Recording

For a while I have been the proud owner of a Tascam digital recorder, a DR100 Mk. 2 to be specific. A very useful device with remote control, two XLR microphone inputs and data storage on XD cards. A perfect front-end form y two AKG C1000 microphones that I purchased years ago. With a supply of rechargeable batteries, you have plenty of time for recording.

I make my recordings on the attic and process the raw recordings with the computer. Processing usually includes a bit of cutting, the addition of a little bit of reverb and if necessary some level adjustment.

At times, I work a lot with the device, but it has not become a routine yet. The results are – at least in my perception – far from stable, there is a lot of variation in the quality. That’s the reason why I want to practice recording, because I guess that the same is true for recording as it is for public performances: Practice makes the Master.

This Tascam is the latest development in my recording adventures. This endeavour started long ago, still in the eighties of the last century. Then I picked up a set of Philips electret microphones for a mere twenty-five guilders.

I started my attempts in recording myself with a genuine four track tape recorder, with the large tape reels. I tried to record the pieces that I studied during the guitar lessons the best I could. I discovered recording-stress, a stage fright related phenomenon. Technically it was awkward business, particularly when I started to record guitar duos with the Sound-on-sound functionality.

I discarded the tape recorder and replaced it by a cassette recorder. Or guitar recordings this was no success, the wow and flutter was clearly audible, so the microphones remained locked in the cupboard for years. I lost the few tapes that I made.

After the millennium, the digital recording techniques became available for the amateur at a reasonable price. In 2002 I bought a Fostex V8 digital recorder with a set of AKG C1000 microphones that I still use today. I started solo recording enthusiastically, yet it did not last long, because my duo activities left little time for solo playing. Moreover, I had bought the equipment to record a duo-CD of DOS Amigos. Doing so, it appeared that the Guitar Duo DOS Amigos was falling apart, so the CD project was no success.

The duo stopped in 2007 and I took quite a while to pick up myself and become a solo player again. I had hardly any liking for recording.

It changed for the better when I decided to replace the old Fostex, it was quite hard to operate practically, by the Tascam in 2012. This greatly facilitated recording and I started to use the recorder for practicing for competitions, or just make some recordings for fun.

Recording for fun, for learning and enjoyment, that’s the subject of this section of the site. I’ll describe my microphone adventures from AD 2002, obviously with the necessary demonstration, i.e. live recordings. It’s an adventure on the road to a real guitar CD. In the meantime, I produced a few for a limited audience, however, I still do not have the feeling that these recordings pass the test of a bright performance. Maybe later!

Below you’ll find a growing series of articles. I ordered the articles in a chronological order, so you will have to scroll down for the most recent material/

; -) Lots of fun, browsing my live-music! A matter of the right click in the table of contents.