How to record a Flamenco Guitar
Record and Recreate
How to record a Flamenco Guitar
I would like to share with you all some of my personal insights on how I record the flamenco, nylon string guitar. Let´s start of with microphone placement and microphone selection.
Microphone placement and microphone selection
Over the years I have acquired flamenco guitars with an excellent dynamic range and a balanced sound. This means that I can play soft or loud, and the listener will perceive the projected sound with clarity. This also means, that no matter what I play, where I play it on the guitar, the listener will perceive the sound with equal clarity.
Therefore, I need a microphone that can capture this overall sound, called the spectrum. My choice is always Schoebs microphones with cardiod capsules.
Please choose a microphone that you believe captures your sound. This means that when you play back the recording, you will, more or less, hear your desired musical intention.
Use only one microphone, or stereo miking, to avoid phase cancellations, and place them in a spot pointing more or less towards the sound hole. Choose the spot that gives you the overall sound of the guitar. Please remember that the sound does not emanate from the sound hole, but from the whole body of the guitar, and the players plucking hand. There are no specific rules that define placement, but the sound captured should be the total spectrum that emanates for the guitar and player.
Please also consider that the further away you place the mic from the guitar, the more room sound or reflections, the microphone will pick up. This can be an added value to your sound or an interference with your final mix considerations. It is your choice to make.
In order to choose the right spot, cover up one ear, find where the guitar sounds best, with the other ear pointing towards the guitar, and finally place the microphone in that same spot.
In my next blog on how to record a flamenco guitar, I will talk about:
- How to achieve the greatest projection and the fattest sound
- Compression, how much
- Eq
- Groove
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Melbourne Concerts Thomas Lorenzo
November 25, 2016, 8 pm
World Music Flamenco and Jazz
Thomas Lorenzo: Composer, Guitar
Armadale Uniting Church
86A Kooyong Rd, Armadale, VIC, 3143
Tickets: $25
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