Victoria Johnson 1 Posted April 1, 2020 I have a piezo pickup on my violin; it sounds great live. The problem is when I try to record it. I'm not making a CD or anything close but recording originals, band tunes etc. My violin sounds .. well, terrible. Is there a way to tweak that in Cakewalk so it is so ugly sounding - nasally, shrill at times, very "electric". I was surprised since it sounds so natural live (yes, I know it isn't quite natural .. but close). I'm not by any means a recording aficionado so have limited skills. I can use prochannel tweeks on the other instruments (guitar, cello, irish drum.. from BIAB) and they sound amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colin Nicholls 788 Posted April 1, 2020 When you want acoustic instruments to sound "acoustic", nothing beats a microphone in an acoustic space. The difference between using my piezo equiped nylon string guitar wired vs recorded via a mic was so different, I stopped trying, and used mics. Of course, if you want that piezo sound (it is useful for some use-cases) then you're good. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lapasoa 114 Posted April 1, 2020 Good mic and, very important, a good audio interface. Try recording both ways. One track for acoustic and one track for electric and put tracks in stereo. One on left and one on right 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rsinger 202 Posted April 1, 2020 The brittle sound of piezos is an issue. You should be able to EQ it. There have been a few threads on people using IRs of acoustic guitars; you might find some IRs for violins. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Victoria Johnson 1 Posted April 1, 2020 Thanks all . The reason I was recording with the pickup and not the mic I have is ambient noise;computer, furnace, lawn mowers, dogs... noisy neighborhood. Even my hammered dulcimer uses a piezo pickup which actually sounds very natural. I'll search around for some EQ suggestions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chaps 77 Posted April 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Victoria Johnson said: Thanks all . The reason I was recording with the pickup and not the mic I have is ambient noise;computer, furnace, lawn mowers, dogs... noisy neighborhood. Even my hammered dulcimer uses a piezo pickup which actually sounds very natural. I'll search around for some EQ suggestions. Consider this. When you hear your piezo pickup live, are you hearing it amplified through a PA or amplifier? If so, that is what you are hearing and not the direct output from the pickup. You can try using a clean amp setting from TH3, or other amp modeler, to see if that gives you more of the sound you are looking for. You can tweak the heck out of those, and combined with adjusting the EQ you might find something you can live with. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Tubbs 108 Posted April 2, 2020 I’ve gotten gorgeous sound out of an octava pencil mic from above the shoulder. An ok room, although I do use an RND portico II channel. If miking isn’t possible, yea, use a guitar amp sim (clean) and irs to give it body. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark skinner 901 Posted April 2, 2020 Victoria , are you using headphones while recording ? They will give you a better idea of what your pickup sounds like without hearing all the sound directly from the instrument , It's hard with a violin because your ears are only inches from it. Any acoustic instrument will also act like a giant microphone picking up the signal from your speakers and mudding everything up. I have a pickup in my cello and can make it sound pretty good with eq , but a mic is the way to go. I just have to choose the right time to record . mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerrydf 218 Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) I agree with the preference to go truly acoustic. However if you keep on the piezzo track, you may find some impulse responses (IRs) which may help. I don't know of any for violins, but I used some with guitars. The IRs are designed to be used wth a piezzo pick up and give quite a good natural acoustic feel. I've done the same with mandolins (in fact a mandolin IR may actually work for a violin). Edited April 2, 2020 by jerrydf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Victoria Johnson 1 Posted April 3, 2020 Chappel .. that TH3 worked great .. thanks. If I ever record for real I will do that in a studio. I don't have a choice as to when I practice/record.... have to do it when husband is working! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chaps 77 Posted April 3, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Victoria Johnson said: Chappel .. that TH3 worked great .. thanks. If I ever record for real I will do that in a studio. I don't have a choice as to when I practice/record.... have to do it when husband is working! I thought it might. Glad to hear it worked out. Guitar amp sims can be very useful for more than just guitars. Keep experimenting. Who knows, your go-to amp might be a bass amp. Edited April 3, 2020 by Chappel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
