Quote:
Originally Posted by redavide
A question for the recording experts . . .
I'm presently recording acoustic guitar with an Audio Technica 4050CM5 mic and an Audio Technica 4041 mic going to a Lexicon Lambda interface, using Cubase LE4 and a Lexicon PCM70 for reverb. The room I record in isn't treated in any way and I really don't have the space to build anything permanent, or unmovable, in that regard. I mostly use a Collings CJ or a Martim OM-42, so I know the guitars sound good enough.
If you had my set-up and $2000 to spend on upgrading, what would you do to get the biggest improvement in recording sound quality?
|
If you don't mind my saying so, you're going about this in exactly the wrong way if you're interested in better recordings. Your approach is suitable for someone "into" recording as a collection of gadgets, and there are plenty of folks out there with that bent.
There was a time when I was sure that buying another mic or preamp or reverb would be the key to great acoustic guitar recording. But when I started doing very careful level matched same performance comparisons I realized that the differences between preamps was vanishingly small, and the difference between mics was remarkably subtle.
If your goal is better recordings the question is, what do you want to improve - in what way are your recordings less than you desire? When I listen to your clips I'm quite impressed with the recording quality. I might suggest some modification of mic location, perhaps an EQ tweak, but those things are simply taste. I agree with Kev that some movable broadband absorbers could reduce early reflections and might give some improvement. And there might be useability issues - one device I used for a while had the gain setting adjusted so it was nearly impossible to optimize levels for acoustic guitar. The manufacturer explained that their device had been optimized for loud sources like drums and electric guitars.
If you can't identify some specific areas of improvement, some concrete goals to be met by your purchase, I honestly think you'll just be buying Dumbo's feather.
Fran