Denver Recording Studio

Classical guitarist Darren Curtis Skanson was at CCM Recording Studios this week recording a new classical guitar composition called When Evening Comes. The selection is for the upcoming Acoustitherapy release Nature Walk due to be released September 2007. Skanson used his 1969 Ramirez Estudio model classical guitar. Skanson’s producer Tom Capek, keyboardist from jazz group Dotsero, was also on hand to add his incredible producing talents.

Click here to check out a sample of the recording (unmixed of course!)…

“Classical guitar music contains some of the richest and most interesting repertoire in the classical music world. By using the fingers to pluck instead of a plectrum (pick) or bow, the classical guitarist can play polyphonic music on a single instrument. Polyphonic music contains multiple voices like melody, harmony, and bass played simultaneously on a single instrument. It is common to encounter classical guitar music that sustains two, three, or four musical lines or voices.” - Darren Curtis Skanson

We used 2 AKG 414’s to mic the guitar. This was departure from our normal procedure of a Neumann KM184 for the neck position and a Neumann U87 for the llower bout of the classical guitar. The reason for the change was experimental, but we were surprised to find the the 2 AKG 414’s were very acceptable. Each mic had a more full range guitar sound as opposed to the other configuration in which we used the KM184 for the sparkle and definition and the U87 for the “wood” sound of the guitar.