Recording a guitar

 

Nothing has challenged, bugged, thrilled me like the   pursuit of recording a guitar. I’ve wasted some time and money along the way, but I’ve learned a lot. I play guitars built by James Goodall and Bill Wise of Charis Guitars. The big question: how do you get magnificent instruments to sound the same on your recordings? I don’t have all the answers, but I have a few ideas. Assuming you’re using protools or steinberg, the answer is not a ton of expensive plug-ins. Start with a good microphone and mic preamp.

I use a Rode K2 variable pattern tube mic. There’s also a lot to be said about matched pairs: like the shure KSM 141. You can place one mic on the bass side of the lower bout and one one the fret board just above the sound hole. Pairs=flexibility. The Rode K2 is a large diaphram capsule that captures more nuance: a must if you want to hear those overtones. If you have a truly quiet room to record in, having a third mic to capture room dynamics gives the recording more “breath” or space. Often, I record with my Rode 18 inches or more from the front of the guitar. A recording engineer friend of mine told me that sound develops as it’s carried away from the instrument on the air. Mic-ing too close gives an “in your face” sound, and is also the major problem when recording directly from your on board pickup. Acoustic guitars use air, and mics allow time for tone to develop and let them to breathe on your recordings.

Preamps are critical. We have to face a disappointing truth: the preamps on your MBox are pretty crappy. A preamp or channel strip like the presonus eureka are built with far more attention paid to details. You can easily pay 3K for a tube preamp, but the eureka is a great project studio channel strip. Bottom line is that you need transparent gain and the highest quality signal going into your DAW to capture the sound of a high end guitar in all its glory. The biggest praise I received about my first cd “Speaks a Better Word” was the wow factor of the pure acoustic guitar sound we were able to capture.

When it comes processing the recorded material, I’m a HUGE fan of Universal Audio powered plug-ins. UA has kind of a cult following. [Waves has just recently offered some outboard gear to take the processing load off your cpu. Protools HD is a 5K investment just to get started.] UA builds DSP cards that plug into the expansion slots in your DAW that take all the processing load. Powered plug-ins simply do more. In my opinion, the difference between a digidesign Fairchild and the UA Fairchild is the difference between a pretty picture on your screen, and a pretty picture that actually does something. A $1200 investment will get you two cards [you need two to handle more than 3-4 plug-ins at a time] and $1300 of vouchers to purchase plug-ins. Dreamverb is the most beautiful reverb I’ve ever heard, and has an enormous pallette of room dynamics. It’s best feature is adjustable bandwidth-gain that adjust the wet/dry dynamic in four places on the signal. The Neve licenced 1081 eq is very musical and transparent. With it you can use the soft curve to cut the notorious 1.2K nasal guitar sound and boost presence at 4K. Because of latency issues it works best on the stereo master bus.

I’ve demoed all of the Waves vintage processors. To my ears they lack the tonal sophistication and power of the UA gear. However, I must admit that the digidesign maxim is a great plug-in for leveling and loudness. I’ve found that the Waves L3 maximizer doesn’t have as much headroom. The maxim is especially nice because it boosts levels without boosting noise.

I hope this stimulates some thoughts, and maybe helps you avoid some costly mistakes.

 

Will God Show up?

One of the things we wonder about in worship is whether God will “show up”. We’re so hungry for his presence: so ready for heaven to touch earth, and his gifts to transcend the dullness of of daily life. I’ve heard it hundred of times. “Wow, God really showed up…” So often we speak this with barely concealed relief. What this really means is that we are often uncertain, and anxious when it comes to God’s presence. If you’re like me, you don’t really want to admit to this. It makes me sound down right unspiritual. [And I am!] It begs the question of how we know that God is present. Is it a particular feeling? Is it an experience that we’re trying to recreate each week as we lead God’s people? Our nervousness tells us the truth. It tells us that we know deep down that our experiences are elusive, inconsistent, and just plain hard to reproduce from week to week. Some weeks we feel like instruments of the Holy Spirit: responsive to his touch and filled with his holy breath. Other weeks we feel like instruments recently carried down from the attic: dusty, cracked, in need of tuning. How do we know that God will show up?

Because he promised.

