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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 623
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Hey Paul...
Thanks for all the recording tips when we are on the factory tour. I've had some tremendous results now that I've gotten around to recording again (finally)!
Last week when in a traffic jam I opted to pull off the highway and visited a giant bookstore to wait it out. Ended up checking out some recording books and found some of your techniques mentioned in there, and some other ideas I thought I'd pass along...
1)When using 2 mics....keep them apart 3x the distance they are from the guitar to keep them from being out of phase. You probably already know that, it's a "standard" recording rule of thumb (new to me though!).
2)You mentioned trying to record with the mic positioned up by my ear, so it "hears" what I hear...great idea. One book suggests using 2 mics, one at each ear to record stereo that way...apparantly also gets great results.
3)When recording, they suggest playing a few feet away from a "hard surfaced" corner of a room-facing into the corner-to capture more of the guitar's own ambiance "reflected".
They also suggested to NOT face a mic directly in front of the sound hole (as most recording novices do---um, that's me!) as it tends to create more of a "nasely" sound, and doesn't actually capture the true sound of the guitar created by the top.
Haven't tried all these yet, but they "sound" like good ideas to try.
Have a great weekend!
Johnny |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Johhny, to comment on those points
1) It is a rule of thumb but ulttimately trying to place spaced-pair mikes to minimise phase error (which only really becomes apparant when the recording is played back in mono) is pretty much impossible. Plus spaced-pair techniques on a relatively small instrument like a guitar can have an exagerated stereo image, so the guitar ends up sounding like it's 8 feet wide. When I teach this stuff I encourage my students to use the co-incident pair technique - it'll be in your book. This always produces a very convincing stereo image with no perceptible phase-error. The key is to experiment. I tried everything; spaced, Blumlien, mid-side, the lot, before I decided that I liked the simplcity & reliability of the co-incident pair
2) A mike by each ear is better than one. Another approach is a mike by an ear & another in front of the guitar. Keep them panned pretty tight & if you hear phase cancellation mess with the positioning. A coincident pair at forehead height pointing down at the guitar works well.
3) Careful... corners, particularly hard corners, can produce all kinds of unpleasantness. Acoustic designers go to great lengths to eliminate corners from recording rooms. I wouldn't recommend this at all. Playing near a flat reflective surface is a better bet and this can be good to experiment with bi-directional or omni-directional mikes.
4) Good advice, sound holes are just tuning ports which help define the guitars helmholtz resonance. Pretty much nothing actually comes out of the sound hole. The sound develops from the entire instrument several feet away. If you close mike the soundhole the bass resonance, coupled with the mike's proximity effect (there should be something on that in the books) will produce a very unbalanced, unnatural sound. |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 623
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Paul,
Once again, your experience and knowledge shines like a beacon. Good thing I didn't purchase those books! Here I thought I had stumbled on some good material. Maybe I should just move overseas and take some of your classes!
Thanks again.
Johnny |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Johnny
We all have been saving a fortune on books by logging on. Sorta like going to a party and getting the doctor there to diagnose and treat your health problems. We have learned to disagree with Paul T. now and then so he will expound vehemently with valuable info. Just don't tell him, or we'll all be buying those useless books again.
A nony mus |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | bailey, johnny, i couldn't agree more. i always learn from pauls posts. paul, i wish you had a way to get 36 hours out of a day you could turn me on to. that way i be here more often. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Guys, Paul T.is a natural born teacher, of which the world is in short supply. He could no more try to stop teaching than stop breathing. I was in a music store with him and before I knew it, he was passing along knowledge regarding mixing boards to a couple of young men who were (no kidding) thrilled to death.
While he goes out of his way with this board, he can't help himself. It's complusive, anal, and wonderful all at once. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | sounds like a bunch of bollocks to me! |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Wrong collective noun Al, that would be a "load" of bollocks
for a consise definition of the word "Bollocks" visit http://www.viz.co.uk/ and click on the "profanisaurus" link. Here you will find an online dictionary of sexual innuendo, toilet humour & general vulgarity |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Well that explains why I couldn't figure out what a "bunch" of bullock was. But maybe Al craps differently than the rest of us. He IS, after all, in New Jersey. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | "online dictionary of sexual innuendo, toilet humour, and general vulgarity"??? that sounds like a board that we all spend time on, is there another?? Please don't answer, one is enough. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Paul
you are "as thick as a brick" |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Well, yeah. And your point is????? |
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Mr. Paul T-Recording Tips!
