EQ'ing acoustic guitar! Please help!

D

danbs10

New member
Hi, I have been home recording acoustic guitar for a few years now but have never actually used EQ and such like to improve my recording mostly because I have no idea how to use it!
I am using Multi-Track DAW for IPad and am recording using some fairly good hardware!
Here is a screenshot of my EQ panel on multi-track DAW app.

image.png

I know I am asking a lot but please can someone explain what each of these controls are and how each one will affect the acoustic guitar recording, and also any tips on how to set the EQ to get the best possible sound?

Many thanks in advance.
Dan
 
The Q is how wide or narrow your DB boost or cut will be, and the khz/hz are the frequencies.

Mixing acoustic will depend. If it's like a bob dylan style with just voice and guitar, you'll eq a lot less, in general, than if the acoustic is sitting in a busy mix. the latter will require more eq and an aggressive high pass most likely.
 
^^^What Nola said is as simple as it gets.

Now, you're EQ plugin is pretty simple as it's only two bands.

You'll notice that when you increase or decrease the db knob, the bands on the graph above will rise or fall. That will give you a visual representation as to what you are doing.

For a steel string, I usually like to gently and fairly widely increase the highs just a bit. If the track is booming a little, I might decrease the lower frequencies depending on what I'm hearing, but if I'm hearing too many problems, it might just be better to change the mic placement and rerecord.

For classical guitar, I almost barely touch it with EQ, if at all. Classical/flamenco is my thing, and I've got the placement down to a science :cool:
 
Thanks for the reply mate I really appreciate it. I am also recording classical guitar but was looking to "widen" and "broaden" the sound of at all possible. I am using 2 AKG C2000b mics so should I just mess about with placement?
Cheers
 
I'm another classical guitarist here, you really shouldn't need much EQ, sometimes I boost the air frequencies above 16kHz by 2-3dB, but usually that means the strings need changing.
 
What Btyre said, and yeah, mess around with the placement. I usually have an LDC about 1.5-2 feet away right in front of the 12th fret. Another placement I usually have is an LDC about 1.5 feet away and about a foot above the soundhole facing downwards.
 
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