Studio

Concordis

I am interested by some details for recording a classical guitar in a studio.How do they record it?What equipment do they use?If its recorded pluged in (for electro classical),can you get a good nice sound?

and another question ? Does the audio interface help to a better sound or it's just having more inputs or buttons for control? (I have an M-audio interface)

Thank you!

AlanRatcliffe

For classical guitar it's almost always a good sounding room and mic or two (or three) and spending the time learning how to best mic your guitar. The mic, mic preamps and the interface can all make quite a difference. It can be a very demanding instrument to record right and the ultimate aim is to reach the point where the gear has no sonic inpact on capturing the exact sound of guitar and room.

If you are really serious about quality classical recordings, it's possible you will end up paying more for those three things than some people will pay for a car or house. But fortunately you can build up to that point gradually. You will usually start out with a single good mic and a decent interface with nice built-in mic pres. From there, if you are serious about it, you'll add in a second mic, a good mic preamp and then gradually upgrade from there, upgrading each component one at a time until you get to the level where you are more than happy with the sound you are getting.

Concordis

to spend more then you spend on a house may be to much for me ?

AlanRatcliffe

Concordis wrote: to spend more then you spend on a house may be to much for me ?

Don't worry - for me too. Fortunately, there is a lot of choice between the entry level and the high end gear and it's possible to get some great recordings with a modest setup - listen to Viccy's recent recordings.

DonovanB

Ja Viccy works some magic... she gets amazing recordings done.

Concordis

I listened to viccy's song "sexy song" and yes it is sounding very very nice ?

I post another question which is not related without opening new topic ? If the guitar (classical guitar) has a band equalizer (I mean if you make it electro-classical) would it have the same sound?

AlanRatcliffe

Concordis wrote: I post another question which is not related without opening new topic ? If the guitar (classical guitar) has a band equalizer (I mean if you make it electro-classical) would it have the same sound?

No. You can only capture the essence of any acoustic guitar with a mic. Pickups sense the strings and a little of the top (some sense the box too, but an acoustic's tone is the sum of all it's parts.

Mo-Facta

Yes, a classical guitar will benefit immensely from being recorded with a microphone over just the direct signal.

There are several techinques for this but in the most general sense, the microphone - often a small diaphragm condenser - is pointed at around a 45 degree angle towards the end of neck, in a direction away from the bridge.

Of course, this is only one way to do it.

You could feasibly record the direct signal from the guitar itself, and blend it with a microphone or two as well. generally the direct signal will be out of phase with the mic so sometimes flipping the polarity will be the better option.

The basic guideline is that the closer to the hole you place the microphone, the more bass you will get. Some guys like to record the body and the strings separately and blend to taste, but once again you have to be careful about the two mic's phase relationship.

I would suggest recording the direct signal along with a microphone, so you can blend the two or choose between them.

Cheers ?

Concordis

Thank you!

Tom

A good bet will be a large diaphragm condenser near the hole(the technical name is hiding from me tonight) to pick up a lot of the low's and mids and a ribbon aimed more around the 14th-18th fret area to get more of the bite(I guess a small diaphragm condenser would work too, or even a shure sm7 would work well too. Also a LDC room mic would be great to add the natural reverb of the room just to make it a bit warmer.

Just change positions of the mic's to see how it affects the tone. Also do this one mic at a time so you can see which is affecting what more specifically, so you can titrate out the best solution to your taste. Because taste is what it does come down to.