Tips On Processing Acoustic Guitar

Introduction

So it is probably you have got encountered an acoustic slim body guitar at the least once as a mixer and it is very doubtless that you'll come throughout some again. Read this text and pick up some suggestions and produce your acoustic guitar to the following degree in your mixes. I will show you how you can obtain an excellent sound with the use of EQ, compression and saturation.

Let The Bass Shine Though

The acoustic guitar is a really natural sounding instrument so don't be too harsh on the subject of rolling off the low end. I often roll of beneath 50 Hz just to remove and excessive lows and rumbleness that may be causing problems. But the low finish on an acoustic is very stunning, let it shine through. In many songs I've labored on, the intro or different a part of the tune could have just an acoustic on it is personal, so it is not colliding with some other instruments. In this case I may very well boost the bass! Do not be afraid of letting the bass of a guitar shine through just because you're so used to cutting all the low finish out.

The 'Ugly' Low Mids

The 250 Hz - 500 Hz area is normally referred to as muddy and ugly. I've agreed to this, however I've also talked about that it could actually sound amazing on some instruments. The acoustic guitar can sound amazing around this area. Don't leap to conclusion and carve away this area right away, pay attention and see how the guitar sounds around that area. It's a very nice resonating sound.

Compression Methods

Acoustic guitar tends to be very transient heavy, and also very dynamic with both low and high parts. With a compressor, I often do a 4:1 ratio, then set the assault time to about 160 ms. This lets the transient shine via uncompressed before the rest of the sound gets compressed and louder, making the overall sound more even. I then tweak the release till it sounds good with that particular mix, nevertheless it's normally about 400 ms.

Saturation

The acoustic guitar is already a really harmonic instrument. Adding some saturation can really make it bulkier and fuller. For me, I use a distortion or saturation plug in, then dial it in until I hear great distortion however at the same time a lot of warmth. Then I dial back slowly till the signal isn't fully destroyed however it still has that warmth. This may really beef up the low finish and make the highs shine with none main EQ work which will make it sound over processed.

Conclusion

So I hope this text has outfitted you with the knowledge you want to make pro sounding acoustic guitars in your mix. Use these strategies as a tenet and discover the right sound for your mix.