Stereo sound

Typical newbie question I assume: made an acoustical guitar recording using two mics. The meters representing the two mics respond in more or the less same way and the waveform for both mics look the same. Listening to playback there is a big difference between the two tracks, actually it doesn’t as stereo becuase one of the channels is very weak. Teh headphone isn’t broken or something like that.

Any ideas?

KR, Leo

Learn how to use a gain knob…!? Or a volume fader…!? Or how to position the microphones correctly…!?

Explore phantom power. You don’t give specifics so… .

And don’t just enable it to “try” it, know what you’re doing.

Which kind of microphones? Which kind of acoustic guitar? Which kind of playing style? Which kind of microphone placement used?

Or… how about just posting a mp3 sample of recording. One microphone on left and another on right channel.

Thanks for all the responses.

Learn how to use a gain knob…!? Or a volume fader…!? Or how to position the microphones correctly…!?

I did spent a lot of time to do this, which resulted in the signals looking the same in two ways: meters, waveform.

Explore phantom power. You don’t give specifics so… .

Phantom power is on for input 1 and 2 (= mic 1 and 2).
I use a Steinberg CI 2 external soundcard (Advanced Integration USB Audio). Samsom C01 condenser mic, together with an AKG c3000 condensermic.
I use a classical guitar, 1 mic more or less in front of the neck next to the hole, one from above. Signals show that they record very well. Gain is open 75% for mic 1 and 95% formic 2.

And don’t just enable it to “try” it, know what you’re doing.

Sorry, don’t understand this statement.

Hope this is helpful.

KR,Leo

This explains a lot: 2 different kind of mics with very different kind of positions. One mic may pick up transients very well while other doesn’t. In such situation loudness may be very different between channels while meters (which shows transients) are showing very similar levels.

Again: why not post a sample? It could help us a lot.

Hope this will work.

Thanks, Leo

Sorry,don’t see the attachment.

Tried again. Waitin for a request sent to Steinberg, it finishes but no attached file.

File is .wav format, 6.7 mb. Just doesn’t work.

Understand now that .wav format is notallowed. Will try .cpr than.
testBroken bicycles gitaar intro1 13022013.cpr (33.1 KB)

Cpr. withoput the wave files will not help anything at all. Look for a free filehoster.

Wooow. Hope this will work then:

http://www.filedropper.com/testbrokenbicyclesintro1

KR,Leo

The left channel has a lot less signal level (roughly 6 to 7 dB), and at least the right one is severly clipped.

Why doesn’t that show in the signal?

But that is not an explanation for the wrong stereo, is it?

KR, Leo

Okay I think I see the weaker signal and the clips now.

So I should record with less gain?

Depending on what kind of stereo setup you chose, that explains it exactly…
Apart from that, for a true stereophonic recording, you should think about using at least two microphones of the same kind - even better: a stereo matched pair.
To “restore” the stereophonic image of two channels you can turn one fader down, until your guitar is in the middle ( if that is where your signal was intended to be on setting up the stereo recording base.


definitely

Thanks a lot.

KR, Leo