Tone or Sound QuiZ: the first time i recorded myself and listened back...

[mizmar]

So recently we had, quite a common, question by someone getting set-up to record themselves. Quite often the initial attempt is pretty bad.
Sometimes that's because the set-up is poor (clipping, AGC, distortion etc) ...
... But, I suspect, sometimes it sounds wrong just because it just is the first time and what playing sounds like to others is quit different to what you think you sound like. Same as voice recording, for some people.

I'm pretty sure I both had to faff with the recording set-up and just get used to it.

 

[dexdex]

Mid 70s, in my teens, small cassette tape recorder, a couple of months of clarinet experience, all ingredients for a dubious result …. 🙉😉
Anyhow, I came back to recording myself more regularly after 2010, having the adequate room, and with the generalization of affordable digital gadgets, like the Zoom R16 multi-track I still have.
It is really very useful as it helps to identify improvement areas in one’s playing.

 

[cappers]

Played a gig last night and as ever listening back to my solos made me cringe even though I was told by the MD and others that they were good. I'm fairly happy with them 'musically' but my tone 😱

Trying to be positive and think 'not too bad for beginner' but I can see and hear how much more work there is to do.

 

[Colin the Bear]

One thing about listening back, straight after a recording is the instant comparison to the live instrument. How could a speaker ever compete.

The other thing is not hearing what you did but hearing how you failed to do what you were trying to do. All the little timing corrections and meandering phrasing stick out.

Once you find your set up, you get used to your recorded sound, and it's not such a disapoointment.

When listening back to old recordings, you've forgotten what you were trying to do so you only hear what you did.

My experience is that I wasn't as bad as I thought I was.

 

[Tuppertn]

I bought an SM57 and and impedance transformer so I could plug the mic directly into my guitar pedal board. Starting with just reverb and delay, I was instantly blown away by the transformation of the sound. So, a bit of "Shocked: that's not me" but in a good way.

 

[hedgehog]

It's so easy to focus on the problems, especially listening right after recording. But those same recordings sound better with a little time. Moving my recording into a closet with lots of clothes hanging and a blanket on the wall made a difference in the overall sound, for the better.

 

[atwl77]

Yup, this:

... But, I suspect, sometimes it sounds wrong just because it just is the first time and what playing sounds like to others is quit different to what you think you sound like. Same as voice recording, for some people.

It was an eye-opener, for sure. Didn't even sound close to what I heard when playing in front of a wall.

And also, this:

The other thing is not hearing what you did but hearing how you failed to do what you were trying to do. All the little timing corrections and meandering phrasing stick out.

Another odd thing that bugs me... I prefer how I hear myself sound on alto compared to tenor... but then I prefer my recorded sound on tenor compared to alto. Something I'm sure improving my technique, as well as messing with fx (eq, compression, reverb) may help, but until then it's still something that bugs me.

 

[mark_addy]

Perhaps it's a bit like hearing one's voice on tape - an odd experience for most people. My tuning stinks more on the recording than it does in my head while playing, which is a shame.