Recording resonator guitar

jlewis

jlewis

attic boy
Hey guys, I've been trying to record my resonator guitar lately but I don't get nearly as good results as I do with my acoustic. I usually use an x/y setup on the acoustic, so I'm wondering if there is a different way I should set up the resonator. Does the fact that it has f-holes and a resonator rather than a soundhole make a difference? The resonator is a nicer guitar than the acoustic, but for some reason the tone is not so nice in the recordings. Any tips?
 
i think that you would want to use a complimentary mic that was not really bright, and give ti some distance between it and the guitar much like you would a violin.

the sound you want to capture comes form several directions and putting it close to the front will only yiels a small, thin and brittle sound in my opinion.

I think it might be a good candidate for a mid-side set up if you have a figure 8 patterned mic.
 
jlewis said:
Does the fact that it has f-holes and a resonator rather than a soundhole make a difference?
Click to expand...

I've never recorded a resonator, but my suspicion would be "yes." It radiates sound in a completely different manner than an acoustic, so it doesn't surprise me that a mic technique that works very well on an acoustic doesn't do so well on a resonator.

Thinking out loud here, one of the reasons acoustics aren't mic'd at the soundhole is the boominess you get from the interior-reflected sound radiating out of it. I'd think a resonator would largely stop that (as there isn't really a direct port from the inside to the outside in quite the same way), so my instinct would be to think less about micing at the neck a la the X-Y approach, and maybe go more towards the body. I think the first thing I'd try would be a spaced pair, angled a little inside towards the edge of the resonator cone. Sort of like:

\_____/

With the flat line being the resonator, and the diaganal lines being the axis the mic is on. Again, I'm thinking out loud here, but the way they resonate I think that would make sense... :confused:
 
I've tried everything to get a great sound, but believe it or not, the Schatten NR-2 pickup puts out a fantastic reso tone. I record 2 channels. Same take. One with the Schatten and one with a good condenser pointed right at the cone.
 
Thanks guys, unfortunately I don't have a figure 8 mic, just 2 cardioids; a condensor and a dynamic. But I may consider getting one because that mid-side technique would be useful for other things, and maybe I'll get one of those pick-ups too. For now I'll just play around with placing the ones I have in different positions.
 
I've had several resonator guitars, and they seem to be constructed to project to the front, so getting a few feet of distance might be the first thing to try. Sort of like how some bass cabs don't really sound right when you're right in front of them.
 
If it's like a Dobro or a National, the bridge actually sits on a spun aluminum cone, very similar to a speaker cone. Try micing it like you would a guitar amp's speaker, combined with a mic a few feet away. The close mic will pick up all of the characteristic 'groink' of the resonator, and the far mic will be quite a bit bassier (depending on the room). Depending on how it's played, it can be difficult to capture all of the dynamics, those things can get LOUD, especially the nickel-coated brass bodied ones.
 
Keep in mind that your bass is coming from the "f" holes. If I had your 2 mics I'd put the dynamic on the f hole and the condenser in front of the resonator, at a distance. As a matter of fact that would be my default process.

Play with positioning and mix the 2 to taste and you should be able to get a pretty damn good tone.

When I say "in front of the resonator", I don't necessarily mean directly in front. Try miking off to the side some like at the lower bout.
 
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