WEEK TWO Updates: Main Thread - Following the Path to Tárrega
Alright, welcome to WEEK TWO of the Main Thread for this challenge! 
Where is the Week 1 thread?
Find the Week 1 thread here!
Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!)
- One thing you found easy:
- One thing you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
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Hello challengers, I apologize for being late with my first submission but last week was kind of busy, as most of you probably. I practiced every day but instead of focusing on one advanced piece I opted for reading through a lot of easy and intermediate pieces, to better understand that fantastic music. As they shape and sound enough good I’ll try to record and submit some of them, so let’s start with two easy to read but harder to make them sound good, and I apologize for missed notes
. Martin I’ve been using the SRM1 ribbon stereo microphone for the following, totally different than the CM4!
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Debbie I'm using the SRM1 from NoHype Audio, a well built and affordable microphone like the CM4 from Line Audio, and JP (the owner) is just awesome!
Here's the quick setup I've been using for the recording session...
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Blaise Laflamme thanks for sharing your setup. So with one mic you’re recording a mono signal? Doesn’t seem to matter because it’s a great sound. I’ll add that mic to my wishlist for sure. I think your camera looks cool too. I’m just using an iPhone 8. Wouldn’t complain if I had the 12max but need to wait a year for the upgrade.
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Debbie in fact it's a stereo setup, two fixed microphones (figure 8) one above the other, one pointing front-back and the other left-right. Yeah I found out that my DSLR camera gives a better image, while I totally forgot to set for this session, and is easier to use than my iPhone 10, but ideally I should use both to get two points of view. Yes the iPhone 12/Pro Max looks great but in a year you'll get the 13!
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Blaise Laflamme Oh now I see it! Stereo. How cool. Googled it but can’t find it anywhere? Secret contraband? I’ll be happy with the iPhone 13
I discovered that if I’m not too lazy the front camera on the 8 is waaaay better than the rear camera. -
Debbie hehe... no it should not be a secret... here's the link https://www.nohypeaudio.com/nhaproducts.htm
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Blaise Laflamme wow Blaise! I really love your recordings, they are crystal clear! And the amount of reverb is just very right! Don't worry about a missed note. I always miss some notes though. I really like the energy of the Etude in Eminor. You have made a very professional looking title for your Lagrima video, a mordern look. I like the tempo of your LaGrima. It is so soulful with this tempo.
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Khiem Nguyen thank you Khiem for your comments. You're right I'm using just a bit of reverb and I should have taken the time to equalize the sound a bit, too much bass... but I was blown away by the microphone!
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Blaise Laflamme Very good and great sound and class
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Giuseppe Gasparini Thank you Giuseppe!
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Blaise Laflamme Uff, great! Yes, the mic sounds great, although I'd try to find a position where you get a little bit more top end! The sound is ultra warm, but it gets a little bit too mellow at times!
But most importantly: You performance! I loved it! Not only are all of you guys really crushing the etude in e minor (I made a video update about that, please, tell me, how do you that jump to b major so effortlessly??), but your lagrima is truly mesmerizing! It's a piece that I've revisited so many times and I am still not really happy with my performance, but you create a wonderful calmness with that piece! Congratulations!
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Debbie a ribbon is good to have on a wishlist, haha! I'll try to get a DIY-Kit by Bumblebee Audio and post some results once I decided to get it!
Blaise Laflamme don't get me wrong, it sounds GREAT, but I thank with that mic (and in combination with the C4s) you can create recordings that compete with commercially available CDs! I am looking forward to many more submissions from you!
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Martin Martin, what do you mean exactly? How do you use multiple stereo microphones to record? I suppose I would just need an interface with more than two inputs. If I had a ribbon mic and the other mics I have - a Rode NT-1 and a pair of Rode NT-5’s could I get the same results as professional CD quality? Sorry you have not been hearing great recording from me this time. I have been short on time and syncing video to recording is more time consuming. And with this Córdoba guitar it doesn’t seem worth the trouble as it won’t sound great mic’d anyway. My Bernabe arrived next week and that will be a different story and definitely worth the trouble
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Debbie Yes, you would need an interface with more inputs! For a CD Recording I usually use at least 4 mics (or 2 Stereo Mics), but generally try to keep my mic count low! But with 4 mics you can capture the natural reverbance of a good sounding room and use two close up microphones to get the presence back that one might loose when recording from a farther distance!
