Recording Fiddle--Getting a Weird Sound

Posted on Jul 10, 2007 07:32 pm
Ideas Man
Member Since: Jul 10, 2007

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:

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.

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