{"id":13415,"date":"2019-07-24T15:17:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T22:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=13415"},"modified":"2021-06-24T16:20:06","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T23:20:06","slug":"amplification-and-classical-guitar-the-search-for-natural-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/amplification-and-classical-guitar-the-search-for-natural-colors\/","title":{"rendered":"Amplification and Classical Guitar: The Search for Natural Colors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
BY JOHN W. WARREN | FROM THE SUMMER 2019 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/em><\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

For Diego Barber, amplification anxiety engendered a sense of vertigo. The Spanish guitarist, originally from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and now based in New York City, performs his stylistic paella of classical, flamenco, and jazz with drums, bass, and other instruments. \u201cI\u2019m happy now,\u201d he says, \u201cbut until very recently, my live concerts were like a coin toss\u2014heads, the sound was marvelous, and tails, the sound was horrid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings happen sometimes that can be heartbreaking,\u201d agrees celebrated Cuban-born guitarist Manuel Barrueco.<\/a> \u201cWhen the amplification is great, it\u2019s fantastic for the player. You have more dynamics, you feel like you can be heard, and it widens the range for expression. It\u2019s horrible when you have bad amplification. Even with the most expressive instrument in the world, the amplification becomes an extension of your instrument. To feel that the audience is hearing a sound that is of less quality than you can make, it\u2019s very disturbing as you\u2019re playing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric guitarists commonly favor amplification that intentionally colors the tone, choosing amps that vary greatly in character, and often deploying effects that further process the sound. But for nylon-string guitarists (and most steel-string players), the goal of amplification almost inevitably is to produce a sound that reflects the natural output of the instrument. And while the consensus among classical guitarists is clearly that performing sans amplification is preferred, the realities of today\u2019s performance spaces and audience expectations frequently necessitate the judicious use of sound reinforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is something very human, natural, and fundamentally beautiful in hearing a musical instrument played in its raw state,\u201d observes Xuefei Yang<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s finest classical guitarists and the first internationally recognized Chinese guitarist on the global stage. \u201cIf the acoustic character of the venue allows, unamplified is always my preferred way to perform. However, we live in the real world, and are often required to play to large numbers of people in venues that are not ideal for the instrument. Performing should be about the audience experience, and if tasteful amplification can help, then so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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