recording classical guitar

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theinfinate
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:21 am

recording classical guitar

Post by theinfinate » Mon Jun 27, 2016 6:08 am

hey guys, just wondering how you guys would approach recording classical guitar to sound something like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoV7koJsm4g

At the moment i have a stereo matched set of "the rockets" by OPR ribbon mics recording with a UA Apollo, i don't have a mic pre for i know the mic press in the apollo are clean but would i gain a lot by getting a good mic pre to add in my chain, something like a Vintech Audio 573 perhaps?

fishmonkey
Posts: 4479
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:50 am

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by fishmonkey » Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:06 am

you should be able to get a decent recording with what you have. this is a pretty good guide:

http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/ ... tic-guitar

theinfinate
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:21 am

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by theinfinate » Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:08 am

Cool thanks man il give that a read, i guess a big reason why i asked about a preamp is that i saw this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOhRtsohTk

it seems to add a lot of warmth and depth, the recordings i get now are good to my ears but i have a disease in which i always want better!

H20nly
Posts: 16113
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:15 pm
Location: The Wild West

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by H20nly » Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:30 am

while it is true that a good pre-amp can make a world of difference... i tend to agree with fishmonkey that you should be able to get a good recording with what you have.


the difference was pretty noticeable when i added a Universal Audio Twin Finity 710 for recording vocals and bass lines to my chain, but i didn't already have a UA interface like you do.

fishmonkey
Posts: 4479
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:50 am

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by fishmonkey » Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:10 am

theinfinate wrote:Cool thanks man il give that a read, i guess a big reason why i asked about a preamp is that i saw this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPOhRtsohTk

it seems to add a lot of warmth and depth, the recordings i get now are good to my ears but i have a disease in which i always want better!
i dunno, that is a pretty crappy comparison video. both lots of recordings sound pretty ordinary to me (although the C414 XLii's are very nice mics)...

Rixende
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2015 4:05 pm

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by Rixende » Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:51 pm

as with all acoustic instruments the outcome depends maybe 20% on the recording chain and 80% on the room. if you try to record in a small, cubic, untreated bedroom scenario you can use whatever gear you like and it will turn out terrible. but if the room sounds great any half decent recording chain will sound great.

fishmonkey
Posts: 4479
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:50 am

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by fishmonkey » Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:36 am

yep. unless you are doing very close miking (which you generally don't want to do with an acoustic instrument), the sound of the room and how you have the instrument and mics positioned in it have a major effect.

theinfinate
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:21 am

Re: recording classical guitar

Post by theinfinate » Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:44 am

cheers guys, i've just moved into a new house and finally have a spare room to make into a studio. I appriciate the advice and I'm going to do it properly this time and spend some time to research and money in acoustic treatment. Il see how good i can get my room sounding before i think about spending money on anything else!!

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