recording a reso?

[twang1]

Hi everybody!
In 10 days time I will have to go in a studio to lay down some tracks for a singer.
It will only be resophonic guitar and some percussions, and the client wants a "BIG guitar sound" (!)
I recorded many times a reso guitar in a studio, but producers and studio tech don't really know how to approach a resophonic guitar. I've always recorded my reso in exactly the same way I play it live: my small diaphragm Neumann pointed in front of it and moving in-and-out for volume and sideways for different tones.
Now it's time to ask you for directions: how would you do it? I never tried with two mics, for example. I cannot spend ages experimenting in the studio but I would be grateful if you could give me some good idea and tips about the recording and the mixing! Thanks in advance...
Frank

[leeophonic]

Mike should be towards lower bout F hole if you are playing into the room, alternatively try buffering playing into a boxed corner of the room ALA Robert Johnson Paramount sessions.

Lee

[Michael Messer]

Hi Frank,

I never record any guitars with more than one mic, I don't like how it softens the focal point in the stereo image. I like to hear where the guitar is coming from.

Mics - that varies, but I have recorded many times with a small diaphragm Neumann and other similar mics. I have also recorded more times than I care to remember with a Shure SM57, I think almost every BBC session I have done over the past 35+ years, have been with a 57. I also sometime times use funky mics to get a certain effect. I have a very old and broken cheap copy of an SM57 and it sounds wonderful for certain tracks.

If I am recording in the same room as the musicians I am with and it's live, I do not wear headphones. I far prefer to hear the real sound, rather than through monitor headphones. Even with headphones I sometimes take off one ear. We recorded the whole Mitra album totally live with no headphones or screens. It was a hot week and we were in a noisy part of London, but we still had all the windows open. None of the outside traffic noise is audible on the record. Relaxed and natural, not confined and "session-like" is how I like making records.

I try not to go too close to the mic because National and Dobro style guitars sound better when you are not too close. I try not to move around on the mic, which I do on stage, because it is very annoying for the engineer to get the EQ and volume right. I usually position the mic central between the F holes and the cover plate, roughly where my right hand is, but maybe 10 to 15cm away.

That big guitar sound your client wants will be in your playing and your instruments.

Hmmm...finally, if you don't have much time to experiment, pick one mic and go with that. Maybe take a track or two of a guitar sound that you really like, so you can show the engineer exactly what you are looking for.

Let me know how it goes,

ENJOY!

Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

No harm using two mics, or one mic and pick-up - choose the sound that you like best.
Try running the mic into an amp too.
TT

[twang1]

Thanks everybody for the tips! Very useful! I will try Deuce idea: since the studio has got a few rooms I want to try to put a Fender amp in a closed room and see the result. So to have two tracks: mic and amp...
I will be using my usual NRP tricone and try not to move around too much (thanks Michael) . I'll let you know how it goes...
Frank

[blueshome]

Apr 19, 2021 20:10:40 GMT leeophonic said:

Mike should be towards lower bout F hole if you are playing into the room, alternatively try buffering playing into a boxed corner of the room ALA Robert Johnson Paramount sessions.

Lee

I’m in pedant mode today. Johnson did not record for Paramount, they went bust in 1932. He recorded for ARC.

The corner reinforcement story is a myth perpetuated by Ry Cooder. There is absolutely no evidence that the ARC engineers would do this. They were professionals and given the sound quality from his and other sessions made the same day, knew what they were doing.

Mr. Cooder also perpetuated the myth that B.Willie Johnson used a razor as a slide. Eye (sorry) witness from Willie McTell states that he used a tube slid on his finger.

[Michael Messer]

Back in 1984 on Mike Cooper's version of Dark Is The Night, we recorded my fiddle edge Dobro with a mic and a Fender Pro Reverb amp in another room. The pickup was a cheap Schaller sound hole pickup. The finished sound is a mix of the two feeds. It has a sound that at the time felt and sounded right. For my ears 37 years later, it sounds a bit too electric.



Shine On
Michael

[leeophonic]

Thanks for the corrections Phil, next thing someone will say is he never went to the crossroads either!!!

Lee

[twang1]

Hello everyone, just to let you know...
The recording was done in a day. Five pieces with guitar and vocals done live and some percussions overdubbed later. Four pieces recorded in one take and one piece with two takes.
The sound engineer spent a lot of time tryin' 5 very expensive mics to record my two reso guitars. Following my (and yours) suggestion he then tried a Shure SM57 and at the end he decided, with disbelief and a smile, that the 57 was the best!

The worst part was that, because of Covid restrictions, the singer and myself were put in two different rooms far away and could barely see each other.That was a bit hard...

I used a metal tricone for two pieces, a wooden single cone for other two and an acoustic for the last one. I later overdubbed some cajon and tabla, and a little guitar feedback solo with a semiacoustic in front of a Twin Reverb (growwwll!!!).
Everything was done very fast but...in the studio time flies!

The singer, she is a gospel and blues freak, and the traditional songs we cut, I believe are...”MM forum approved”, ahah!

I won't be there for the final mix, though, and I haven't really had much time to listen to it...
It was great fun and looking forward to listening to it!
Thanks again for your suggestions! Frank

[Michael Messer]

Hi Frank,

I am pleased to hear that your session was a success.

One thing I am certain about.... There are many amazing mics around and they all have their sound, but those 57s are little devils!

Shine On
Michael

[snakehips]

Hi there !

I certainly agree about SM57's.

Back when I was turning 18yr old, my parents wanted to know what I'd like from them, for my 18th birthday.
We'd usually get one main present, and a few wee things too.
I chose a brand new Shure SM57 for my main present, for my 18th birthday, as it would be great for vocals, for harmonica (that I played in those days) and for mic'ing up acoustic guitars, and more recently I've used it to mic up my Fender Blues Jnr at gigs.
I'm 50yrs old now, and that mic is still going strong. I've used it in almost every gig I've ever done, except for ones where a PA system is provided, or if I'm "just" the keyboard player (as I am in one band I play in).

[twang1]

(Richard, your 18-birthday present was spot on, although unusual, and it made me laugh!)

And obviously every slide part was done with the smooth and singing Diamondbottleneck Ultimate slide!
Frank