first time recording an acoustic guitar in Nuendo using the Babyface and it’s driving me nutttsss XD
I think (25 years doing music) I’ve setup things correctly but at this point I might as well might be missing something silly since I’ve been a long time Logic user and both Nuendo and most of all the RME - with that absurdly redundant TotalMix app - are relatively new to me.
The sound I’m getting is dull and hollow, like it’s been recorded with a cheap mic.
And when I was still on Logic (was using an audient iD44 MK II at that time) the 414 delivered a super pristine and detailed sound even at 20cms of distance.
here’s a quick random ass recording at 10cm and 3cm and that’s the result I’m getting, which obvs sounds like s°ç* lol
Your TotalMix screenshot doesn’t show the settings you are using for whichever channel you are using for the microphone. What microphone are you using and which hardware input on the RME? Maybe post another Totalmix screenshot with the tools section enabled for the channel being used.
From what I am hearing I think you must mean the opposite.
I don’t understand this comment. This a recording of a lightweight acoustic guitar fingerstyle performance. It is not particularly dull. What are you expecting from such a recording?
Also you haven’t told us what microphone you are using and how are you positioning it in relation to the guitar? and of course this is the key to making a decent acoustic guitar recording, as I’m sure you are aware (with your 25 years experience etc.). Also what headphones / speakers are you using to monitor these recordings? IMHO any supposed issue is not likely to be related to the RME babyface.
Did you consider recording the guitar using a two microphone setup?
And when I was still on Logic (was using an Audient iD44 MK II at that time) the 414 delivered a super pristine and detailed sound even at 20cms of distance.
my issue with this recording is explained up here (also I mentioned the mic but I should have been more clear is the AKG 414)
the new comers are Nuendo and the Babyface.
Nuendo is pretty straightforward to setup (even tho I’m relatively new to the platform so it could be I’m missing something here too)
That Total Mix is my big doubt. (I personally find it supidly complicated and if a guy had to do an hour video to explain how it works then that’s not a good sign in my books XD)
I basically always play soft parts and as you can imagine I’ve recorded tons of acoustic guitars with much cheaper gear.
None of them sounded so dull and tiny (especially at 3cms which is something I don’t do anyway. I’m expecting a ton of proximity fx with the gain almost at half way but there’s none of that)
positioning is my per usual: 12th fret with a slight angle towards the hole to get a bit more weight since I always play soft.
Usually 10-15cm works nice, not in this case.
The AKG414 is of course a great mic. If you know the sound you need and would recognise it, I understand the frustration if you feel the equipment is not delivering. And I appreciate that Totalmix can seem like a lot of technical apparatus.
The following might help.
From your screenshot it looks like you are recording in mono but your pan for channel AN1 is at the centre position. I don’t really remember all the routing options of TotalMix but try setting the pan hard Left instead and make sure you are recording a mono track in Nuendo. This might help get closer to what you expect. Also you could probably up the gain to 45 instead of the 41 I see in your screenshot (would also depend on background noise in your recording space). I have no other suggestions.
I saw mention of frequencies above 10khz being muted if “standard” is not selected. Just a thought but not sure if that’s the issue, but worth a check if you using a Mac maybe?
Will def give the hard pan left in TM a try tomorrow.
If that helps then it’s another testament to the unintuitiveness of TM lol
I’m actually considering selling it back only because of that
Also the form factor, no Phantom button, snapshots that keep updating on their own…
User experience wise the worst audio gear I’ve ever owned.
Pity cos I really enjoy that super low noise floor for my soft playing.
PS: Exter unfortunately I’m on Windows due to work reasons. Long time OSX user and honestly miss those days.
I own the RME Babyface Pro FS and it’s a killer device. I’m thinking Total Mix is your issue. I’d say stick with it and dig in. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, and yes, it’s easy to accidentally overwrite a snapshot - until you get your mousing sequence right. I now have snapshots for guitar recording, vox recording, zoom meetings and loopback records. You can set up phantom, mix levels, returns, etc etc for all scenarios. I can go from a Teams or Zoom call to a guitar or vocal record with a single click.
Watch the videos posted above and stick with it. It will reward you handsomely.
My problems with these videos is that I rarely find the solution.
Spent 30 mins watching them and I’m still stuck.
I want to completely bypass Total Mix and see if I get the results I expect to have from such gear.
Atm I’m stuck with activating Phantom Power from the hw itself.
Watched a video but what it says doesn’t work here. (it’s a 4yo video tho)
And apparently I’m in good company: people has been complaining about the horrible design for years. Whoever sticks is because of the sound quality.
I’m sincerely amazed by people at RME not doing anything about it after all these years.
I’ll stick with it for the next month and see.
I just want gear that allows me to get the job done without wasting a poopies load of time googling how to make it work. That’s all.
@coro one more thing. You may be looking at the wrong end of the stick. Maybe check how you are monitoring the result in Nuendo?
I can only repeat that when I listen to the files you uploaded I hear no particular issue. Have you compared your current recordings with previous recordings (using other gear which sounded great).
Been using the RME HDSP 9652 card for years on PC, always been a fan of Total Mix as well and never had any issues. Hope you locate the issue! Though as stingray said, nothing is jumping out at me as a problem when hearing those samples. (maybe except the noise floor in one, but I’m sure it was just something on in the room at the time)
Have you made sure that there is no EQ activated on the Analog 1 input in TotalMix? On your screenshots it looks like the EQ is inactive, but just to be sure…
I listened to the recording and I don’t hear anything that could indicate a fault with Totalmix. Maybe that’s not the sound you would like to be getting, but it doesn’t seem particularly faulty (unless there’s a glitch somewhere, I didn’t listen to the whole files).
TotalMix is a great piece of software and BY FAR the best Mixer software I’ve seen in any interface. It basically just works every single time and lets you do anything you can possibly want with your signal, instead of having ridiculous limitations like basically every other manufacturer.
Of course, such flexibility makes it a bit complex, but it is not badly designed at all, IMHO.
Just read the manual and learn how to work the software.
I’m still puzzled by the 3cm recording (file n°1) which should sound waay closer. That’s the only thing that still doesn’t add up.
I’ll keep experimenting.
Also not sure why the Main output is so super hot and have to keep it super low in TM (see pic)
But doesn’t matter.
