need to even out guitar

[ikijapan]

Alright, so, I have an arrangement of a song that I am adding acoustic guitar to. There are already several other instruments in the song such as strings and piano, so what I'm doing with the guitar is just adding some small chords.

What I mean by that, is that a lot of the chords are just 3 string notes, up high on the guitar.

The problem I'm having is, when I play a small 3 string chord up high, and then later a bigger chord, like a 5 string A minor chord, it's much fuller, because there are open strings ringing on those, and not on the others.

How can I compensate for that? I hope this question makes sense.

I wasn't sure if compression would help here? I just want the higher up chords with no open strings, to sound as full as the 4 or 5 string chords. Is that possible by using some DAW tools?

Uh, also to clarify I am close micing the guitar on the neck. That is probably part of the cause of the smaller chords sounding thinner than the larger chords. I imagine if I backed the mic much further away that would make things sound more even in this case, but I want to AVOID doing that.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[danny.guitar]

I'm not sure if a 3-string chord using the high strings is going to sound "full" on its own. You can try EQ but I would avoid it as it will probably just make it sound unnatural.

The only way I can think of is miking near the soundhole. You may have to move the mic back further if your guitar as a lot of bass or it will just sound boomy. Find a balance. Start from the 12th fret and work towards the soundhole until it sounds more "full" but not boomy or shitty.

That's how I have to mic my acoustic or it sounds too bright and thin.

Also, what is the arrangement of the song? If, for example, the verses are just the 3-string chords, and the chorus has the Am, then you can track the verse/chorus separately with different mic placements.

Also, you can use other instruments (strings, bass) to fill in the low end on the parts of the song where it's just 3 string chords. Blending them correctly can give the illusion that the guitar is more full sounding than it actually is.

I've done this before with a thin electric guitar, and used a bass guitar just slightly mixed in to make the electric sound more full.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[chazba]

Witnesses???

Think about the function of the 3-note chords. Do they blend with other stuff happening at th same time to thicken the sound ?? Do they stand alone or as part of a moving line. Do they "bracket" the vocal?? All these things go into deciding how to treat the sound. Another consideration...Are they necessary??? If they are just fluff , or as a wise old black studio guitar player once said "witnesses" maybe they are not needed at all. You decide and that will help you to know how to treat them.


chazba