Recording with mic and direct issues

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ampfixer
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2012/01/23 17:55:29 (permalink)

Recording with mic and direct issues

Perhaps a noob question but I'm going to record some bass and will be using a microphone and the line out from the bass amp to get two different tracks.

Should I be concerned about phase relationships between the two signals? I know that the input signal changes phase with each amp section so It looks like the direct out will not get the final inversion through the power amp section.

I've never had to deal with a slightly out of phase condition, i.e where the two signals are less than 180 deg. out of phase. That would be something I'd not be able to deal with so I hope it never happens.

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    batsbrew
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    Re:Recording with mic and direct issues 2012/01/23 17:56:57 (permalink)
    you will have to shift your audio track to exactly line up with your DI track.


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    bitflipper
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    Re:Recording with mic and direct issues 2012/01/24 14:25:03 (permalink)
    Should I be concerned about phase relationships between the two signals?

    Only if you intend to blend them :L 


    It's easy, though. Just zoom in on the waveforms and nudge the mic track to the left (or the DI track to the right) until they line up. Doesn't matter which one you adjust, since the correction is going to be only a fraction of a millisecond. It's also not terribly critical to get them surgically spot on, because low frequencies' wavelengths are long enough to tolerate minor phase shifts.


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    mattplaysguitar
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    Re:Recording with mic and direct issues 2012/01/24 15:46:51 (permalink)
    And check if the polarity is inverted on one of them when you zoom in (it'll be obvious). If so, just flip the phase of one of the tracks. Listen to them combined in mono and play around with the nudge to hear the difference. It's amazing how much a small movement effects the sound.

    Nudging is fine though. I do that one all the time.

    Also, on your mix track, keep in mind that if you don't have an exceptional room, you'll probably get noticeably louder specific notes due to room modes. This is why I ALWAYS run a DI track for bass. Eliminates this issue. But then I'll typically high-pass the mic track before blending. This allows you to get a great sounding bass, but without the inconsistant bass volume issues due to room modes (consistent playing skill is another matter ). Keep it in mind.


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