The Guitar Player Thread.

wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
Okay here goes...

My neighbor and I started playing together about 6 months ago. We’re making up original stuff. Learning as we go (ie, learning song writing, recording, etc). We now have 3 “complete” songs and bits and pieces of another 6 or so.

Recorded on free phone based app so if the guitar playing sucks it’s the phones fault. ;)

constructive criticism welcome. But plz be kind we’re noobies. ?

 
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capedoc

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
wonderturtle said:
Okay here goes...

My neighbor and I started playing together about 6 months ago. We’re making up original stuff. Learning as we go (ie, learning song writing, recording, etc). We now have 3 “complete” songs and bits and pieces of another 6 or so.

Recorded on free phone based app so if the guitar playing sucks it’s the phones fault. ;)

constructive criticism welcome. But plz be kind we’re noobies. ?

Click to expand...


Sounds great mark. I’m impressed. You may or may not jump down the rabbit hole of microphones and recording equipment but I think it sounds and is mixed just fine considering what you’re working with. A well written, well played song is better than the equipment it was recorded on..

Some new instrumental shit. Did this one yesterday.
Dusted off my p90-equipped Gibson SG for the heavy lifting. Used a low-end $150 short-scale yamaha for the acoustic parts. I have pretty nice Martin and Taylor acoustic guitars but thought this one worked better in the context of the arrangement. Definitely has a junky sound but I love it. The $150 guitar won over the $3000 guitar lol. I also don't usually play bass with a pick but thought the attack of the pick worked better for this tune.

And here's some flatpick bluegrass shit. (No junky guitars here) 'Beaumont Rag'. An old time fiddle tune that no one knows who wrote. Personalized with my own flare.
 
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wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
capedoc said:
Sounds great mark. I’m impressed. You may or may not jump down the rabbit hole of microphones and recording equipment but I think it sounds and is mixed just fine considering what you’re working with. A well written, well played song is better than the equipment it was recorded on..
Click to expand...



thanks Eric. truth be told it wasnt recorded via phone. was recorded using this thing which is run through a free phone based app. the app has a few basic pre-set effects (i.e., that you can not adjust after your record) and a very basic (and very user friendly) mixing section. so, theres very minimal no post-recording editing available other than the mixing). can record up to 8 tracks. I highly recommend this gizmo. for now, we use it to record. but better musicians like yourself may find it quite handy to record demos, get down some tasty licks you dont wanna forget, etc. very user friendly. for the time being I didnt want to be bogged down with learning complicated recording/ mixing software...will get to that as we (hopefully continue to) improve.


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wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
@capedoc or anyone else who plays acoustic - I looking for something to beef up the sound of my acoustic when it’s amped and/ or recorded. When recorded it sounds too shallow. I want that full acoustic sound

Right now I’m looking at the following:

This one is a preamp. Gets very good reviews and I think it’s what I need:

https://www.russomusic.com/products/l-r-baggs-para-acoustic-guitar-di-box-and-preamp

But this I think does the same thing PLUS apparently has some good subtle effects

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fishman/ToneDEQ-Acoustic-Guitar-Preamp-EQ.gc

On the other hand there’s something like this that’s 1/10 the price

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Behrin...stic-Driver-Direct-Recording-Preamp-DI-Box.gc

Any suggestions/ thoughts?
 
capedoc

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
wonderturtle said:
@capedoc or anyone else who plays acoustic - I looking for something to beef up the sound of my acoustic when it’s amped and/ or recorded. When recorded it sounds too shallow. I want that full acoustic sound

Right now I’m looking at the following:

This one is a preamp. Gets very good reviews and I think it’s what I need:

https://www.russomusic.com/products/l-r-baggs-para-acoustic-guitar-di-box-and-preamp

But this I think does the same thing PLUS apparently has some good subtle effects

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fishman/ToneDEQ-Acoustic-Guitar-Preamp-EQ.gc

On the other hand there’s something like this that’s 1/10 the price

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Behrin...stic-Driver-Direct-Recording-Preamp-DI-Box.gc

Any suggestions/ thoughts?
Click to expand...

