Cordorba players (all models): Recording questions

[Rondoraymundo]

I have some questions for Cordoba players of any make or model, both crossover and classical.

How "recordable" do you feel your Cordoba guitar is?

If you had a chance to do a professional recording where the "nylon sound" was required, how do you think your guitar would stand up?

[Crowyote]

I think that Cordobas are very recordable, but I've only made a few demos so far with my recent guitar. All my prior sessions recordings were done when I owned a Kremona, Ramirez, or Rodriguez.

The only problem might lie in the internal pu/mic. The Prefix ProBlend can obtain a natural sound, but the internal michas some issues with producing feedback. I was unable to dial it out at a recent gig, so I didn't use the internal mic at all. However, just using the UST pu I was able to get a broad array of expressive tones, but nobody could really hear my golpe at all.

The best of both worlds would be to record stereo with one side from an internal pu and the guitar miced. Then find the right spatial blend/phase between them.

I play the Cordoba 55FCE Negra now, and love it.

[Rondoraymundo]

Thanks Crowyote for your response.

Wow, over 150 views and no other Cordoba players want to speak up?

[zhunter]

Depends on the recording as to how well it might work. What nylon sound are you looking for? And not all Cordobas are created equal. So what kind do you plan to use? A nylon string Cordoba will likely sound like a nylon string when you record it.

I have two Cordoba's (GK Studios) and they would not be my first choice for an acoustic recording on mic where the acoustic was out front and featured in the mix. My student model Navarro acoustically sounds and records much better than the GKs and it is not even my best nylon string. If not out in front of the mix, you'll probably be fine with any nylon string.

hunter

[Rondoraymundo]

Originally Posted by zhunter

Depends on the recording as to how well it might work. What nylon sound are you looking for? And not all Cordobas are created equal. So what kind do you plan to use? A nylon string Cordoba will likely sound like a nylon string when you record it.

I have two Cordoba's (GK Studios) and they would not be my first choice for an acoustic recording on mic where the acoustic was out front and featured in the mix. My student model Navarro acoustically sounds and records much better than the GKs and it is not even my best nylon string. If not out in front of the mix, you'll probably be fine with any nylon string.

hunter

The only instrument in the recording will be the guitar.

[Bob Womack]

I've recorded my Cordoba 55R rather successfully. One recording of a solo piece found its way into the hands of the regional symphony orchestra's first chair violin player and impressed him. I used a pair of AKG C451B mics for the recording. That recording was on my resume' reel (I'm a recording engineer) for a while.

Bob

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Rondoraymundo

Wow, over 150 views and no other Cordoba players want to speak up?

My Cordoba Orchestra Fusion records well, but so does most of the other guitars in my fold.

The lack of response is most likely due to one underlying general principal; If the guitar sounds good it has everything to do with HOW it's recorded, and IF it sounds good acoustically it becomes a good candidate for being recorded.

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

...

The lack of response is most likely due to one underlying general principal; If the guitar sounds good it has everything to do with HOW it's recorded, and IF it sounds good acoustically it becomes a good candidate for being recorded.

That's probably more applicable than my comment here, but...

I was disappointed in how my C10 (Ced/IRW) recorded, which usually sounds good (or better than *that* acoustically.) It may not have been the guitar's fault, but maybe the guy using his new ProTools 11. To get a decent, balanced sound, we had to fiddle with EQ so much that the results were not "my guitar" but just acceptably guitar-like. I eventually judged that too many variables were in play to know what or whom to blame, but I think it was guitar 50%, inexperienced engineer 50% (blame). Too many harsh squeally frequencies would always try to dominate the mix, kinda like an oinky steel string. No fun. I'll post the result some day soon on my Soundcloud, if I still remember how. It's okay, just not professional sounding. (He had a variety of mics from Shure 57 to $3K Neumann. We both settled on the Shure.)

[September]

Here is my new Cordoba GK Pro, but not in a classical piece AND I'm not a pro at recording. I've been climbing the learning curve of recording... I like the sound of the pickup in the GK Pro because it adds an internal mic and you can blend it. I used a blend of the internal mic and pup with a condenser in this recording: