Recording Nylon String Guitar
Posted on | January 22, 2009 | No Comments
I got this e-mail today through my Audio Recording Advice web site…
“I am recording classical guitar at home. I have a matched set of Rodes NT5 microphones and a Tascam DP-02 digital recorder. My problem is that the recording level seems low.
The Tascam has built in mic preamps and I am told that I should adjust them upwards until I just start to get peaking during loud parts of the music. However, I have to crank them up very high (and I still don’t get enough signal). Any higher and I get noise and a high-pitched tone.
Is this a limitation of the built-in preamp and would a external preamp of better quality help?”
Here’s my answer…
An outboard, dedicated preamp would most likely be better than what’s built into the Tascam, but the built-in preamps should be sufficient.
Try having someone else play guitar and you can be free to adjust the mics (maybe put them a foot away…as close as you can to maximize volume but not get that woofy, boomy acoustic sound from close micing) and set the preamp levels.
Nylon string guitar is not a loud instrument, so you’re not going to get massive gain, but you should be able to get a decent amount of volume. The rest can be achieved when you have your recording mastered.
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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