to kill a clicking pick

H

HeatSinks

Member
I have an acoustic rhythm guitar track with some distracting clicking sounds in it. Sounds like the guitar pick clicking against the pick guard. Any tips for minimizing this?
 
Other than trying hard not to do it, mic position is probably the first thing to look at.
How you mix is going to make a difference. If you're having to boost high end that's not going to help, and compression generally brings these things out too.
 
Greg_L said:
Re-track and don't do it again.
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Yes, that would be nice, but I need to work with what I have. A friend was only in town for an afternoon and we recorded ourselves picking some old folk tunes. We were more focused on having a good time than getting the perfect recording setup. I'm not seeking perfection; just trying to get these recordings as nice as they can sound because I think my buddy would enjoy hearing how good he is when he plays banjo. Problem is I'm too damn clumsy and all I can hear when I listen is the click-clack of my pick against the guitar.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Other than trying hard not to do it, mic position is probably the first thing to look at.
How you mix is going to make a difference. If you're having to boost high end that's not going to help, and compression generally brings these things out too.
Click to expand...

Interesting! It makes sense that compression would make the clicking seem louder, but it's not something I'd thought of. Very good to be thinking about, thanks.
 
Try deep (amplitude) narrow (width) volume automation at the noise... depending upon what else you have going on around you and what the context is you may be able to minimise it. I do it all the time...
 
HeatSinks said:
Yes, that would be nice, but I need to work with what I have. A friend was only in town for an afternoon and we recorded ourselves picking some old folk tunes. We were more focused on having a good time than getting the perfect recording setup. I'm not seeking perfection; just trying to get these recordings as nice as they can sound because I think my buddy would enjoy hearing how good he is when he plays banjo. Problem is I'm too damn clumsy and all I can hear when I listen is the click-clack of my pick against the guitar.
Click to expand...

Then I would suggest leaving it as it is, warts and all, as a testament to just a live action jam with a buddy.
 
Okay, something to try. Create a parallel track. Set a parametric eq to the narrowest Q you can. Crank that up. Sweep the freq until you hear the click loud as it gets. Run the CV out to the compressor on the original track as it's control. When the click sounds, the compressor clamps and effectively lowers the volume of the click, and only the click, like side chaining to de-ess vocals.
 
If it isn't a serious recording for release, I really wouldn't worry about it. It's a document if a fun time you had with your friend. Why try to turn it into a big production?
 
Farview said:
If it isn't a serious recording for release, I really wouldn't worry about it. It's a document if a fun time you had with your friend. Why try to turn it into a big production?
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It's like having an imperfect photo from a vacation. I could leave it as is, sure. But if there's some trick akin to changing contrast or brightness, why not do what I can to make it a little better? More importantly, I'm a novice and I want to learn new techniques *before* I'm in a situation where I really care about the outcome. These forums are fantastic for learning, after weeding out the inevitable "if you aren't a perfect musician, become perfect and don't record yourself in the meantime" advice.
 
BroKen_H said:
Okay, something to try. Create a parallel track. Set a parametric eq to the narrowest Q you can. Crank that up. Sweep the freq until you hear the click loud as it gets. Run the CV out to the compressor on the original track as it's control. When the click sounds, the compressor clamps and effectively lowers the volume of the click, and only the click, like side chaining to de-ess vocals.
Click to expand...

Whoa, this is the kind of creative solution I was seeking. It's a bit beyond the capabilities of my Audacity software, but you explain it well enough that I understand the process quite well. Very cool. Thanks for the tip!
 
jimmys69 said:
There are also some software that can be useful here. De-Clicker in Wavelab can help. Send me the track and I can see if I can help ya out.
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If the offer still stands, I'd welcome some help. I could also use some advice on EQ. Here's the unaltered recording from the mic that was on the guitar. I know that it just takes lots of practice to get an intuition for which frequencies make a recording sound boxy, nasal, full bodied, big boned, etc., but I'd be happy to get some feedback along the lines of "try cutting/boosting x dB around y Hz".
 
Actually, I just downloaded the track and tried it. The pick click is so strong that I find nothing I could do to help it. Sometimes it is even on the initial attack of the guitar track, so cutting it out is going to make things even more unusable/listenable. I feel you are just stuck with that as the performance, or redo the track. Sorry man, I tried. :(
 
HeatSinks said:
Whoa, this is the kind of creative solution I was seeking. It's a bit beyond the capabilities of my Audacity software, but you explain it well enough that I understand the process quite well. Very cool. Thanks for the tip!
Click to expand...

:) I use it for de-essing vocals. Works well there. Audacity does not seem to have parallel processing or control voltage control, but they do have videos on "ducking". Sorry it won't work for you. You still have a great memory recorded :D
 
jimmys69 said:
Actually, I just downloaded the track and tried it. The pick click is so strong that I find nothing I could do to help it. Sometimes it is even on the initial attack of the guitar track, so cutting it out is going to make things even more unusable/listenable. I feel you are just stuck with that as the performance, or redo the track. Sorry man, I tried. :(
Click to expand...

Dang. Well I sure appreciate the effort.
 
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