How to get a good sound out of a Godin Multiac with a pick

[asafasadi]

Hello everyone, recently I have been recording some bach inventions for harpsichord on my Godin multiac, and I am getting complaints about the sound: too plasticky in its quality. I have tried 2 different solutions:
The first one with an SM 58 pointed at the general direction of the guitar, plus a direct line in for the piezo pickup, 1.5 mm pick for both voices, not much in the way of eq.
The second one is just line in, but a deeper "cathedral" like reverb and 2 different picks: the usual 1.5 for the high part and a jazz 3 Dunlop with some muting for the bass part.
I was wondering what I could do to improve the sound quality.
At the moment I am not much in a position to buy gear, so keep that in mind.
Thanks in advance for any tips. I hope the shared wisdom of this community can help me.
Have a nice day,
F

References:
1. first method

2. second method

[AllanAllen]

What program do you use to get that split screen video?

I think they both sound fine.

[mr. beaumont]

First of all, I think it sounds pretty great. This is through the stock speakers in my Mac here at work, which are pretty good.

Second, I don't think the pick is too much of a problem...what are those guitars going into?

I've generally found the multiacs sound best plugged into some sort of synth or modeller, on their own they definitely have that piezo "honk." But I think your sound doesn't really have that problem. If anything, I think the only critique I would have of the sound is that if it was intended to sound like an acoustic guitar, it doesn't...but again, I'm not really seeing that as a problem overall because I think the sound works.

[Tomcat]

I don't have a Godin guitar but Gibson nylon and it sounds great when recorded directly. Try to work on reverb and eq. What I noticed over the years is that the stronger I pick (or closer to the bridge) the more "piezo plastic effect" I get. So try maybe a thinner pick.

[asafasadi]

I film with the same camera, same position, then I cut with davinci

[asafasadi]

Thanks Mr beaumont: the idea is to sort of emulate an harpsichord. The guitar is simply in line in.

[asafasadi]

The 1.5 mm pick sounds warmer to my ears, even if I sacrifice some speed

[Gitterbug]

First of all, thanks and congratulations! A rare treat on this Forum. A hear absolutely no problem, but my preference leans on the first method. Check out the videos posted by Mikko Karhula elsewhere on the Forum. He uses and actually produces wooden picks, which might reduce the "snap" attack sound, if that's what you're after.

[fep]

For what it's worth...

I tried an impulse response which I think cost $10. I think it added some low-end warmth and sounded a bit more like an acoustic guitar.

[Alter]

It's good sounding already, but you can try impulse responses, or try severely cutting high and mid frequencies. I've seen players do that and the piezo thing goes away completely.

[rpjazzguitar]

First of all, great playing and it sounds fine.

If I were to nitpick to try to improve something this good already, it would be to try to reduce a whisper of plinkiness in the highs on the guitar on the left (from my perspective).

I have a Multiac nylon which tends to be too bright, to my ear. So, I play with the treble all the way down and the mids partway and then I try to find a tiny sweet spot within the bass slider's travel. I can get "acceptable". I don't get "perfect".

Adding a tiny bit of reverb might help, or might ruin the sound you're looking for. Going through some kind of preamp to add warmth is another possibility. Maybe one with an actual tube.

Another possibility is raising the volume and not picking as hard.

Still another is a softer sounding pick. Everybody seems to have a suggestion for that. Mine is a Golden Gate mandolin pick, which I've used exclusively for years.

Finally, what I think is my best suggestion. Stop worrying about it. It sounds great.

[asafasadi]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! and the compliments.
I will try them with the next one: I do worry too much, because it's normally not what I play, and I don't have an immediate sense of what is good and what is not, especially regarding sound. The idea is to sort of imitate a harpsichord.