Mike's Oud Forums

My Stuff

fhalaw - 6-16-2010 at 05:00 PM

Hello hello!
I decided it was high time I made use of the 300 dollar h4n which is still sitting in its package :).. Before you start taking a crap on the recording, I wanna say this is the second time I use this device and the Reaper software (I just figured out how to convert to mp3).

Here is Bayati
http://www.4shared.com/audio/DSbjAhdY/Bayati.html

Here is Hijaz Kar Kurd with an unsucessful singing attempt (muhawale feshle :)
http://www.4shared.com/audio/y1O2oDop/HijazKarKurd.html

Aymara - 6-17-2010 at 01:39 AM

Very nice playing, but the microphones of the Zoom lack a bit of bass.

But this is no problem, because you use Reaper. Just click the FX button on your recorded track and choose the ReaEQ equalizer and set the bass band as shown in the screen shot below (don't forget to set the frequency to note C2) ... leave the bands 2-4 with the default settings.

You'll be astonished ... the oud becomes more bassy and the recording sounds much warmer ;)

ReaEQ.JPG - 58kB

Have fun and show us more :applause:

fhalaw - 6-17-2010 at 04:10 AM

Thanks ya Chris,
I'll try to play around with the software soon.
In the meantime goodluck against the Serbs (although you dont need it)
Fadi

Reda Aouad - 6-17-2010 at 06:11 AM

Very nice playing :applause:

I liked the bayati taqsim a lot. For the second recording, if you'd like to sing, you may connect an external microphone if you have one and record in 4-Channel mode. It would be interesting. And I think the quality is good enough for home recording.

Reda Aouad - 6-17-2010 at 06:12 AM

And I don't think you should play with the software to give fake bass. You should put the recorder closer and maybe lower the recording volume if necessary. Putting the recording closer will definitely give more natural bass. Your Oud doesn't lack any of that !

Aymara - 6-17-2010 at 09:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Reda Aouad  
Your Oud doesn't lack any of that !


Not the oud, but the built in microphones, which are not very sensitive to bass frequencies below 300Hz as it seems.

And using EQ to compensate this has nothing to do with a fake bass ... this is no fake, but a compensation of a technical flaw ... you just make the frequency range of the bass strings louder.

But your recommendation trying a closer distance between mic and oud is definitely worth a try, as is the mics position too. Closer too the large soundhole you get the best bass response in the recording.

Reda Aouad - 6-17-2010 at 10:43 AM

Chris,

By fake I just meant not natural, not from the instrument. I have a Zoom H4n which I use to record and it has excellent mics which are sensitive to bass frequencies. And I noticed a big difference between distant and close setup regarding bass frequencies. As for the position, the closer you put the recorder to the soundhole the more it generates feedback. So my advice is that if you want to set it up closer, put it in front of the inside of the fingerboard and not directly facing the soundhole. Just experiment with this and you'll notice the difference.

Aymara - 6-17-2010 at 10:51 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Reda Aouad  

By fake I just meant not natural, not from the instrument.


That is not a fake and it is from the instrument itself even with EQ.

The problem might be, that the H4n has a low cut filter below 237 Hz which reduces the recording of bass drastically. And using EQ in Reaper compensates this effect.

Is it possible to switch this filter off?

With my AKG C3000 microphone it's similar. It also has such a low cut filter, which I can switch on and off. When on, the oud lacks bass and when switched off, the sound is much warmer with a lot of bass.

But maybe you're right and it's just a matter of positioning.

corridoio - 6-17-2010 at 11:39 AM

zoom h4n has a large selection of low-cuts that you can set on his microphones if you want (80-98-115-133-150-168-185-203-220-237 hz)
anyway, since it's philosophy of recording is x-y (90° or 120°) it uses 2 cardiod microphones so you have an enhancement on the low spectrum if you go closer to the soundhole depending on the axis between hole and microphones,
anyway extreme proximity is usually avoided because not so natural, it become easily innaturaly boomy,
I think in general you don't need a low-cut in advance in the microphone recording an oud, you can adjust after a low-cut if there's anything strange in the bottom.

fhalaw - 6-17-2010 at 06:59 PM

Thanks Reda Khaye,
The bayat was mostly inspired by the opening taqaseem in a piece called something like "Lebanese Folklore Medley" By the Kalisk Uni Choir. In orentalia CD 1.
I am trying really hard to find who is the oud player in that CD. I highly suspect he has a Ghadban also. The piece is really amazing, Take a listen:
http://www.4shared.com/audio/bre3OODf/10_-___-____.html

jenni - 7-25-2010 at 07:19 PM

Beautiful!

fernandraynaud - 7-25-2010 at 08:55 PM

I too want to say that "unnatural" is a useless concept, because NOTHING you might do with an oud and a pile of electronics is natural. The bass-boost from the proximity effect of a cardioid mic is no more natural than adjusting the frequency response with filters. It's just a question of what works better. Putting the mic very close to the sound hole with no high-pass "low cut" filter carries the risk of overloading the mic or the internal pre-amp, all it takes is a hard pluck and leaning forward a couple of inches, and THAT is unnatural and cannot be corrected, and if there's a limiter it can create a mess too. It's a lot better to give yourself a little margin of safety, and shape the response after the fact.