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Old 12-15-2010, 06:44 AM
nomorebigideas nomorebigideas is offline
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Default Recording Warm Classical Guitar?

Hi,

I'm trying to get a nice balenced tone from my classical guitar. It's not the best model but it's served me well.

The track requires I quadruple track the same guitar part (with slight variations) which will be panned and EQ'd to sit nicely together under the main rhymic guitar line.

I've got 1 x AKG C-414 BXLS Condenser Mic and an ART Studio V3 Tube Pre-Amp which plugs right into my Edirol UA-20 external soundcard, recording via Cubase 4. The room is wooden floors and bare walls or a medium size.

I'm happy to add reverb in the mix but would really appreciate any suggestions or recommendations on how to achieve a good warm sound i.e. mic placement, compression when recording, mic pattern and guitar placement etc.

- As a side I'm also recording my Takamine steel acoustic in the same room; again, any spare thoughts greatly welcome.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 12-15-2010, 08:15 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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Hi!

TheC414 is an excellent mic but tends toward a boxy sound. Were it me with your one mic, I'd record with the mic pointed at the joint between the neck and body, spaced about a foot away. Vary the distance and aim point to deal with the ambiance: too much ambiance, come in towards the guitar and bias the aim point away from the body a tad bit to reduce boom. I wouldn't compress the tracks as I record them.

When it comes time to mix those tracks, think about the fact that you are going to have a large mid-frequency build-up from four iterations of a mid-heavy instrument. Think in terms of a 300-800hz bulge (dependent upon the room, mic'ing, and guitar) that will need to be gently notched out. If the tracks still seem lifeless, look to the mids (1.5-3k) to make them more in your face or the upper mids (4.5-7.5) to brighten. Shimmer is in the 10k range. Also consider panning the parts through the stereo field to un-clutter and for stereo interest. The main parts should be towards the center to maintain the center interest and the harmonies or descants can be placed a little more outboard to spread things.

Have fun!

Bob
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Old 12-15-2010, 08:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nomorebigideas View Post
Hi,

The track requires I quadruple track the same guitar part (with slight variations) which will be panned and EQ'd to sit nicely together under the main rhymic guitar line.
That is rather unsual. Could you explain more why this is required and the intended effect? That might lead to more specific answers to your questions - for example do you mike each variation the same or vary that too.

The room could use some help such as damping material. I assume you will not want to take that too far, so some blankets or area rugs might do some good.
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Old 12-15-2010, 09:14 AM
nomorebigideas nomorebigideas is offline
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Thanks for the replies. All vey useful indeed!

It's myself and a female singer, with a kick and snare gradualy introduced.

The four guitar parts will panned and eq'd to make them slightly different, but I like the idea of a simple motif being made to sound bigger by overlaying similar guitar parts with varying styles of playing etc.

Adding reverb when mixing to set the guitar parts apart then maybe some light multiband compression.
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Old 12-15-2010, 09:28 AM
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Bare walls and a wooden floor would (I expect) give quite a strong room sound with a lot of reverb. That could be good or bad. Close-in mic positions and a hypercardioid pattern will help get rid of it, as Bob W has said.

Another mic position that sometimes works well is a "shoulder mic" ie somewhere not too far from your head, pointing down at the guitar. I suspect (but don't really know) that, with a hypercardioid pattern, a mic looking downwards like this helps to take out the room. Also heavy rug might help with those wooden floors if that's what you need to do.

Careful with sniffs and heavy breathing though: it'll pick them up really easily.
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