Quote:

I listened again to the sound quality and would like a better sound since my clarinet has a harsh quality...



Hi joan,

I would be more suspect of something other than use of mp3 compression or bitrate or even using full on .wav format pcm digital recording here.

Likely the harsh quality of sound you are referring to is a matter of microphone, settings, microphone preamp, mic placement and the acoustics of the room.

Recording wind instrument like clarinet, it is very easy to set the mic input too 'hot' and thus get an overdriven kind of sound. First thing to try here is backing off of the Record input volume setting until you obtain a recording that sounds more like the clarinet does in the first place. This might also include placing the mic a bit further away from the horn as well. Keep in mind that the sound of woodwind instruments does not emanate from the bell as it does with a "closed" wind instrument such as trumpet or trombone, etc. - because the clarinet works on the half-wave, literally changing the physical length of the instrument via the holes and pads and fingers, the sound actually emanates from different areas of the instrument body at different times, depending upon the note played and the resulting fingering. The sound will thus emanate at different points along the body of the clarinet. A mic placement slightly away from and also above the instrument area is more likely to be able to capture those different points more evenly than a mic placed closer to any one part of the instrument.

A good starting point for setting the Record input level is to play as loudly as you can while checking the all-important VU meter on the recording device. When you are playing very loudly and the VU meter is hovering somewhere around the -6 dB point or so, that is likely to be close to the "sweet spot" for digital recording.


--Mac

PGmusic FAQs, Tutorials and Updates! click here

You must be Audiominds.
www.audiominds.com