Recording luthier-built guitars: revisited (video)

[jdelin86]

Hiya!

A while back I started a thread on my amateur journey into learning to record beautiful luthier-built instruments (original thread here: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=347545).

At the time I was playing a Greenfield GF, and had settled upon using an Apogee MiC for a simple setup.

Fast-forward a little and I now have my Greenfield G2.2, delivered to me earlier this year from the fine folks @ TNAG. I proceeded to bang out a few videos using the same setup, but recently felt the guitar deserved something a little better. I'd seen the results guys like Mao were achieving with a stereo setup (not to mention his GORGEOUS playing) and thought maybe it was time to upgrade...

After yet more conversations with the lovely (and patient!) Michael Watts, I decided to get a pair of small-diaphragm condenser mics, and an audio interface for my iMac. Eventually I settled upon a pair of Neumann KM184s and an Apogee Duet.

Anyways, the gear all arrived last night! I just finished a 12 hour day at work, but was excited to try the new mics. So without further ado, here's what I'm currently working on: Si Bheag Si Mhor. Forgive the fluffs - this is more about developing my recordings!

https://youtu.be/2-l2uwAA_E4


Cheers!

Joel

[psychojohn]

Nice playing and awesome sounding recording. Love the clarity and bell like qualities !

John

[bdm0509]

What did you end up using for holding the set of mics?

-Brett

[dcn]

Sounds great Joel, audio and playing. The Apogee MiC recordings were already pretty slick, but this bumps things to another level. Jeez that Greenfield is such a piano.

Did you do post-produce much?

[ChuckS]

Very nice recording, and quite an improvement over the recording you posted on the earlier thread.

So what are your plans now? Are you satisfied or are you going to experiment? I'd be curious of the difference in sound if you tried a spaced pair arrangement.

[jdelin86]

Thanks guys, was a lot of fun.

Brett - I bought the mics online and the site suggested a stereo mic holder thingy that screws onto a mic stand. It cost like 5 bux!

Dcn- thanks! Glad you enjoyed it & could hear an improvement, that was the intention! As for post, the room I record in is tiny so I do some eq-ing to remove any 'boominess'.

Chuck - so far this mic config is the one I like most, though the only other setup with these that I've tested is XY. I may well try a spaced pair setup, but for now I'm pretty happy with how it's sounding.

The main thing was to try and capture this guitar as faithfully as possible - I'm over the moon with the instrument (as I'm sure you've guessed) so figured it deserved some posh(er) mics!

Cheers

Joel

[Zandit75]

Beautiful as always. You should look into recording some tracks, I could listen to your CD quite easily

[CoolerKing]

Hate to be a buzzkill, but this thread belongs in Show and Tell, even though it's a killer Greenfield.

[jdelin86]

No worries - my buzz remains in tact!

[psychojohn]

Joel,

Man, I thought I was done tone chasing until I heard this Greenfield G2.2. Immediately went to his site and as I feared, base model is almost twice as expensive as the most expensive guitar I've bought, and as such out of my price range. Used ones fare even worse in cost as people customize them and push the price into and above the $13,000, so the used prices I've seen are higher than base model prices. Oh well, none of your concern and only peripherally related to my question which is ...

I found the G2 model but don't understand what the ".2" means in your guitar. I also can't tell if yours is a fan fret. When I initially looked at it, it looked like it but when I looked closer was not sure.

Wow, what an instrument. The only thing I've heard to rival this has been Mao's Olson SJ recordings, another 10K plus guitar. Congrats !

John

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

Joel, I haven't listened to your previous recordings yet, but this one sounds absolutely gorgeous. Wow, nice!

[steveh]

Originally Posted by jdelin86

Eventually I settled upon a pair of Neumann KM184s and an Apogee Duet.

Hi Joel,

That's the setup I used to use, and I then added a separate mic preamp. In the end I sold the lot and just got an iPad and Apogee Mic, not least because setting it all up etc. was a PITA (also, I needed to concentrate more on my playing than you do).

However, I don't think I ever got results as good as you have straight out of the gate - congratulations, it sounds great. I can really hear the benefit of the mics. I'm especially surprised because it looks like a relatively small room to me? I was told time and time again, room (and treatment) is king, gear second...assuming you're a good player.

Cheers,
Steve

[jdelin86]

John - glad you like the guitar, it truly is my dream instrument! And yes it does indeed have a fan fret neck, it's Michael's subtle & super comfy DADGAD geometry.

Larry - thank you sir!

Steve - what a coincidence! The room is indeed small, hence the need for a dash of eq and careful mic placement. I'm pretty pleased with the initial results, would love to try it in a bigger room though.

Joel

[SprintBob]

“Forgive the fluffs - this is more about developing my recordings!”

Know this is an older thread but I did not hear any fluffs! Great job and beautiful guitar.

[AshleySofia]

Just so dang pretty!