MP3 Quality?

[Steel Drummer]

I've recently formed a band, and we've made a few recordings. However, the device I'm using to record the band only has very low quality .wav format recordings. I've tried using my PC's Sound Recorder to make the sound quality better, but that doesn't get it to the so-called 'CD Quality'. I'm wondering- are there any ways to make sound quality on the songs sound even remotely good as a CD? I use the program Audacity for mixing- would anyone know some tricks with that to make the sound better?

If you wish, I can post sound clips of the songs...

Thanks,

Steel

[LimpingFish]

CD quailty (or almost) MP3 would usually be recorded at 320kbs and 44.100hz

The higher the hz of the wav file, the better the sound.

[theatrx]

I've never gotten an MP3 to sound as good as a wav file.  I have used a few tricks though.  I use Cakewalk/Sonar... save it as an MP3... then take it into your wav editor... 1) Boost the bass 2)Maximize the volume (meaning the highs are brighter, the lows are beefier and the middles are cleaner and 3) Add a bit of stereo reverb  Hope this hellps. Steve

[Steel Drummer]

CD quailty (or almost) MP3 would usually be recorded at 320kbs and 44.100hz

The higher the hz of the wav file, the better the sound.

So it has more to do with the actual recording than editing it after, I guess? 

I've never gotten an MP3 to sound as good as a wav file.  I have used a few tricks though.  I use Cakewalk/Sonar... save it as an MP3... then take it into your wav editor... 1) Boost the bass 2)Maximize the volume (meaning the highs are brighter, the lows are beefier and the middles are cleaner and 3) Add a bit of stereo reverb  Hope this hellps. Steve

Thanks, that might work.. I'll try it.

[modgeulator]

Well if the device you're using to record with sounds bad then there is no magic solution that's going to suddenly make it sound like a professional CD. You could whack compression and EQ all over it but 9/10 you'll probably end up making it sound worse. Only real solution is to use better equipment and make a better recording to begin with. Just being honest, I've wasted plenty of time trying to polish turds - it's not worth it.

[Steel Drummer]

Maybe it would be better if the instruments were farther away from the mic? It picks up sound from pretty far away, and whenever we've recorded we were really close to it..

[theatrx]

Regarding recording... good equipment is a must.  I've found also that a mike on the performer and an ambient mike sometimes is very nice.  Of course, they are not set on the same level.  I used a Roland 32 for awhile and had some very good luck with that.  It has a lot of presets built in.

[modgeulator]

You might be better off asking about this at a forum like http://homerecording.com/bbs/

[Fee]

When i was about 20 we made a small band, we all sucked, but it was for fun. During this short lived band, we all signed up for a sound enginering course. It was only basic, but we did it just to learn a lil about how to record at home. Im no expert, but i may be abel to offer some advice.

1, Never record the initial tracks as MP3. Record as WAV.
2, Quality wise, Standard PC mics dont cut it, especially for BASS. They are ok for more higher pithced noises, but for BASS you really need a mic with a larger diaphram. You should always try and use several Mics, especially for Drum tracks. A good mixer wouldnt hurt either.
3, Yes, the Mic placement makes a huge difference. It should be relitivly close to the sound source, to aviod spill from other instruments being played at the same time, but obviously not too close. Theres some rule about placing them 1 Wavelength away from the sound source, but i think its best to experiment here. Move them around and see whats best.
4, The Location of your instruments in a room as well as the shape of the room can help alot. Rooms that are just a square box tend to have 2 problems. The first is echo, and the second is caused by echo and its cancelation. Wich is when the sound is basically reflected back at itself and hits the oncoming sound wave, canceling it out. Hope that makes sense.
Cheepest way i can think of to help with this sort of thing is hanging thick sheets and blankets around the room.

An MP3 will never sound as good as a CD or recorded WAV, even at its highest sampling rate it still compresses the high and low peaks removing a degree of "quality" but generally you should be abel to get them to sound relitivly good. Most people with your average PC speakers wouldnt be abel to tell much difference.

