Why do accoustic guitars always sound like ass when they're compressed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter chessrock
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Depends how and why you are compressing them.

In general we are used to hearing those instruments naturally without any type of formal compression. That would be my guess. However, to get these instruments in the mix you sometimes have to compress them.
 
On acoustic - Nylon string especially - Use high-tension strings. You probably won't need compression on them.

Sometimes compressing at tiny ratios sounds a bit more natural, but you need a nice quiet space for it. Try -40 @ 1.1 to 1. You'll always be in it, so you've got to play with the A&R until it doesn't pump. But when you get it, it's spiffy.
 
chessrock said:
Same question with piano.
Why is that?
Click to expand...

The more you tune in on compression artifacts, the worse it all gets?
:eek:
 
It seems like it's very easy to over-compress acoustic guitar. My friends recorded their demo at a very nice studio, lots of great gear (obviously knowing how to use it is more important), recorded to tape, which probably means that they didn't need to use as much compression anyway. But on one of the tracks the acoustic was just so clearly over-compressed. It was pumping like crazy. I couldn't believe the engineer didn't catch it. I've had pretty good results with the Waves C1 plugin at -20 and very low ratios.
 
I guess a better question would be: "Why do I still do it when I know I don't like it?"


Seriously, is my brain just programmed or something? Are my mixes going to suddenly fall apart and go all to hell if I stop doing it? :D Will my very world end, as I know it, if I (gasp!) . . . don't compress something?

Even when I do a fairly conservative / tasteful / admirable job of it . . . I still know it's there, and there's just something about it that makes me wish I could be listening to it uncompressed.

Am I a freakin' wack job?
 
first, do we even NEED to answer whether you're a wackjob? :D


second, i try not to compress acoustic guitar for that very reason.....i too think it generally sounds like ass. what compression i tend to do, i tend to do on the way in--however, more as peak limiting (controlling overs) rather than compression.

i find that acoustic music really doesn't benefit that greatly from compression--it's just fundamentally more dynamic to start with, and by squashin it, you really suck the life and tone out of the track. let things live....if you need to squash that acoustic track to make it sit in the mix, i'd wager you really need to reassess whether it needs to be there or reassess its role in the overall picture.

maybe this has something to do with the natural compression inherent in an acoustic's tone--it's already somewhat nicely (naturally) compressed.....applying more, artificial compression just knocks the tone out of it.


cheers,
wade
 
A notice from the COMPRIMATOR...

I bet most acoustic pop song guitars are HEAVILY compressed - so don't you like their sound??

I cannot find any inherent compression in acoustic guitars - it 99% pick and the rest is the sound... May be different with fingerpicking... (Or do I record the beasts too close???)

Nevertheless: be strong and stay on your way -- every single track HAS TO BE COMPRESSED!!! :D

But remember I do punk rock - and acoustics if uncompressed tend to have problems in combination with distorted guitars...

aXel

P.S.: I even ended up on some tracks compressing them totally flat and then adding attack by recompressing them :D :D
 
Well, for punk I can see deliberately using some compression as an effect. It can be fun in certain applications.
 
Acoustic guitars fall off from the attack so fast, it's almost like a drum--albeit a drum that is hit every eighth note. Thus the difficulty in compressing.

To make an acoustic fit in a mix, I usually roll off the bass using the switch on the mic.
 
Ok, what if you are recording only acoustic guitar(s) and a vocal? Compress the vocal and not the guitars?
 
I think because the dynamic characteristics (attack, internal dynamics, and decay) of an acoustic guitar is very different from many instruments, it is much more difficult to get a natural sounding compression. I, like others have said, use more of a peak limiter to tame some transients and adjust minor inconsistancies. I think great results can usually be had, it just takes a little while longer to dial in the right settings. This is an instrument that is more critical to balance just enough comp to get the job done and not too much to make sound unnatural.
 
junplugged said:
Ok, what if you are recording only acoustic guitar(s) and a vocal? Compress the vocal and not the guitars?
Click to expand...


We're really getting in to personal preferences here more than anything. :D

My personal feeling is that it's critical to compress vocals generously. They're about the most dynamic instrument I can think of in terms of sheer range. I mean they can easily go from a whisper to a yell on a dime.

They might also be about the easiest to compress, for the most part. And the coloration it can add is almost always a desirable thing. Even when it's bad, it can be sort of interesting in a way.

I guess an accoustic guitar doesn't have quite as much dynamic range most of the time, aside from the occasional (or even frequent) peaks, so it would just make more sense to use compression simply as a means to make it less peaky. Anything else, to me, just makes it sound kind of awkward. Almost like something went wrong with the recording.
 
I found that in a mix, I can use slight compression to make the acoustic sit where it's suppose to be, and of course, it brightens the sound a bit at the same time. I probably wouldn't use any compression if the acoustic was really high in the mix. Of course, everything is compressed if you use mastering compression...

I try NOT to use compression at all, actually. Better to have the player try to be more consistent than to try and correct the dynamics with compression. I think I have a pretty sweet sounding flat top (Ibanez Concord from the '70's) so I like to get the sound as close to what I hear in the room as possible.
 
That's the other thing, won't everything be compressed in mastering? I haven't had anything mastered yet.

I just recorded all 16 presets in my V3 mic pre to compare w/ one of my ac. guitars w/ the same mic and placement. I was up a little late and was falling asleep listening to it. Today it sounds useful. Of course I have to do it now for my other guitars...

But the point to that is also that the V3 has OPL and I can't control it but it is supposed to be a limiter of some sort. I did notice that it limits. Should I post this as an mp3 on nwr for comments?

I guess I'll also have to be trying other mic placements too. Or maybe stop when I like something in stead of being obsessive about it - no, I think i'll just be obsessive about it anyway....
 
Go ahead and be obsessive. It's the obsessive guys that usually get the best sounds.
 
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