Classical Guitar

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nylon6
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Nylon6

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I want to set up a system for recording myself playing acoustic classical guitar. This is mainly for the purpose of analyzing my practice. I would like to be able to save to a CD in MP3 format so I can listen with my instructor. I may also like to save to a regular CD format to share with family and friends, maybe even for auditioning.

I'm looking for something inexpensive simple to record on my PC. I don't need hardly any effects, just something to slow down the recording. Some software I've seen includes features for creating music notation. I would like to be able to do this as well, but I don't consider it a requirement. I've done some research, but everything seems to be designed for professionals or for far more complex use than I need.

I have a soundcard, and I think all I need is software and a microphone. I'm a complete novice so I don't know for sure.

What software titles are good for my purposes?
What kind of microphone should I get?
 
What a lot of questions.

I'll start at the beginning. If you want a decent sound, you will need:

1 A decent instrument.

2 A decent room to record in.

3 A decent mic. If you buy a crummy mic, you get a crummy sound. What's decent? Well, think about $200 minimum, and you won't go so far wrong. There are cheaper mics, but if you get one, you'll probably be wishing you'd spent more money on a mic.

What kind of mic? The one that sounds good with your guitar. I'm not joking. Sometimes a decent mic won't sound so good for a particular application, so you should try out different mics before you plunk your dollars on the counter.

4 A decent preamp. Mics go through preamps in order to get the mic signal (weak) up to line level before it goes into the recorder. A decent preamp will cost at least $100. However, if you buy a mixer, it'll have a preamp for each channel.

I'll let someone else talk about software and mixers and monitors. :)
 
Your whole job could be done by a Korg PXR4 pandora. Its on board condenser will give you better sound than you think, and you can almost carry it in your pocket. You'll need 1 or 2 128MB Smart Media cards (about $50.00 each) and the Pandora ($400.00). It will format your mono guitar track to MP2 and download it to a computer's hard drive, where it can be burned to CD. Or you can just take the thing with a small set of powered speakers like they use with CD players (about $20.00). Take your guitar to the store and make the nice salesmen demo this baby in a quiet room. Good luck finding someone who knows how to use it though. I own one, and I have made some really nice recordings with it.-Richie
 
Aside from the equipment and most important, you will need lots of knowledge in your mix. I suggest before you buy anything you should read this BBS for about a month or two and then decide what you want or need to record with.
 
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