Acoustic guitar distortion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Look out!R4XvW3
  • Start date Start date
spantini said:
I think I'm hearing what you're referring to as distortion. To me, it's the brightness of the Taylor. Fatiguing to my ears. It's nice for picked notes, but full strumming brings out the harshness with the higher strings added.

Listen to some of these. To my ears, the "distortion" isn't as apparent with picked notes and I suspect if the Taylor in the second video were strummed, you'd hear that distortion with each mic tested here.

The first video appears to be the AKG C214 with a different guitar - not Taylor. The second video appears to be a Taylor - model unknown.



Click to expand...


The 14 mics video was excellent! Playing the same piece throughout the demonstration was really helpful in being able to hear the differences between the mics.
 
Look out!R4XvW3 said:
It's ironic that I find my way on here for the first time in ages, and there is an acoustic guitar recording thread right at the top. I will definitely read through it at some point.

I'm having a problem with acoustic guitar distortion at the moment. I have never noticed this until now, and I am still a novice home recording enthusiast when it comes to using a DAW. My levels are good, I'm anywhere from 10 to 20 inches away from the mic, but I can hear distortion. I started out with a condenser mic (AKG C 214), and then tried a dynamic mic (Beyerdynamic M 88), the results sounding a little less distorted with the dynamic mic. I'm going into a Babyface Pro. It's a terrible, near empty room, but I am using some moving blankets on mic stands to add some plushness ALTHOUGH I definitely could bring those blanket walls in closer to make the situation better, and I will do that.

I suspect the reason I am hearing distortion is because I am playing the song that I am trying to record aggressively, and the song tempo is fast. I plan on altering the blanket setup and lowering the recording level, even though the levels are within the ranges that are supposed to be optimal (-18 to -12 in Reaper). I am thinking of going direct input into the Babyface and seeing how that sounds. I don't have a lot of hardware effects, but I do have a Keeley compressor pedal (not sure I should use it with an acoustic guitar or if it is made for that) and a Strymon Iridium pedal, although the Strymon company actually states that it is not intended for acoustic guitar use. I would be willing to purchase something modest for my acoustic recording in the way of an effect if I feel I will need to record direct input.

Has anyone else out there experienced slightly distorted sound miking an acoustic because they feel they are playing the guitar aggressively? Any advice or recommendations for an acoustic pre-amp?
Click to expand...
Could it be that you are confusing fret rattle/buzz with distortion? If your preamp gain is within range and you add some compression so that it tames the aggression a bit you should be fine. I try to stay away from pedals and lots of effects when recording an acoustic guitar, at least during the tracking stage.
 
It very likely is your ears. I have hearing loss too, in both ears, and there's a certain frequency that causes a voice or guitar to "rattle" a bit. I wear hearing aids, Widex', and they help a lot (with overall ability to hear), but as ear fatigue sets in (within about 5 minutes) I sometimes get that distorted sound. It doesn't always happen, but it's my ears (specifically my left) and not the monitoring.
 
EQ it out and mess with your gains, and change your mic, and/or mic placement if necessary. And if you feel your ''playing the guitar too aggressively,'' then play it not too aggressively. Playing style, strings, and even picks, in my experience, are all variables in what you can get out of acoustic guitar in conjuction with what equipment you're using. I just mess around with everything until I get what sounds good to me.
 
As a kid, me and my best friend would whistle at the same time. Not the little whistle like 'whistle while you work', the big loud whistle where you curl your lips in and poke your tongue out - or stick some fingers in. . that loud whistle. Anyway . . we would both whistle and it would produce interference waves that sounded like an electric drill inside our heads. A really cool buzzing sound that varied along with our whistling. Like a bug buzzing around inside our heads.

I wonder if something similar is going on here. No idea what the source(s) could be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top