my own worst nightmare when it comes to the way my guitar sounds when recording. I'm going to try going back to the same setup that I used several years ago and try working my way forward from there.
Thanks for the input...

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Maybe you dont have to "go back".

Im sure the K and K is a good pickup. I definitley know the Fishman pre is good.(Im a huge Fishman fan)
Im not familiar with the K and Ks three transducer leads but maybe its some kind of contact issue where you arent making good contact with one of the sensors against the wood?Are those sensors applied with adhesive? I dont know but Id look at how well they are making contact with the wood and if anything is hindering vibration from reaching them.

I use the Fishman rare earth blend which is soundhole magnetic pickup plus soundhole microphone and you blend the two inputs.

Im seeing 5 star reviews all over for the K and K. Preamps do go bad but if its under three years old ...Id highly doubt it. If it sounded good originally and then degraded and everything is on the newer side, its most likely something very dumb like the sensor isnt making contact fully because the adhesive is giving out so its dangling inside the sound hole.....

Maybe revisit the installation instructions online and just see if the obvious is being overlooked.

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I was going to add my two cents to this post. But you both are much more knowledgeable about this stuff. lol:)

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You know more then anyone about acoustic recording.

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The K and K transducer I'm using came highly recommended. I had it installed by a local luthier that also came highly recommended, but no longer has a shop because of the lockdowns. The contacts are glued directly to the underside of the bridge between each pair of strings, so basically the whole guitar is acting like a really big microphone. It picks up every tap, bump, or squeak. The problem is most likely me trying to record with my studio monitors turned up to a level that is too loud for a clean recording while just barely enough for me to monitor my sound. I hear more coming from the guitar than from the the DAW monitor, but that is very likely why it sounds so hollow after recording.

I had my hearing tested a couple of years ago and they say my high pitch drops off above 3K. I sometimes think that maybe I'm putting in too much treble while listening without noticing the sound that is actually being recorded. It's very difficult to try to use a mic because of my dogs deciding to bark at something at just the wrong moment. What do you know, Mom was right... All of that loud rock and roll music over the years does damage your hearing...:|

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I listened to a few of your recordings from several years ago and I must say I am humbled by your talents.

You can add a couple of dimes worth if you want. I definitely wouldn't mind. Any input is good input in my mind. The day I stop learning something new is the day someone needs to call a coroner... :)

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