Hi guys,
I will be recording a Flamenco guitarist on Wednesday. I did a test session
with him on Friday and ran into a large problem.

Traditional Flamenco technique can be very dynamic on the guitar. There are
moments when the player can strike the body of the guitar with their index
finger right before strumming a chord. Its an awesome sounding technique
(like a gun shot) but next to impossible to avoid digital overs when
recording. I asked him to tame it back a little and the technique lost the
effect but still peaked hard. I tried micing him much farther away but the
sound suffered too much and still peaked more often than not.

How do I maintain a good level while avoiding digital overs on such an
explosive technique that is performed on a relatively quiet instrument?

Limiting or compressing while tracking?

Better mic pre with more headroom?

Thanks,

Eric