A different way to record a singing guitarist

[Al Acuff]

When I was a youngster an old time engineer told me that during the old time singer songwriter era they would sometimes record a singing guiarist by having the performer sing and play while facing a large sheet of glass. Then the engineer would record the reflected sound from the glass. Have any of you folks heard of this technique?

I'm not currently using this method but have used it in the past. You get a recording that blends the guitar and vocal in a unique way and can be very pleasing. If you're a singing guitarist and you're experimenting you might enjoy giving this a try.

Sorry to say I don't have those old recordings to share with all y'all but I'd love to hear any recordings you come up with.

Have fun!

[Al Acuff]

PS. If you try this a good starting point is to place the mic over your shoulder pointing at the glass.

This technique is very old school but don't knock it til you try it.

[KevWind]

I'm guessing you can get shimmering highs

[Brent Hahn]

If the times were really old, it may have been a ribbon mic. Bidirectional.

[leew3]

Not exactly this but I've experimented with recording using a Blue Snowball set for bidirectional recording. I've recorded our duo of vocals and two instruments this way. Some of the cuts on our website were done this way as a general demo of what we play.

It may not be perfect, but it has worked-once we got over the 'red light' syndrome and stopped thinking about having to nail it in one take!

[Al Acuff]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

If the times were really old, it may have been a ribbon mic. Bidirectional.

My engineer buddy said to use the reflected, blended sound singer songwriter recording technique by placing a cardioid microphone so it's pointing at the glass. I'm not sure a figure 8 ribbon would sound good becausethe sound captured by the back of the figure 8 will be reverse phase compared to the direct sound hitting the front of the mic. You can do the math...

One wall of my small home studio is a glass picture window so that's prolly which I thought of this technique. Even with curtains and real traps my room is live. It's difficult here to get clean separation between guitar a vocal so recording myself singing and playing is all about getting the microphone bleed and the room ambience to sound good.

Here's an interesting story about Lennon and McCartney. When they were young they practiced in front of a glass picture window so that they could hear their vocal harmonies blended and reflected back by the glass. That's how they learned to sing together. Wish I could remember the source of the story. I might have read it in a book. Can anyone verify this bit of Beatles lore?

[FrankHudson]

Now you've started something! We'll have a discussion about laminated vs solid glass, tempered glass is better!, no it has to do with where the silica comes from and so on.

Interesting idea, and while I can muse about how it might work and what it might effect, actual results would be more useful, and I don't have access to that kind of space or room. My theoretical suspicion is that whatever resonance frequency and it's overtones of the particular sheet of glass would "filter" the sound in some way. Like applying EQ or mics or preamps with "character" it might be a beneficial filter in some cases.

Another, psychological, effect would be to diminish "Mic Fright" where the presence of the microphone causes the singer/player to tighten up. Some singers sing better when they close their eyes or try to keep the mic grill out of their line of sight for example.

[Al Acuff]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

Now you've started something! We'll have a discussion about laminated vs solid glass, tempered glass is better!, no it has to do with where the silica comes from and so on.

Interesting idea, and while I can muse about how it might work and what it might effect, actual results would be more useful, and I don't have access to that kind of space or room.

LOL. How much would you pay for that original piece of windowpane from the McCartney home?

It was 20 years ago but I remember the sound that I got as lush, present and detailed. My mic was an Audio Technica SDC I don't remember which model. I recorded to tape cassettes which have vanished like spit on a griddle. I mostly remember that the sound was not harsh or hard at all which surprised me at the time.

The downside of this windowpane recording method is that you are mixing the guitar and vocal as you record and you can't make adjustments later.

[Rudy4]

Interesting idea.

I'd be more interested to hear the result of that reflective surface actually being in the form of a large parabolic lens, similar to the idea for the mics that are used to record bird songs in natural settings, but wall-sized. Many of us have probably stood in front of "whisper dishes" at science centers where folks a couple of hundred of feet apart face away from each other but can hear each other's whispers plainly.

In a studio situation one wall could be formed into a parabola to capture a single performer or an entire band, with the performance focused on a single mic or a pair of mics for stereo.

It wouldn't be that difficult to do if you had dedicated space.

You can perform a simple experiment by standing with your instrument facing a room corner and adjusting your position until your ears are in the "focal point" of the reflected sound.

[Mr. Jelly]

It's said that Robert Johnson recorded facing the corner of a hotel room. I'm guessing the one mic was in between him and the corner. I'm also guessing it was a plaster wall.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

It's said that Robert Johnson recorded facing the corner of a hotel room. I'm guessing the one mic was in between him and the corner. I'm also guessing it was a plaster wall.

Have you heard his recordings ?

They do indeed sound like they may have been recorded facing a corner. Love his songs, but honestly his recordings are pretty bad sonically IMO.

[Al Acuff]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Have you heard his recordings ?

They do indeed sound like they may have been recorded facing a corner. Love his songs, but honestly his recordings are pretty bad sonically IMO.

it doesn't help any that the Robert Johnson masters disappeared. We're listening to transcriptions made from 78 rpm pressings. Wouldn't it be amazing if his first generation master recordings were found?