acoustic guitar eq process

[dmoss74]

so, what are the essential go-tos?

what i have been trying to do (ld condenser) is to add an instant roll off (both on the mic, and in my daw eq). that's a given. from there, i'm looking for tips.

what i have tried to do is locate any stray annoying frequencies, then either notching them, or reducing them greatly. and if said frequency is (say) 250hz, i'll look at the octaves of that, to see if they are adversely effected.

i tend to do a lot of subtractive eq, and applying master gain from there. i'm wondering if that is the wrong tack. plus, whether any compression should be used before--or after--eq. all my compression is daw based, no hardware.

just looking for alternative measures, to reach the same goal.

thanks

[G-Sun]

I've had my fill with acoustic tracking and mixing on last project.

Some key points (imo):
- Great sounding instrument
- Great sounding room
- playing, with attention to details, especially noise, and tone of each note
- Mic: LDC, SDC or ribbon, although a nice dynamic can be the ticket as well. Not to close, attention to angle/position.

When these things are stellar, all else is a breeze.
If you can't get this right, everything else will be troublesome.

[martifingers]

I also think the secret is a good recording: this is useful even if we all can't afford Neumann gear!
http://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en...one-mic-part-1

[jerome_oneil]

I generally drop a 6db notch right around 250 on any acoustic track. The harmonics of guitars played in open positions tend to bump the amplitude a bit there. Use a parametric, and dial in Q and specific frequency to taste.

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by martifingers

I also think the secret is a good recording: this is useful even if we all can't afford Neumann gear!
http://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en...one-mic-part-1

The academic style/format of that video is done quite well.

[G-Sun]

Originally Posted by martifingers

I also think the secret is a good recording: this is useful even if we all can't afford Neumann gear!
http://www.neumann.com/homestudio/en...one-mic-part-1

Yet, how big part is that room,
and how many of us have access to a room like that?

[RDBOIS]

It's all relative to what sound your going for and the role the guitar is playing in the song.

If it's the main instrument and is arpeggios vs if it's a strumming background role vs if it's an acoustic solo vs if it's a mood enhancer with lots of effects...

I tend to cut some lows and a bit of mid-lows if there is bass in the song.

I've been getting better at working to get the sound I'm looking for when recording (although I don't deal with the impact of the "room", not yet). I guess this can be seen as part of the EQing strategy. For example, if I know that I'm looking for a strumming guitar playing in the background I tend to move a bit further away from the microphone. If it's going to be an intimate arpeggio picking I'll more in closer. Sometimes I'll automate the EQ so that I'm letting more of the signal pure when the guitar is playing on its own, then will remove some low end when the bass starts to play along.

My acoustic guitar seems to have lots of high end and sometime 'brittle and metal' tones, BUT I can tame this by playing it with the pad of my fingers rather than with a pick. This can also be seen at part of the EQ-ing strategy... I may still have to notch a few irritating frequencies.

As you can see many things can be done while recording before having to deal with in the box plugins. This has become my main focus when dealing with the acoustic guitar.

[SwampDonkey]

this is advice I got from my hero (well one of my heroes) Jay Bennett(RIP) of WILCO, Titanic Love Affair, etc

Me: Jay, great album, Sir. Great sounds. Id love to know how you approach micing the guitar, vocals, etc.. compression vs no compression...

Again, love the album. Keep up the good work, ill give you a holler monday.


Jay:

Hey thanks for the words, I appreciate it! Hope all is well with your band and recording...so..
FINALLY, some easy questions. thanks, very direct ...you will get much out of me, if you continue framing your questions in this manner.


ACOUSTIC GTR technique---one high quality condenser at 15th ish fret ( where body and neck meet) pointed flat at fret board....4 inches away ?...second mic, a "personality" mic, I use an old sony c37 p (now, this is a very rare and expensive "personality" mic, but you don't need to go that far)..this one points at bridge...from below or above, but not straight on...again 4" away...I use a good SOLID STATE pre...Amek 9098...one of the few applications where I will go fo ss over tube...put the low end roll off on the pre...check for phase between two mics...you will not notice a totally in phase vs totally out of phase thing, it will be more like...which one sounds better, a matter of taste, not right or wrong...

Then i go through a pair of API 550's (4 band parametric)...boost something in 800 to 1.2K...and then 2.5 K as well...the high and low of the EQ I usually don't touch

Then the perfect compressor, is a tube tech stereo ..i forget model number..it just interfaces with ApI's so well...I always EQ pre compression when recording...in many cases it doesn't matter, BUT in this one it does..

could go on for hours about this...hope this gets you started...i know I'm talking about some pretty expensive gear here,...and there are other ways to do it...starting form that mic set up (which is the crucial thing)

ALSO...play a good sounding acoustic..with broken in (NOT NEW) strings (this is a big mistake people make)...mid 60's gison small to medium bodies are the best...stay away from things with tons of low, and tons of shimmery high ( unless u r in nashvillle)

NEVER mike the sound hole...

love Jay...hope that helps