You could set up the Rode NT-5 as an ORTF Stereo system in approx 2-3m in order to have the airiness of a room/hall and use the Nt-1 as a close up Mono mic in order to increase the presence!
I think Blaise Laflamme uses a field recorder which has 4 or 6 inputs, so that way he can record several stereo systems and mix them together in post production to geht a balance between the room sound and the close up!
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Martin oh that is very cool! But now I need to buy a new interface because I only have a Scarlett 2i2
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Debbie I am as well a great sufferer of G.A.S., the Gear Acquirement Syndrome
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Martin Hah! I have the reverse problem. I suffer from G.A.A., Gear Acquirement Aversion. My recording equipment is an iPhone7 (my first and only smart phone, purchased less than 1 year ago), and my guitar is the only classical guitar I've ever owned, purchased in 1989 (I traded in my electric). My wife says I'm cheap, but I call it thrifty!
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Eric Phillips Hey Eric, I only have two guitars - a Ramirez Classical and Fender Strat (Clapton model). I didn't having microphones until Martin's recording course. I broke down and got the CM4s, which sound much better than my iphone. Most of the guitarists I know have many, many guitars. Not sure how they afford it, and have space to store them, Ha Ha...
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Martin thank you Martin! Tarrega is not new to me but I've never really played his music, so far I'm really enjoying this challenge.
You're right about the microphone, as I said I was extremely excited by the immediate results and I was in a hurry to post something knowing my current week workload. I did a quick test including the CM4 and you're right, the range covered by both and mixed together is really impressive but I'm far from being a sound engineer like you then I need more time and experience to understand and manipulate the sound. I can't thank you enough about all the knowledge you're sharing and your dedication and patience with us.
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Martin Debbie right, I'm using a Sound Devices MixPre-6 II and it has 4 ultra-low-noise Kashmir preamps but there is the MixPre-8 II with 8 preamps if you prefer. I was about to buy another audio interface, I currently have an ApolloTwin X connected to my computer, and a notebook to have a portable setup I could use anywhere. Then I figured out that I have no need to produce the final content on the spot and I prefer using a dedicated computer with a large monitor for post production.
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Blaise Laflamme I like your sound and nice balance a lot, Blaise! Looking forward to your next recordings
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Thomas thank you Thomas, I'm glad you like it
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Eric Phillips Barney Blaise Laflamme Haha, not the worst thing to suffer from! I have 3 guitars at the moment, my beloved Paco Marin, an INCREDIBLY cheap Yamaha guitar for those open air background noise gigs and one Taylor Steelstring for my band. At one point I'd like to get a nice Telecaster and another high end classical guitar, but somehow I just end up with more microphones at the moment, haha!
Blaise Laflamme Damn, those MixPre look really handy, I wonder if I can justify at some point to get a HQ field recorder, haha!
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Martin yes that's a well build and small device for what it does, it was recommended to me by a close friend, and also a lot of reading
. I'm sure you have a lot of great and better gear for multiple purposes, but in my case it was hard to beat for all the ease that it brings with the quality results and for the price. -
Blaise Laflamme Hey Blaise, Are the Ribbon Mics extremely sensitive to the room acoustics, so that I would need to have a sound treated room (like a studio) for good results?
I don't have a room like that, so I use the CM4s with more direction to help with bad room reflections, and then I just add a bit of reverb to compensate.
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Barney I'm not a sound engineer but I would say yes but not like I thought it would have. Is it because of the blumlein configuration or figure 8 or ribbon, I don't know, but I feel it gives more space to the sound while being warmth, totally different than the OM1 where the room was more present than the sound of the guitare using my current setup. I haven't play that much with positioning this microphone for those videos, something I'll do next and with comparison and mix with the CM4, but you can compare my videos of the Composition Challenge with those here. I used the same setup with both microphones at roughly the same position about 18 to 24 inches.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
