Bear Cabin Recording has closed. With the exception of the computer and some select items all the studio’s equipment is for sale including cables and mic stands. Checkout the equipment list on the “Equipment” page and make an offer. Send your offers to bcrstudio@swbell.net with the subject heading “Equipment Offer.”
Bear Cabin Recording has added ProTools LE to its collection of digital audio recording and editing software applications. Bear Cabin Recording will use ProTools LE to apply EQ, Reverb and Limiting/Compression to original recordings to produce “In-The-Box” mixes.
The Fort Worth Guitar Guild has just completed its “Mission Statement” project at Bear Cabin Recording. The project was a join production of the Fort Worth Guitar Guild and Bear Cabin Recording. Samples of some of the tracks appear on the “Samples” page. The CD is slated for release sometime in 2007.
The Challenge
Recording classical guitar (nylon string) presents some unique challenges. As with all acoustic instruments each classical guitar has its own sonic signature. As I hear them, classical guitars fall into two basic sonic categories: Even Shape and Bell Shape. Even Shape guitars spread the high, middle and low frequencies evenly as the sound leaves the guitar. Bell Shape guitars, on the other hand, tend to emphasize the lower mid frequencies is a bell shaped curve. This emphasis gives the guitar more volume or loudness but makes it difficult to record because it gives the guitar a hollow, out-of-phase sound. Another issue is compared to an acoustic guitar (steel string) the classical guitar (nylon string) has less definition. It is up to the player to develop a playing technique that gives the guitar its definition. So it’s important to capture the detail of the player imparts while avoiding the bell shaped emphasis of some guitars. Also, it’s best not to overemphasize the high-end in an attempt to add definition. Capturing an accurate, well-balanced and detailed sound image of the guitar is the primary challenge for me.
Have you heard the phrase “MIDI sounds bad…” or “MIDI sounds cheep…” or “MIDI sounds thin…?” I certainly have heard them many times. Let me set the record straight. MIDI makes no sound whatsoever. You cannot make music with just MIDI.
From the outside looking in, a recording session looks like a simple process. Just setup some mics, sets some levels and press record. In today’s world where anyone with a computer can record that is most likely the case. However, when making a professional recording, audio engineering is only one-half of the challenge. The other half is the musician’s performance and execution.
In the days of recording music when the concept of going for a specific sound first came about the engineer and the producer would work together to come up with a unique, ear catching sound for a song. This forced the engineer to commit to a sound because the song was mixed live during the recording session.
Over the past year or so I’ve been conducting tests searching for microphones to record acoustic and classical guitars. These tests have been restricted to mics I have on hand at Bear Cabin Recording. The most difficult part of the test is defining the desired results. To say I’m looking for the “Best” microphone for the job is grossly inaccurate. Since I purchase new mics from time to the “Best” microphone is only as good as my last purchase.
Whether you’re a recording engineer or a musicians maintaining long-term business relationships can be very beneficial. A loyal relationship with a reliable equipment vendor is one key area. The longer you can stay with a vendor the more discounts you will receive. It’s not just one-sided either. It’s to the vendor’s advantage when you’ve been a long time customer to play it straight with you when it comes to recommending equipment. For the vendor the longer you stay with them the more likely that vendor well get the majority of your purchases in there are of expertise.
When recording microphone placement is equally as important as microphone selection. There is no single way to position a microphone on an instrument. However, there are clues as to where to place the microphone relative to the sound you desired and the instrument’s position in the final mix.
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