eq and compression settings for violin

[caveman82]

i am mixing down some tracks i recorded yesterday, which are simply an electric guitar (through a valve stack) and a electric violin, recorded direct and with a sm57 through a practise amp.

i have never had any experience of recording and mixing violin, and i don't really have much of a frame of reference for it.

are there any particular recommendations for setting eq and compression for electric violin?

if anyone has any logic presets then i would be even more appreciative!

thanking you in advance...

[adrian_k]

That's a bit like asking us what you should wear to the party! What kind of party is it? Who's going to be there? What kind of an impression do you want to make? How tall are you and what is your shoe size??

It depends on what kind of sound you are trying to achieve what the recorded track currently sounds like, the style of music (e.g. solo violin, folk group, R&B or hip hop riff, etc). Pretty hard to give "catch all" answers ... it's about listening and trying a few things out..

cheers
A

[caveman82]

i like parties where there is free booze, and carrot sticks and houmous... i will be dressed like a victorian gentleman to match my sideburns (i have massive sideburns)...

sorry for missing out the vital details of what kind of music i have recorded!

the music is kind of post rock, but very mellow, with strong folk influences (from the playing style of the violinist)

the kind of music is slightly similar to dirty three, who can be found here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo4OrfS2K8Y but the violin playing is not as frenetic as warren ellis of the dirty three's playing...

i have been trying a few things out, but i have not been able to come across a sound for the electric violin direct input which is pleasing so far....

thanks for the swift reply, and sorry for the moronic nature of my original post!!!

[adrian_k]

OK - get yourself over to 27 Acacia Drive at 10:30 but wear a bowler and you shall recieve copius free vodka and mashed chickpeas.

Hmm - you say you don't like the DI'd sound. Do you find anything good about the SM57 sound? Any goodness when you blend the two?

If it was me, I'd probably focus on the mic'd track. Ignore the compressor for now. Concentrate on eq.. Try boosting a very narrow frequency range and sweep it from say 800Hz to 5Khz. Does it really, really annoy you at any point? If so try using some cut around the frequency that annoyed you, but with a lower Q value (wider frequency band) than you used to find when sweeping. If you think it's better play it back with the guitar - are they clashing? If so your might think about carving out some space in the guitar track, if the violin is the lead instrument.

If not, now look at compression. Does the violin even need it? People reach for their compressors pretty quickly but with just two instruments you might find just having mix bus compression will bring it all together.

I don't think anyone else's settings (from different gear, on different source material) will really help.

Maybe you could post the tracks somewhere so we could hear what you're dealing with?
cheers
A

{edit} PS - I'm assuming you haven't got some horrible room sound in there ...

[XXXEsq]

Having been Jean-Luc Ponty's roadie in the late 70s, I remember a few things about getting a violin tone. For studio and live recording, he used a Barcus Berry and we almost always took a direct feed from the pre-amp straight into the board. We ran the effects (the Mutron BiPhase stands out in my mind) on effects sends and returns. I don't know what type of violin you are using, but my experience is that if you can get a direct feed, you have far more control of the sound. You could also approach it by spliting the output through a direct box, take a direct into the board and mic the amp with the 57. Experiment with mic placement as well. Then mix the tracks till you get a sound you like. All of this is highly subjective, but experimentation is half the fun.

[caveman82]

OK - get yourself over to 27 Acacia Drive at 10:30 but wear a bowler and you shall recieve copius free vodka and mashed chickpeas.

postcode? i can never decline an offer of vodka and mashed pulses....

Hmm - you say you don't like the DI'd sound. Do you find anything good about the SM57 sound? Any goodness when you blend the two?

it wasn't that i disliked the sound of the DI violin sound, it just sounds a little "harsh" and needed softening.... until that point, attempts at softening it were not fantastic.... and i am blending the two tracks together.

If it was me, I'd probably focus on the mic'd track. Ignore the compressor for now. Concentrate on eq.. Try boosting a very narrow frequency range and sweep it from say 800Hz to 5Khz. Does it really, really annoy you at any point? If so try using some cut around the frequency that annoyed you, but with a lower Q value (wider frequency band) than you used to find when sweeping. If you think it's better play it back with the guitar - are they clashing? If so your might think about carving out some space in the guitar track, if the violin is the lead instrument.

the violin indeed is the lead instrument, with the guitar providing the rhythm for the track for the best part of the time. i will put those suggestions in to place when i come back to mixing them again, however i am not too sure what things above mean! i should read up up some tech stuff in the meantime!

If not, now look at compression. Does the violin even need it? People reach for their compressors pretty quickly but with just two instruments you might find just having mix bus compression will bring it all together.

i am not too sure about this, i will make a version with comp and without, and compare which my ears prefer....

I don't think anyone else's settings (from different gear, on different source material) will really help.

cheers, good words of advice!

Maybe you could post the tracks somewhere so we could hear what you're dealing with?

i will send over some of the tracks by the end of the week with a mediafire link if that is ok? i'd appreciate what you have to say...

{edit} PS - I'm assuming you haven't got some horrible room sound in there ...

the room sound isn't great to be honest! it was the violinist's over cluttered living room!

thanks for the tips adrian_k!

[caveman82]

I don't know what type of violin you are using, but my experience is that if you can get a direct feed, you have far more control of the sound. You could also approach it by spliting the output through a direct box, take a direct into the board and mic the amp with the 57. Experiment with mic placement as well. Then mix the tracks till you get a sound you like. All of this is highly subjective, but experimentation is half the fun.

cheers, this is what i did. i put the line from the violin direct in the soundcard and had that line going from the soundcard into a amp which was then mic'd by a sm57 going back into the soundcard.

phew!

and yes, experimentation is the fun! i kept on varying my approach with all the tracks i had recorded (10 in total) and halfway i was finding a sound which was more pleasing to my ears!