I have a digital recording studio zoom mrs-4 and some reason when ever I try to record anything it doesn't sound right. It usually sounds a bit twangy and when I use distortion there is just so much static and feedback and it just sounds like crap. I bought it years ago new, so I don't know if it's just defective or maybe there is something I don't know about that I can do to make it sound better. I've turning down the distortion and it doesn't help. When I play clean, it sounds fine for the most part.

What kind of mics are you using?

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In the nicest possible way, you are never going to get a 'sound in the room' recording using something like the MRS-4, regardless of mic. If you have clipping meters on there, check that you aren't clipping the input which can cause crappy artificial distortion (turn down your main/channel amp volume if so). Try multi-tracking. So record one rhythm part and pan it right, then record the same piece again and pan it left. This should help fill out the sound. Personally in this day and age I'd really recommend moving any kind of recording setup to computer based, its about a million times better than stand-alone hardware. I picked up my Presonus Inspire for £85 with Cubase LE last summer and its (genuinely) probably the best thing I've ever done in terms of having fun playing the guitar.

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i'm not using a mic, i'm just directly hooked up into the studio. I don't know what clipping meters are. If you say it's just a piece of junk then why did I pay so much money for something that wasn't designed to work? I've tried adjusting the volumes and effects.

Oh boy...

Well, for one - plugging your head straight into your "studio" and cranking the distortion is the problem. You can't do that unless you have the proper equipment. If you don't know what the clip meters are, I suggest you read your manual and do some research on home recording.

Get yourself a mic (SM-57), read up on micing techs, and see what that does for you. If you're really serious about recording I suggest you put some more money into another product but if you're just doing it for nothing really serious, that Zoom is probably the product for you. Either way, no matter what you do, don't expect amazing results with that.

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when recording distorted guitar DI (direct in) like you're doing, it will typically sound fuzzy and terrible.

so if you want to record it DI, you need a device that can do speaker modeling (pod/v-amp, computer software, etc) to round out the sound and simulate the way it sound coming out a speaker. otherwise you should use a mic to record it from an actual speaker.

the meters are those flashing bars that light up, showing you the volume. it will explain in the manual, but basically you don't want the levels maxing out or else you get 'clipping' which can make it sound compressed/distorted.

Considering that some top studios are packing up to $500,000 worth of equipment, then yes the MRS-4 won't work quite as well. I'm not trying to be an ass about it, but I had a bit of a reality check when I started recording about 6 months ago. It is an incredibly complex subject that takes a lot of time, patience (and money) to even get a half-decent sound. Nothing is ever as simple as just plug, play and record. If you are serious about getting into recording yourself, PM me and I'll pass on a load of sites that have really helped me navigate and understand some of the tricky basics.

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Small wonder your recordings are shitty. Listen to what Darko says..



wow..just..wow..
Sorry, I'm just a bit baffled here.
It's not that I expect everyone to have expert knowledge on recording, hell, I'm no proffesional audio engineer myself.
But clipping is pretty elementary knowledge in this subject.

You would've save maybe a lot of cash if you tried recording using software, you could even have downloaded a pirated software package just to try it out.

It's like you should learn how to play a guitar on a cheap Squire before you set out to buy that 2$k guitar, right?



Basicly, you get what you pay for. Even so, a piece of gear is only worth so much as the other gear your using it with, or the knowledge and experience of you.



^this is good advice. And don't forget to make a lot of different tracks with slightly different EQ's. You do know how to use an equalizer, do you?

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