Solo Classical Guitar

[Baiano]

Hi everybody.

I have been recording loads of people at home and learning a lot through this wonderfull site,thanks to you guys...

I noticed that recording a finger-style nylon string guitar performance into an arrangement (comping,soloing) it`s not all that hard (since the guitar player can play of course...),but when it`s a guitar only thing the madness begins...

being a classically trained guitarrist myself I find it hard to get all that balance in recording my handmade Uruguayan Martinez classical guitar...how to avoid much fret noise ?(of course some left hand the technic can help),one or two mics? Remember it`s a solo guitar not a guitar solo...doing bass lines, solo and voicings... Any tip will be a great help.

Røde NT-1
Audio-techinica AT3035
Beheringer Ultragain Pro

Thanks again.baiano

[Kurt Foster]

Classical guitar can be very hard to record without a lot of compression which sort of defeats the whole idea in the first place, doesn't it? I like to place a LD condenser about 2 or 3 feet in front of the player and pointed at the soundboard just below the bridge. That should be a good start. .... Kurt

[Pez]

Since it's just the classical guitar solo I would use two mics so that you have a stereo signal. I would do like Fats said but I would also add a SD mic at about 6" from the 12th fret pointing towards the soundhole. I might run it through an 1176 if the finger pick attack needs to be enhanced a bit.

[Kurt Foster]

The reason I didn't suggest a mic on the neck joint, which is what I usually do, is there was some concern voiced about fret and finger noise. I normally like to have a mic pointed at where the body and the neck meet. I personally don't like the sound that comes from the sound hole. IMO that is tantamount to micing a bass port on a bass cabinet. But different strokes.. I have heard some guys say that kicks butt for them, but it has never worked for me... Kurt

[Baiano]

Thanks a lot guys.

Remember I only have this Røde- 1 and the Audio-techinica AT 3035.For now I have been trying both and surprise! I favor the Røde...The AT 3035 is a great mic and probally from another league compared with the Røde but too detailed...too open...too bright (no compression/equalization so far),the Røde gives me a more "romantic",soft ,warm and gentle sound , closer to the sound I am looking for (those old Segovia`s records sounds...).
I still did not try both mics in stereo `cause i just borrowed a spare mic stand from a friend but I think I`ll use the Røde as tha main mic,the AT 3035 is indeed a great mic for it`s price but I`d better save it to the vocal recordings.
I think I am learning a lesson here: Not always the best gear suits your recording needs,I was thinking of selling my Røde but now I think I gonna keep it around for while...

Thanks a lot again.
Baiano.

"It`s sunny in Lisbon (Portugal) but a bit cold and moist,everybody here, but the portuguese Prime Minister ,is against the war and afraid of future terrorist retaliation...and all we musicians want is to make love and do some proper recordings..."

[Markd102]

Baiano
Send me an email and I'll send you back a great article on stereo micing acoustic guitars.
Anyone else who wants it can do this too.

drury@bigpond.net.au

Mark

[popcorn]

Hi,

the guitar player in our band is almost never satisfied with the sound of his Esteve.He is classical guitarist and he has a lot of awards from contests.Sometimes when we use some unusual decisions to place the mikes we achieve very good results.So I think that there is no major rule to record his guitar

Donny

www.popcorn.dir.bg