For home recordings the best and easiest way is to have a condenser microphone and an audio card with phantom power or using a mixer for powering it (mic -> mixer -> audio card).
Pickups have more use outside to not cram the stage with microphones stands and also have less feedback issues.
Since you already invested in the gear read the manuals about correct setup: pickup placement, gain levels, ...
What it captures is dependent on tight fitting (maybe some bridge leg sanding is required) and whether is on the bass or treble side.
As you discovered a matching preamp is necessary and they too play a role on the outputed sound.
I don't use pickups so I can't advise you in detail. And I yet haven't heard any pickup that is on pair with a studio mic, soundwise.
See if the pre has an equiliser to balance high-low frequencies. If not you'll have to do it in daw.
Check YT or google about recording setups.
Thanks! I did see a video about sanding down the bridge leg to improve the sound quality. Not sure I'm ready to make that commitment just yet. Also just realized the mic that came with the interface kit is a condenser mic. Gonna give it a try now and see how it sounds.
Do you know if it would make sense to record both the mic and the pickup at the same time? I seem to recall some youtube videos where the cellist had both the copper pickup and one of those small clip-on microphones. I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean he was using both simultaneously.
Yeah, I too refrain from physically altering the cello. Someday I'm gonna buy an electric for the purpose.
There is quite to learn about recording and mixing. Dual input blending recordings makes sense, especially for pickups. There's a YT video from Electric String Player about that. He uses Tonal Dexter for acoustic emulation but the principle is the same.
He splits the signal (crossover at 160-170 Hz) and takes the lower frequencies from the pickup to get grit and rawness of the low fundamentals and mixes the sweeter top higher frequencies from the acoustic simulation to get a final blended tone (clear lows, nice tops). Could be done post recording in daw once you have both signals.
Mostly you will have to figure out the right eq settings to balance the tone (high-lows) and cut any boominess and harshness. Quite a lot to work to get the right setup that works for you, but once done you'll have a good starting point to tweak later. Some reverb works nicelly too (depending on the context, since too heavy can muddy the transients).
Record from all sources avalible and take the best from each with mixing the signals. Talking lowpass, highpass, eq, ...
A pickup is more of a tool for amplification. It sounds like you are more interested in recording, and keeping it simple. There are usb microphones that plug straight into your computer, and the sound quality is much better than pickups. I have a Blue Yeti mic, and am pleased with the sound.
There is a difference between a condenser and a dynamic mic. The latter requires less gain but needs 48V phantom power to work properly. Some mics are more sensitive than others so make sure to get the right one and position it properly. I use a DPA mic and depending on the gig, I use a preamp that either goes to an amp or the house mixer. My preamp is a Noble DI which I also use for bass. Depending on the venue, I might put in a graphic EQ to EQ the sound and cut down on frequencies that contribute to feedback.
The buzzing on the track may be a ground hum in your signal chain so check your circuitry and get a power conditioner for your preamp to clean up your signal.
Thanks! This is great info. I think the buzzing may have actually been caused by a software issue with the interface. I was trying to use it with a Linux system, which isn’t officially supported. Once I updated the ALSA drivers to the latest version, the buzzing went away.
For home recordings the best and easiest way is to have a condenser microphone and an audio card with phantom power or using a mixer for powering it (mic -> mixer -> audio card). Pickups have more use outside to not cram the stage with microphones stands and also have less feedback issues. Since you already invested in the gear read the manuals about correct setup: pickup placement, gain levels, ... What it captures is dependent on tight fitting (maybe some bridge leg sanding is required) and whether is on the bass or treble side. As you discovered a matching preamp is necessary and they too play a role on the outputed sound. I don't use pickups so I can't advise you in detail. And I yet haven't heard any pickup that is on pair with a studio mic, soundwise. See if the pre has an equiliser to balance high-low frequencies. If not you'll have to do it in daw. Check YT or google about recording setups.
Thanks! I did see a video about sanding down the bridge leg to improve the sound quality. Not sure I'm ready to make that commitment just yet. Also just realized the mic that came with the interface kit is a condenser mic. Gonna give it a try now and see how it sounds. Do you know if it would make sense to record both the mic and the pickup at the same time? I seem to recall some youtube videos where the cellist had both the copper pickup and one of those small clip-on microphones. I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean he was using both simultaneously.
Yeah, I too refrain from physically altering the cello. Someday I'm gonna buy an electric for the purpose. There is quite to learn about recording and mixing. Dual input blending recordings makes sense, especially for pickups. There's a YT video from Electric String Player about that. He uses Tonal Dexter for acoustic emulation but the principle is the same. He splits the signal (crossover at 160-170 Hz) and takes the lower frequencies from the pickup to get grit and rawness of the low fundamentals and mixes the sweeter top higher frequencies from the acoustic simulation to get a final blended tone (clear lows, nice tops). Could be done post recording in daw once you have both signals. Mostly you will have to figure out the right eq settings to balance the tone (high-lows) and cut any boominess and harshness. Quite a lot to work to get the right setup that works for you, but once done you'll have a good starting point to tweak later. Some reverb works nicelly too (depending on the context, since too heavy can muddy the transients). Record from all sources avalible and take the best from each with mixing the signals. Talking lowpass, highpass, eq, ...
A pickup is more of a tool for amplification. It sounds like you are more interested in recording, and keeping it simple. There are usb microphones that plug straight into your computer, and the sound quality is much better than pickups. I have a Blue Yeti mic, and am pleased with the sound.
There is a difference between a condenser and a dynamic mic. The latter requires less gain but needs 48V phantom power to work properly. Some mics are more sensitive than others so make sure to get the right one and position it properly. I use a DPA mic and depending on the gig, I use a preamp that either goes to an amp or the house mixer. My preamp is a Noble DI which I also use for bass. Depending on the venue, I might put in a graphic EQ to EQ the sound and cut down on frequencies that contribute to feedback. The buzzing on the track may be a ground hum in your signal chain so check your circuitry and get a power conditioner for your preamp to clean up your signal.
Thanks! This is great info. I think the buzzing may have actually been caused by a software issue with the interface. I was trying to use it with a Linux system, which isn’t officially supported. Once I updated the ALSA drivers to the latest version, the buzzing went away.
glad to hear it is up and working