[Evil]

IMO, there is no difference. If you can mix and tone everything right, the only difference between the two is size. I think you should worry about getting it sounding right first, regardless of it's file quality.

[Gregjazz]

MP3s always sound pretty terrible to me, even if they're a high bitrate. The cymbals have that swishing noise, etc. OGG vorbis is a better compressor to use.

Post some clips of the songs, I'll see what I can do.

Also, check out the Zoom H4 portable recorder. It's great for recording live gigs with its X/Y pattern stereo mics. Or you could plug in your own mics via XLR. For $299 USD it's a great deal.

[Steel Drummer]

Okay, here's a clip of our guitarist soloing. I'm happy with the volume of the band (each instrument can be heard fine), but it's the sound quality I don't like as much. 

http://rapidshare.com/files/29637993/Soloing.mp3.html

(pardon the crappy uploader )

[Fee]

For a start he need to tune that thing. Not sure what that "horn" sound is possibly a bad guitar note. Keyboard should be louder too IMO.

Sounds ok tho, you guys got potential.

[Steel Drummer]

Hmmm... There's no horn. That was a guitar doing a solo. It was high pitched so you probably thought it was a horn.

[Helm]

If a guitar solo is the conversational equivalent of a precise and eloquent articulation of a theme, then this was half-drunken and stuttering flirting, topped off with barfing and passing out.

For a guy with a wife and child you sure are in a very amateurish band, yodaman.

[Hammerite]

I actually think that was alright!
The lo-fi style is also quite appealing, a'la my old friends Neutral Milk Hotel (http://www.the-collective.net/~sashwap/demo2/06.mp3)

[Steel Drummer]

If a guitar solo is the conversational equivalent of a precise and eloquent articulation of a theme, then this was half-drunken and stuttering flirting, topped off with barfing and passing out.

So in other words... it was crap. Right? 

The solo was unrehearsed, and the recording was lo-fi.

I actually think that was alright!

That's something I don't hear you say very often. Thanks!

[Hammerite]

I feel like being less of a dick today. 

[Gregjazz]

Okay, here's a clip of our guitarist soloing. I'm happy with the volume of the band (each instrument can be heard fine), but it's the sound quality I don't like as much. 

http://rapidshare.com/files/29637993/Soloing.mp3.html

(pardon the crappy uploader )

Not bad, but you can improve the sound quality a lot through various mastering techniques.

Here's I did:

1. Used multiband panning technique to make a more stereo mix, just move some instruments away from the center, giving a wider mix.

2. Used channel inversion to separate some of the instruments for further mixing control.

3. Bussed drums to some subtle reverb and used audio enhancing to get rid of the clipping you were getting as well as bring out some of the life in the snare drum.

4. Multiband compression is your friend. I was able to make the lows punchier this way without losing the definition in the highs.

5. Applied a few of my secret homemade VST plugins to instruments. I used my AntiSuck VST on the guitar lead as well as GrooveRelax VST on the drums. These just insure that you'll get the best possible sound and time feel from those tracks. I made the plugins using Synthedit, and they are the culmination of many years of work. For example, the AntiSuck VST uses an 8-comb filter to analyse the waveform and purge any suckiness. Basically it's a very fine lowpass filter with high resonance that sweeps through the frequencies, and if it resonates with any sucky harmonics, it notches them out through some cancelling EQ. It's pretty CPU intensive, but it does the job.

6. Used limiter on the entire mix to make more presence and cohesion.

7. Finally, apply a small amount of mastering reverb (actually convolution reverb) to the mix.

http://www.gregjazz.com/upload/guitarsolo.mp3

[Steel Drummer]

Very nice! What program did you use to do all that? I use FL Studio and Audacity- could either of those programs make the recording sound better? 

Also, how did you change the equalization of individual instruments?

Can you PM me with some tutorials, etc? 

Thanks.