Recording Fiddle--Weird Sound

[Ideas Man]

I’ve been working on recording the fiddle for my bluegrass band and I’m running into a problem. I keep getting this weird sound. It sounds kind of like the fiddle is being processed through a light phasing effect. It sounds a little bit like when you run a guitar through a phaser stompbox. It’s a lot more subtle than that though, and it isn’t all that noticeable until he plays double stops. Then it really pops out. You can go here to listen to what I’m talking about:

http://www.myspace.com/lkwhereabouts
Listen to the song Rock Salt and Nails. The fiddle solo is at about 3:11. There’s a prominent instance of what I’m talking about at 3:18.

I’ve tried using two different mics and I still get the effect, so I don’t think it has to do with the microphone. I’ve experimented with lots of different mic placements and some of them cut down on the problem somewhat, but I still notice it. When I put my ear up to the instrument while he’s playing, I don’t notice anything unusual—it sounds just like it’s supposed to. But when I record it and play it back I hear the phasey sound. I’d really appreciate any insights that anyone can give me as to what might be going on and how I might deal with it.

[thesilentdrummer]

It sounds pretty good to me. I really don't hear the "phaser" sound. Have your run it through a compressor? Sounds like it might benefit from compression.

This is a really solid mix, and though I don't particularly like bluegrass, I really love this song. You are doing stuff right, and should be commended for all you have accomplished.

[DT Chris]

I don't hear any problems. Best thing to do is go listen to the individual track in your mix and see what is happening. Look at all tracks nearby and see what they're doing. If it's making a weird noise, it has to be in the recorded track. Get back in there and look at it more

[shylessness4924]

Like most people here, I haven't recorded any fiddle. And I've never touched one. But I think , even so you checked the instrument, that the problem might be between the instrument and the mic.

But I dont think any1 can help because, first of all, we don't know what mic you were using when you recorded this. Secondly, we don't know how close your mic was to the fiddle (vibration coming from the instrument MAY produce that phaser sound you're talking about ). And thirdly, Myspace is probably the worst place to show us cause we cant fast foward the song to 3:18 , thus we can't listen to your problem again and again and again.

Although, I've heard your fiddle. And you may not like it, but it doesn't sound bad at all,in fact, its good. It add a lil something special to the solo. If you're not satisfied with it, then you should change it. But you might want to consider to let it there ; most ppl dont hear it.

By the way, great work with the recording. Great mixing and sound quality. I'm not a fan of bluegrass, but i sure did like your tune!

Keep up the great work!


alex