Mixing Acoustic Guitar! Help Needed!

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buzzmeeks

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Hi All,

I may be asking for a bit of a miracle here, but I cant afford pre-amps or slick sound cards but if you could give any tips here it would be much appreciated. Basically I have recorded my semi-acoustic directly through my sound card and I have actually got a very good clean good quality recording. Using Sound Forge's EQ capabilities is there any way I can put a bit of life, warmth or fullness into my recorded acoustic parts? Any ideas or tips on EQ ing or mixing via Sound Forge is much appreciated.

Many thanks, Buzz
 
A little boost around 5k and tone it down under 100 hz (unless you want that boomy bass sound) A little bit around 8K wouldn't hurt either. Just play around with it. Also buying a mixer would help your sound alot in quality, tone and signal strength
 
Though the secret of gettinga good acoustic guitar track is a good mic in front of a good guitar, there are EQ tips that can help out...but it really helps to hear the whole track in its context around the other instruments (if there are any) to really give worthwhile advice.....within a mix, you have to see where (frequency wise) your acoustic track sits and accentuate it and where it is stepping on other tracks and cut.....

however, generally anything under 100hz can be cut....100-200hz is the fullness,but tends to be boomy and can also be cut....200-800hz is muddy.....5k-10k is the crispness and clarity,a around 6k for presence and 10k for sparkle......try cutting 1-3k to make the image higher and more transparent......

info courtesy of The Art of Mixing by David Gibson.....good book....
 
Gidge - I figured out the bit about cutting below 100 Hz just by listening to my stuff, but that other stuff you mentioned by David Gibson is interesting, and I'll give it a try. Does Mr Gibson mention anything special or particular about nylon-string guitar, by any chance? :D
 
I don't know if EQ is always the answer... can make one a lazy person. I recorded a project where I was going for a bigger solo guitar sound, and I ended up running the output from a pickup into an electric guitar amp that was miked up, and mixing that with the actual accoustic guitar mic. The combination is like an eq, if you want more treble or "string" sound, turn up the mic, if you want more pure tone, go for the amp. With your set up, i would suggest getting a mic of some sort (hopefully one that you didn't get from target or best buy or something) and mixing the two signals...

other things to try:
1) Add a short delay (very very short...) just short enuf so that you can't tell that there is a delay on the signal, but it really does give the sound more power without actually making it much louder.
2) or actually double the guitar part... especially with different chord voicings... for example, if the original is in G, play the other in E with a capo on the 3rd fret, or just use bar chords vs. open chords.... etc.

good luck!
 
Here's something that might help

Originally posted by Mixerman from R.A.P.
It can be hard to put into words some of the more abstract characteristics of why we do what we do when shaping the tone of multiple sounds into something that resembles music. What follows is a very practical way of thinking about how to use eq effectively.

30Hz super duper low, often referred to as subs up to 60hz These are dangerous frequencies to be playing with.

50Hz super low

100Hz pretty low and beefy, easily replicated in a 6" speaker

250Hz the start of the lower mid range, woofy, not a clean low end, sometimes to much of 250 is too thick. However, it is the range of bass that will replicate well in a 2"-4" speaker, so you don't want to eradicate it.

500Hz lower mid range, often accused of sounding boxy.

750Hz getting towards the upper end of lower mids. Also slightly boxy, tends to reduce clarity, however, it can also add presence in the right situation.

1kHz this is the beginning of the upper mid range, it is a very present frequency as it is so close to the peak of hearing.

2kHz This is our most easily heard frequency as humans. Too much of this and harsh will be an adjective you'll hear allot. It is the end of the presence frequencies. 2K has been accused of adding bite.

3kHz Much like 2k, it adds bite. In my opinion it can be even more harsh than 2k.

6kHz Now we leave the bite aspect, and we're into dentist drill territory. This frequency can give you a nasty headache quick.

8kHz Now we are leaving the mid range territory, and entering high-end territory. This is the most present high-end frequency. It can be useful for brightening, without adding high-end noise.

10kHz Now we're really into high end. This is on the lower end of high end. The addition of this can be helpful in opening up a sound, and reducing he coloration of a microphone, or processing.

15kHz This is very high end. It will often add artifacts as quickly as it will open up a sound. When adding high end, it is recommended to try adding 10k, 12k, and 15k and decide which helps the most. When you're 60, you probably won't hear this very well anymore. Or, maybe you'll hear it all the
time.

20kHz Don't mess with this. It's way too high.

EQ's boost and cut more than just the frequency that is selected. You can usually adjust the amount of frequencies you are affecting with the boost and cut by the "Q". The "Q" adjusts the amount of frequencies that you are adjusting with your boost or cut. The selected frequency will get the majority of the boost, and will be in the middle of all the frequencies affected. This is called a bell curve.

The boost and cut are usually in db increments. A typical EQ can boost or cut in the range of 12db. A great way of learning exactly what characteristics a frequency has, is to boost between 8 and 12db and sweep the frequency until you find a very offensive frequency. Then cut that frequency to taste. After a while, you'll figure out what the characteristics are of certain frequencies from this method.

I hope this helps.

Mixerman

-tkr
 
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