Recording Classical Guitar @ Home

[rockstar_not]

KVRian Daniel- gets a nice sound from his classical as does Barnadine. I would send either of them a PM and ask.

You can get decent results from permanent mount pickups as well. Check into both the LR Baggs I-beam series of pickups as well as the K+K pickups. Some EQing will be necessary, but the nice thing about these is you don't have to wander into the miry discussion put forth above in this thread about mic placement. Mic placement is critical as are room acoustics, but with a pickup based system, there is less to worry about (you can also sometimes have more sloppy technique!!)

Here's some links for you to check out:

http://www.kksound.com/pureclassic.html

http://www.lrbaggs.com/html/products/sy ... beam.shtml

I have a K+K Mini Pure Western in my steel string. If I get a classical, I will be installing a K+K Pure classical pickup in it, without a doubt.

I haven't worried about micing my acoustic since installing the K+K and figuring out a good EQ curve to work with matching the sound to a well positioned mic.

[clueless]

was that your steel string through the pickup in your DADGAD track?

[rockstar_not]

was that your steel string through the pickup in your DADGAD track?

Yes it was. Plug and chug - no hassle with a mic.

I did put it through an EQ to pretty much match what it sounds like with my LDC microphone, but now I have that EQ saved off and I just pull it up and chug away.

-Scott

[clueless]

:is impressed:

[rockstar_not]

was that your steel string through the pickup in your DADGAD track?

The installation of the pickup was a little bit daunting. It involves superglue, so I had had the top of the guitar covered in Saran wrap (with the hole open of course) and I made a jig to place the transducers properly. I cribbed the jig idea off of a website where I guy put one of these K+K pickups into a vintage Epi or Gibson, can't remember.

Anyway, the installation went flawlessly and I'm very very happy with the results.

I did the install because the on-board Fishman UST & Preamp on my Larrivée crapped out. I left the UST in to maintain proper saddle height, but I removed the preamp from the side of the guitar - big hole there now, but doggone it if it doesn't sound better to me when I'm playing it!
Here's the hole:


I plan to just finish that off with some vacuum tube from an auto-parts store, to protect the edge. Also, look how crappy Larrivee did on cutting the hole/screwholes in the first place! I'll never have a factory installed pickup put in again on any other guitar.

-Scott

[where02190]

While a pickup can suffice for pop and some modern country, it's not going to cut it for classical, where purity of tone is paramount.

[Barnadine]

KVRian Daniel- gets a nice sound from his classical as does Barnadine. I would send either of them a PM and ask.

Cheers, Scott. (And thanks to me109 for the PM.)

I use classical guitar quite often, but I doubt my recording technique is worth emulating. It's just what I've evolved on my own. But it's broadly similar to what most have described here - a single compressor mic directed somewhere around the 12th fret - though I probably mic a little closer than most, sometimes as close as 20cm for fingerpicking and soft strumming.

There's no hard and fast rule though. I've experimented with different mic placement for different sounds - high on the fretboard, far away, etc. It largely depends what effect you're aiming for. (In many respects, I'd say recording classical guitar shares more with recording the voice than it does with recording a steel string.) Any advice is just a guideline and you'll find yourself adapting it depending on your own room dynamics / guitar / mic / playing style. A bit of experimentation will probably be more useful than detailed written instructions.

I don't think I've ever heard particularly good results from a direct pickup on a classical, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has.

Sorry if that wasn't much help.