I was lucky enough to get a new audio interface for Christmas, so I thought I’d test it out.
This is the result, I kept it short (just under 30 seconds!) as I’m after feedback on the audio/recording quality as much as anything else:
If it sounds OK (in terms of audio quality), then I’ll try a longer version.
(My first upload to SoundCloud too…)
Sounded good to me. Nice fingerstyle there. 
nice fingerstyle. audio possibly not as crisp as it could be? I don’t know your guitar so perhaps it’s not overly bright in it’s sound?
Thank you!
It’s a Fender DG-14S, and the strings are about 3 months old, so that could be the reason they sound a little dull! (Seems as though I have a job for tomorrow…)
It could also be the microphone, the placement, or the room acoustics. It may be worth experimenting with mic placement and some EQ.
Cheers,
Keith
Sounds like you are making progress. As for quality, as Keith says, experiment with mic placement until you find a sweet spot, your ears will tell you. 
Well done, congratulations on the new gear!
Playing sounded good!
Audio quality is okay. It sounds a little muddier or muffled than I’d want (a lot of lows and low-mids, not as much upper mid and treble). Are you recording with a mic? Experimenting with mic placement, as Majik suggested, can help. If you’re using an internal pickup you could check on the tone controls/EQ for the pickup.
Congrats on your first SoundCloud upload. 
What a thoughtful gift giver.
Bravo and congrats on making and sharing that first recording, Iain.
It would be helpful to answer JWC’s question ie recorded via a mic or direct input (DI) from guitar into the AI.
If a mic, then perhaps share what mic and how you placed the mic as well as where you were seated in the room.
Your play sounded good. I look forward to that longer version.
Thank you!
Yes, a Scarlett Condenser mic. The first recording was made with it near the 12th fret (about 15cm off the fretboard), and angled slightly towards the sound hole. I’m going try again, pointing right at 12th fret.
I’m playing stood-up as my chair is really creaky, and I wanted to eliminate that from the recording.
Another option to try is to line the mic up with the bridge and point it towards the 12th fret or where the neck joins the guitar body.
In terms of position in the room, the one thing I have picked up is to avoid standing in the middle of the room. I think it is best to be off-centre, both front-back and left-right.
Thank you, I’ll try that too!
That’s going to be more difficult - because of where my desk and PC are I’m quite close to the centre of the room. I’ll see if I can be a bit creative though!
OK, so new strings seem to have helped a lot (d’oh)… I’ve also added a couple of variations in and taken it out to around 1m 30s:
That sound better, Iain. For me I think there is more clarity in the notes. In addition to strings did you try a different mic position and orientation in the room?
I meant to say that if you can’t get away from a central position, you can also rotate how you stand on the spot so you are looking at an angle at the facing wall. All of this intended to influence how the sound waves reflect back off the walls and corners.
I really enjoyed the change you inserted. For me that made it sound more like a song and less like an exercise. So add some lyrics and you have an original song to sing.
Thank you!
No, I decided to try one thing at a time to see what made the difference. The strings made such a huge difference that I thought it was worth going for a longer version.
Thank you for the hints on small position changes, I’ll try them too and see how things turn out.
Listened to both and yup, there is a definite brighter quality to the second recording.
Having said that, it would make no difference to me which quality you shared your music with.
For me (an expert in lo-fi), it’s all about the music and the feels.
Sound quality is just an afterthought.
OK, you can start casting stones now… 
Gotta agree here. I always thought the main point of this section was to show off your learning progress and get feedback on technique and stuff so as long as everything isn’t too muddy I wouldn’t sweat it all that much. I do appreciate the high production covers and collabs people are putting out tough.
Back to the topic: nicely done Ian! I especially enjoyed the long version. Sounding good and very moody! Consider recording video though if you’d like more constructive feedback. Looking forward to more! 
Iain
Have to agree with everyone else the string change has made a big difference and everything is sounding a lot clearer. As regards to recording quality, don’t worry about any of that for now. As long as things are not muddy, distorted or someone’s vacuuming in the background and you can hear what is being played, that will be enough to solicit feedback, which is all you need right now. When you get into recording full blown covers, yeah you want to ramp the production up but it is something else you learn along the way. But for now focus on the playing.
Cheers
Toby
Iain - It sounds better. I’m often surprised at how I’m surprised that my new strings sound so much better and I keep telling myself to change them sooner.
I’m impressed with the high production effort many put into their songs and yet I’m also conflicted by it. A friend of mine privately made the following comment to me on production efforts.
I’m interested in hearings some of your lo-fi recordings.