Your Gear

It is always nice to learn what gear / equipment other fellow guitarists are using.

Here we can mention :

- current guitar being used (brand and model), you can also mention the ones you own but not using currently.

- current strings (and maybe why do you like them).

- current Microphones if any (brand/ model / do yo use it for streaming or recording).

I will go first.
- currently for day to day I am using a YAMAHA grand concert GC32 Spruce.

- I recently moved from High tension to normal tension strings and it really impacted my whole left hand resilience and how long can i play and hold weird positions. I am using Savarez 540R and so happy about them.

- I use Rode m5-pair for recording. they are lower end but great for home recording if you are not willing to invest in more expensive ones.

 

Looking forward to learn about what other community members are using!

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    • igorTeam
    • Co-Founder
    • IGor.1
    • 3 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hey Elias , thanks a lot for the post! Happy to share my gear:
     

    • Zbigniew Gnatek - 2015 Cedar Lattice Braced guitar, with enforced Brazilian Rosewood Sides and carved back (love this guitar) 
    • 1,2,3 - Augustine Regals High Tension -> love their punch, yet mellowness for a Nylon string (also great friends with Augustine!) / 4.5.6 Savarez Cantiga High Tension -> Crisp, Not too thick, fresh... 
    • My guitar is loud enough.... 😎 
       

    Big Cheers! :) 

    Like 1
    • MirceaTeam
    • Head of Guitar
    • Mircea
    • 3 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hey Elie ! So good to see you on here!! How have you been?

    I think I will like this thread 😎

     

    - I play a cedar Paco Marin from 2012!

    Won it in a competition in 2010, only received it in 2014 though 😂 I also own a Stephen Hill 2a model (that's actually for sale, *cough* if anyone is looking for a guitar in that price range, DM me)

     

    - I currently have Augustines on that I won in the Orange County Guitar Circle competition last year!

    I generally go for a combo of strings actually, does anybody else do that? I will post my favorite brands if people are interested ;) In the meantime, I will tell you this though: if I get to buy individual strings, I always play a nylon 1st string and carbon 2nd-3rd strings!

     

    - for my live streams, I currently use a Rode NT4 as a guitar mic, plugged into a Zoom H4N as a voice mic / interface! The Zoom is the big one you can see next to my face, haha

    Like 4
    • Mircea maybe I’m hijacking the topic. If so, please fell free to ignore this message. I have a Zoom H5 that I use for recording myself. Have you ever used the zoom to record the guitar? If so, could you provide some info about the settings, like: distance, position, gain, what you do in post, I don’t now, anything that could improve home recordings. 
       

      Thank you very much! Btw, I REALLY like the live events! 
       

      []’s

      Like 1
      • MirceaTeam
      • Head of Guitar
      • Mircea
      • 3 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Walter Hi Walter! No worries, topics are always more fun when hijacked :D

      I've never personally used the Zoom to record the guitar, since I'm only really using it as an interface - what I usually end up doing is plugging a different microphone for the guitar into it, and either turning off the H5 onboard microphone or using it as a voice mic (in case I need to speak between pieces or I'm live streaming a show.)

      Not sure if this helps much!

      Generally, for home recordings, you want to have your mic close, but not too close to the guitar - just under 1 meter (2-3 feet) should be fine. If you have a really nice sounding room, you want to be a little further, to capture more of the surrounding sounds, but the bitter reality is that 95% of home rooms will not sound good by themselves.

      In that case, what you would have to do is make the room less resonant (sort of like they do in pop recordings), by placing some curtains or foam on the walls, then add a liiitle bit artificial reverb to make up for it. If you have a room like mine, which sounds bad and metallic on its own, that little artificial reverb is going to sound much better than your regular, natural acoustics.

      Unless you're purposefully capturing a lot of sound from your room, have your mic point in the general direction of your bridge, rather than right towards the sound hole.

      On the topic of gain, it's all trial and error. Set it at an arbitrary level and play the loudest sound you will be playing during the current session. Did it clip? If so, take away some of the gain and try again. Then give yourself a bit of "headroom" by turning it a biiit down, since we tend to play louder during actual performance / recording time than while doing sound checks. If you are recording different pieces that will come together as an album, use the loudest sound in the entire album to test, and keep the gain constant - don't readjust for each piece.

      Hope this helps!

      Like 1
  • Hi !

     

    Well in my case probably is just at the opposite extrem... as my skills, jajaja... but as far as the gear helps me to improve... that's all what I need.

    • I play an Alhambra 4P OP with cedar top . Although is a entry level conservatory instrument, I fell very comfortable with it and exceed by far all my needs at my current state.
    • For the strings... started with High tension d'addario but I plan to give a try soon to Hannabach medium tension. I have the perception that moving to medium tension will help me to move faster on my left hand exercises.  For my... that's more than I need. In addition... having only time to practice during the night... loudness in my case is more a problem than a virtude. 
    • For recording I use a Tascam DR-05. This is a discontinued pice of gear but works fine. I use if for audio recording in video footage since some years ago. Currently probably I would have moved to the X series DR-05X or DR-40X as they implement also audio interface through usb port... but... not needed. So...if it eventually dies... probably that will be my bid.

    That's all folks !

    Like 2
    • I play a 1966 Conde Hermanos flamenco guitar. It has cypress back and sides and spruce top. I use it for playing both classical and flamenco pieces so I have it set up with a medium action. In my opinion it actually sounds as good, if not better, than some high end classical guitars I've played. I also have a PRS electric guitar that I occasionally use for busting out some rock or blues licks, but not very often nowadays.
    • I use Savarez 500 ARJ and change the 1st string to a nylon. These are high tension basses and normal tension carbon trebles. This seems to be the best combination I've found for this guitar so far. I found the carbon 1st string to be too thin.
    • I'm using an Apogee USB mic for recording which is quite good as a basic mic but I'm interested to hear what other people are using as I want to upgrade this soon.
    Like
    • Jean-Luc
    • JeanLuc
    • 3 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi all,

    happy to share my gear

     

    3 Daniel Friederich spruce guitars

     

    - my everyday is a 1970 single sided spruce and IR

    - an unbelievable Recital from 1961 spruce and almost black Rio Rosewood

    - a 1971 spruce double sided and IR

    (all of them in perfect condition)

     

    same strings for the 3 guitars: Savarez Cantiga New Premium blue Alliances blues (crisp clear, powerful, long lasting, fading softly and with charm after months!)

    Like
  • Hi everyone here in the forum.

    I am currently playing Marcus Dominelli cedar doubletop which I commissioned from him in 2018. It suits me well.  Right now I use Savarez Cantiga 510MR as my go to set but enjoy trying out new strings throughout the year.  I have a guitar studio set up in my basement to film and record my progress on the guitar.  I have found enormous information and inspiration from the courses and lessons here at Tonebase - just an amazing online platform.

    Like 1
    • KA
    • Ken_Abe
    • 3 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    2020 Dominik Wurth spruce top with special bracing material.  Wonderfully powerful yet refined.  Savarez Cantiga high tension strings.  My ears and my family ears are the microphones I'm using.

    Like
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