Guitar is one of those instruments that is used in all genres of music. It is one of the most complete instrument meaning - it is rhythmic, melodic as well as harmonic. It has found its way onto countless records and continues to be a weapon of choice for all songwriters.
Here are some tips for achieving a better sounding Acoustic Guitar Tone -
1. GET IT RIGHT AT THE SOURCE
This may seem like an obvious point to some, but you’d be surprised at how little this is done. If the acoustic guitar sounds bad when recorded, no amount of mixing can change that.
- Listen to the unamplified guitar tone, from a foot away and note how the low, mid and high frequencies sound.
- Listen for string health, new strings sound brighter and quickly go out of tune until broken in. Old strings go out of tune and sound dull.
- Listen and be aware of how the guitar sounds during the tracking sessions. If something seems off, move or change a microphone. Play around until you actually get a sound that is worth capturing.
- When you record something that sounds great at the source it’s ten times easier to make it sound amazing down the road.
2. CONSIDER THE GUITAR ROLE
Before even beginning to mix the acoustic guitar, decide what purpose is it serving in the song. Is it going to be the focal point of or just a small piece and does it add a rhythmic or harmonic aspect to the song. Asking yourself these questions when recording or mixing any instrument can give you a more calculated approach to your work.
3. LISTEN IN CONTEXT
A common mistake usually is to Solo an instrument when you’re making changes to its sound. This approach can hinder your mixing. Making changes in solo can make the guitar sound good on its own, however, once you remove the solo you may find the shortcomings. All the other elements in the mix affects the sound of the acoustic guitar. Listening to it in context of everything else is the only way to make adjustments that enhance the overall mix.
4. EQ
This tool can be misused from time to time if not paid attention to the sound. Often times because of trying to add frequency content to the guitar before fixing any issues.
The biggest fix is using a high pass filter (HPF) to roll off a healthy amount of low end. Setting it around 120Hz-150Hz seems as a good starting point. Other subtractive EQ includes the 300Hz-600Hz range, which is the mud range. Remove if the guitar sounds muddy and boxy or this range can be added if the guitar sound thin. If your acoustic guitar is still sounding a little dull, a broad boost in the area between 2 – 5 kHz can add some more brightness and attack.
5. COMPRESSION
After you sculpt out and add necessary frequencies, adding a compressor helps in getting the dynamics of the guitars in control. Now depending on what purpose does the guitar holds in the arrangement you will need to manage the Dynamics of the guitar sound accordingly.
Setting a medium attack time (20ms-40ms) with a medium release would bring out the rhythmic picking. And if you want to pull back on the picking and bring out the body of the guitar setting the attack time fast and release to 20ms -40ms helps. 4db-6db of a gain reduction seems as a good starting point.
6. EFFECTS
An acoustic guitar always stands out with a reverb. Especially in the gentle and soft parts. Reverb is a great tool in achieving a wider spread of guitars and to push the guitar further back in the mix. The type of reverb depend on the type of genre and generally a medium decay time of 1-2s is a good starting point. A stereo delay timed to the tempo of the song would add some energy to the mix. Try to keep the delay in moderation to avoid cluttering up the mix.
For both the delay and reverb it’s a wise to have a low pass and high pass filter, this gives a warm sounding effect which isn’t overly busy.
The biggest take away from this article should be to determine the role of the acoustic guitar in your mix. Also this would serve as a starting point to your guitar mixing. Follow these tips and you’re sure to bring the sound of your acoustic guitar to the next level in no time. Good Luck!