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As we discussed in chat OO, it's hard to say what the contributing factor to the "thin-ness" is - certainly - using the headset mic as the pickup introduces the ambient background noise - apart from your roomie being heard - there's a definite background "hiss" in the "silent" lead-up - and - I would guess - it's frequency response roll-off probably starts around 4kHz anyway.... But you say it also sounds "thin" when played live.... it's a difficult judgement for me to make, really....
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
Honorary tenured advisor
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I'm going to venture a guess. If you listen to any of us who are beginners and then listen to an experienced player, there is a huge difference in tone. Most all of us, who have not been playing for a long time, have a similar sound. I believe the primary cause is poor bowing technique including: 1. Bow pressure, 2. Bow speed, 3. Bow angle 4. Bow attack, 5. Bow hold and 6. Bow finger movement. I think the left hand contributes far less to tone than the right hand does.
Hopefully, that improves over time, with studying proper technique and many, many hours of practice.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright
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I have to agree with uzi on this one. i think as you progress it will get a lot better sounding... granted some of it might be the violin, and possibly the strings but i think as we progress in learning and become comfortable with playing we bring more dynamics out of the violin and that thin-ness seems to disappear, at least a bit. Good luck though. Im curious to hear what other people think on this subject.
Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!
~General George S. Patton
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Yup - @Uzi and @RockingLR33 - I would also second that (even as a beginner - I do appreciate that not only a good "attack" but all the subtleties of bow action make all the difference), absolutely agreed with you both on that, no question at all !!!
Nevertheless, I would seriously advise OO to find "something better" than a headset mic as the recording device for an acoustic.... like - stop breathing while you play (limiting maximum piece length to about 60 seconds), or if the headset is actually off your head and sitting on the table - muzzle the dog, don't stamp your feet as you play, unplug the 'phone, disable the doorbell, and don't hum-along while you play ? ( LOL ) hahahaha - sorry folks - kidding ( but only kind of ) with yah - excuse my sense of humor from someone who doesn't yet have a pick-up on my acoustic - ROFL... ( Gonna buy a BB 3100 clamp-on from FM shop - THEN buy a proper acoustic and use the Skylark as firewood! It's all on my list! )
Seriously though - I tried the headset microphone trick once, and once only as an experiment - and - without doubt - the issue in my case was the headset mic. There was no top-end - well - what there was - was "muffled", and lower notes just didn't have the "richness" and overtones you expect to hear live. ( "thin" sound as per OO's comment) It is quite simply not there with a mic that's tailored for a 4Khz / voice roll-off. (And unless you happen to have some super-duper mic on the headset which is a bit unlikely - it never will be - regardless of any post processing you try to do - if the frequencies are lost by the pick up - then critical information is lost - and "lifting the treble or bass" on a software equalizer won't really help at all - pointless exercise )
LOL - just my 2 cents worth...
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
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oldogre, it definitely sounds better then the first recording for sure. from listening to it, and my own experience learning it sounds like you might be using a lot of pressure on the strings and a lot of hesitation (one of my biggest issues is hesitating while playing) and that will add a bit to the harmonica sound and loose some of the resonance (not sure if thats the right word) while playing. to kinda re iterate above, the more you learn to play and the more relaxed you get the less harmonica-y it will sound. but keep up the good work your sounding great!!! and good luck with the different mikes. I've never miked and acoustic
Lead me, Follow me, or get out of my way!
~General George S. Patton
Just for fun, while I await the arrival of my proper pickup, I tried this on Herman -
Somewhat better than having the mic a few feet away on the table - but still pretty lousy.
In case you are worried, Herman is pretty much used to all sorts of verbal abuse, so this kind of treatment doesn't upset him at all.
**EDIT - oh yes - image doesn't make it clear - but, obviously, the mic boom is lifted, and the mic itself is not in contact with the top plate.... it's about 3" above...
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh -
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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