Recording Classical guitar...

[slideboardouts]

Hey everyone,I was wondering if any of you could give me some tips on recording a nylon string guitar and maybe what frequencies you generally boost or cut. I know that in a mix with a bunch of instruments you generally roll off the low end of the guitar but was wondering if the same applied for solo guitar tracks.I have a Sure SM57 and an AKG perception 200 large diaphragm condenser. I read an article in Recording magazine and will try those techniques but I'm wondering if you all have any tips before I start recording.Oh and does anyone here use a metronome when doing solo guitar or piano stuff?thanks,Steve

[stick]

Yeah, I use a click almost all the time. Here's a couple setups I'd try with those mics. In both cases, the AKG needs to sound good on its own, and the 57 is used for brightness and for stereo width. You may find that the 57 is going to be a little too lo-fi for acoustic recording... usually a small diaphragm condenser is the ticket in it's place in these setups. 1. The AKG about 12 to 16 inches away from the body pointing at halfway between the hole and where the neck meets the body. I usually end up with it a few inches lower than the centerline of the body. Then, stick the 57 up really close to the 12th fret, pointing right at the neck. 2. Keep the AKG in the same spot, and put the 57 above your right shoulder, about eye level pointing down at the sound hole. It should be on the plane of face of the body. These are typical "close mic" techniques. If I was doing solo classical guitar, I'd probably end up using 2 small diaphragm condensers in an X-Y set up a couple feet out. But, then you need a good sounding room too. Here's a page I just googled that shows a couple of pictures of basically what I'm explaining. And as with everything, there are no rules. Try anything and see what sounds the best to you.

[stick]

Oh, and as far as boost or cut, it totally depends on your particular guitar, mics and room. The best would be to have you do a recording, and post it. Then I can suggest what I'd do to help it out.

[ernstinen]

Stick's suggestions are right on. One thing about using a click: Make sure you use closed headphones and don't turn it up too loud or it will bleed onto your guitar tracks.I'm lucky to have found a Sennheiser small-diaphragm shotgun mic at a garage sale some years ago, and one technique I use is pointing it down the neck from the top near the tuning pegs. You can create a nice stereo effect by mixing that with your large diaphragm condenser or other close mic.Good luck!Ern

[stick]

Ooh, good one Ern... I'll have to try that.

[teleblaster]

Something to watch for when recording Nylon string(especially if you take a DI from an internal p/u or use a close mic); the front edge of the note can be really loud. It can be tough to get a good 'dense' track w/o having that attack go over limit. Definitely record at 24bit if you can. You might want to modify your picking technique -- roll back off the fingernail and use a touch more fingertip then normal. The good news is that if you do get some of these overlimits they tend to be very short, and you can manually edit them out in your DAW. Unless you want your time to ebb and flow I'd recommend using a click.

[justinatrecording]

Regarding whether or not to use a click... I'd think about two things.First, what type of music are you playing? If you're playing classical, a click is death. You need the time to breathe.Second, are you used to playing with a click? If your brain has to focus on the time, the performance and musicality will suffer 99% of the time. For instrumental music, I'd really question the wisdom of recording to a click. If it were really rhythmic and fast--Rodrigo and Gabriella type stuff--then perhaps. Otherwise, ebb and flow in time is a good thing. Most of the editing benefits you get from recording to a click aren't an issue with a solo track. Anyway, a couple of things to think about...Cheers,Justin

[slideboardouts]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll get to work on it and post it up when I'm finished.Quote:Regarding whether or not to use a click... I'd think about two things.First, what type of music are you playing? If you're playing classical, a click is death. You need the time to breathe.Second, are you used to playing with a click? If your brain has to focus on the time, the performance and musicality will suffer 99% of the time. For instrumental music, I'd really question the wisdom of recording to a click. If it were really rhythmic and fast--Rodrigo and Gabriella type stuff--then perhaps. Otherwise, ebb and flow in time is a good thing. Most of the editing benefits you get from recording to a click aren't an issue with a solo track. Anyway, a couple of things to think about...Cheers,JustinWell, I'm used to using a click track but I find it awkward for some of the classical guitar stuff I've tried to record for the exact reasons you mentioned. The first song I'll record is a little bit speedy so I might try using a click track. I am kinda torn on whether or not I should use a click track though Thanks,Steve

[nickbatzdorf]

Another trick i like that works for some things is to point one mic at the low strings and another at the high ones, then pan them hard in opposite directions. That makes the sound go from low to high across the stereo field.I wish I'd thought of it, because it's really clever.

[ibanez468]

Nick,That's a damn GOOD idea! I think I'll try that next time I record an acoustic!ibanez468