The painting above is from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and shows what is referred to in liturgical circles as the annunciation. The angel is pointing its finger at Mary and saying, “You’re the one!” The angel is announcing God’s word. In the magnificat, where Mary praises God for this good news, she doesn’t thank the Lord for an experience with an angel-but for the message she received. She was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and the mother of the One who would save his people from their sins. God’s word says, “When two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them” [Mt 18.20]. He says that he will ask the Father to send the Helper to be with us forever [Jn 14.16].

There is a reality afoot that transcends our experience. We start with the assumption that God is with us. The assumptions that we must sing louder, play more skillfully, or lift our hands higher brings us dangerously close to the prophets of Baal who danced themselves into a frenzy and cut themselves in order to get their god to show up.

The way of the Spirit is the way of freedom. He invites us into his promised presence and then rest in this precious fulfillment as we lead his people in worship.

 

New CD released

My good friend Dave Frincke just released his second CD entitled “Priceless Treasure”. The album features his arrangements of classic hymns that have been treasured by many generations of believers. Dave has skillfully and faithfully lifted up our hymn heritage with his soaring vocals and fine work on piano. I find this new album worshipful, meditative, and spiritually alive. I was honored to work with Dave on this project by playing acoustic guitar on most of the tracks. Be sure to click on the link above and give the cd a listen.

 

Sweet Victory

The strife is over, the battle won. Alleluia, he is risen indeed! The word nika is the english transliteration of the koine Greek word for “victor”…the one who claims the prize after running the race. Our Lord Jesus endured to the end and did what we least expected. He gave the prize to us. Isn’t that just like our God?

 

Faith in a minor key

Lent. It’s dark…dreary…solemn. By the time we come to the end of these 40 days inspired by Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness we are ready. Truthfully, I get more than ready: I get a little DESPERATE. A season of repentance makes me uncomfortable. It makes my sense of self-sufficiency crumble into dust that can only be revived by the living water of God-sufficiency. Dying to sin amounts to the consumate counter intuitive journey to fulfillment. Oprah, step aside: it’s not all about getting comfortable. The world [not just Oprah] screams at us to avoid discomfort at all costs. The cost is that we’re devoured by our appetities while all the while thinking that we’re improving ourselves. This is what we see when the mask is pried away and we see the ugly face of sin for what it is. But Jesus tells us that he’s paid the cost so that we can be delivered from ourselves: from wearing masks. He requires that we give up on ourselves so that a new self can emerge. This dying to ourselves brings us closer to wholeness than all of our attempts at “wellness”.

It sounds backwards. It feels backwards. Yet, it leads us forward into the wounds of the resurrected Jesus where we see the proof of our redemption and the hope that does not disappoint. The bottom line: I don’t need a biger dose of my dysfunctional humanity, or a stronger kick in the shorts to motivate me. I need someone who can pick me up and carry me, and deliver me as a child into the welcoming embrace of my Father. I need Jesus.

In two more weeks the darkness will part. The heavy curtain blanketing our hearts will be torn from top to bottom, and the light will pour in. We will by faith participate in Jesus’ resurrection. Until then we underscore the absolute necessity of coming to the end of ourselves.

 

The passing of an era?

On February 24th the original Christian rocker Larry Norman died at the age of 60. Larry challenged evangelical Christianity during the early 1970′s with his music and message. He was nearly universally condemned by those considering themselves “conservative” Christians who considered the rock genre as satanic. His song, “Why Should the Devil have all the Good Music” became the anthem of the movement that gave birth to what we now call Contemorary Christian music. And yet, his message revealed a mature theology and character that allowed him to intelligently  and lovingly engage with those who took issue with him. What was missing was the expected raw, irreverent, rude  attitude commonly associated with rock music. That an articulate, passionate, well informed, and loving man would be at the heart of something so quickly condemned as demonic is the real big surprise. I saw Larry perform several times while I was in college. His messages revealed a saint and sinner wrapped up in a very untidy package of humanity. They also revealed an incarnational God intent on relating to his creation face to face.

Churches unwilling to acknowledge what was really happening in the lives of redeemed and still imperfect sinners were antagonized by Larry’s message. It was as if he was too honest. In my view, he challenged and destabilized an American spirituality stuck in the plot line of the sitcom “Happy Days”.  As modern American evangelicalism continues to spiral into a consumer-driven self help view of the Christian faith, I wonder if we might need another Larry Norman to challenge us. No matter. Today as I write he is resting in the arms of Jesus.

 

As you journey through lent