I Don’t have Experiance with any of those unfortunately so I can’t comment. I will say that anything made by behringer is a piece of garbage. Their products are not built to last. They use the cheapest parts they can get to build their stuff. The other two options look great to me!

For recording, you’d probably get better results by using a condensor microphone rather than going direct. Going direct doesn’t sound natural to my ears. A well placed condensor mic (or 2) will bring out the true character of the instrument.

Does your DAW have EQ? I recal you said it was fairly limited?

Curious- What kind of guitar do you have? What style of pickup does it use?

@mmuler could probably give you better advice. He’s a pro.
 
clarkenstein

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Condenser all the way. Close up works for a solid rich sound. I’ve done two mics, one close one halfway across the room. The room you are in makes a huge difference and if you can’t change the room try adding a touch of reverb. Don’t go so crazy to make it sound wet, just a touch to fill it out.
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
Thx guys this really helps.

This what I am taking from this:

* Best approach is condenser mic as it picks up the true sound of the instrument (as your ear hears it)

* The reason people online are saying a preamp is needed is when you are plugging directly into the PA. The pickup in the guitar (piezo pickup like I have) doesnt pick up the full resonance/ full sound of the acoustic guitar so when you plug into the PA (or an acoustic amp like I have) some of that resonance is lost and the preamp adds that back in.

Does that sound right?

So it seems for recording the condenser mic is the way to go.

But what about performing live? Eventually we're thinking of open mic nights (before conquering the world). Should I assume that both options (condensor mic or pre-amp if plugging into PA) would be available?
 
capedoc

capedoc

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
wonderturtle said:
Thx guys this really helps.

This what I am taking from this:

* Best approach is condenser mic as it picks up the true sound of the instrument (as your ear hears it)

* The reason people online are saying a preamp is needed is when you are plugging directly into the PA. The pickup in the guitar (piezo pickup like I have) doesnt pick up the full resonance/ full sound of the acoustic guitar so when you plug into the PA (or an acoustic amp like I have) some of that resonance is lost and the preamp adds that back in.

Does that sound right?

So it seems for recording the condenser mic is the way to go.

But what about performing live? Eventually we're thinking of open mic nights (before conquering the world). Should I assume that both options (condensor mic or pre-amp if plugging into PA) would be available?
Click to expand...

You’d most likely going direct for live performance. That’s where you’ll see benefits from the preamp you are looking at.

You can mic you’re guitar if you want but it can be tricky with feedback and transient stage noise. You’d need a good soundman.
My suggestion for the condensor is primarily for recording.

Going direct live would be quickest and easiest especially for an open mic. If the venue does have an option to mic your guitar, it will most likely be a dynamic mic.
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
MMuller said:
Make the guitar sound good with your fingers. Don't get hung up in all the other stuff.
Click to expand...

Agree.

My inquiry was more about how to retain the acoustic sound that gets lost though the pickup then about “adding” stuff to the sound.

Somewhat on topic: I recently sold my electric guitar and amp (which had multiple effects) since I wanted to strip it down and really learn how to play guitar. Was a smart move for my personal development as a guitar player. Not spending time messing with effects etc but just playing/ learning the instrument. Kinda like Daniel painting the fence. I’m sure I’ll eventually get an electric again but it will be when I want to do something musically that just sounds better on the electric. I was using the effects as a crutch to cover my limited/ poor skills.
 
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MMuller

MMuller

Well-Known Member
Come by the house with your acoustic one of these days and we can mess around. If it's cold I'll use one of the space heaters you sold me.

And don't mean to be snarky. Guess I boiled it down to the "It's not the bike, it's the rider" argument. Then again, how nice is it pushing a $10k race rig thru the woods, right?

So many variables, especially nowadays with apps that sound better than what they used to fly to the moon in the 60s!

Mess around with what you have and use your ears. I know I have way more technology than I know how to use, even in my old protools set up from 2005!

Enjoy. Most important.
 
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Soundguy

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
When you get your condenser mics, be sure to watch some YouTube videos or read up on mic placement. Moving a mic 1” or getting the angle just right is so crucial. I could go on for days about how to properly mix an acoustic, but you’ll learn more from experimentation. And I’m lazy.

Anywho, I was digging what you already posted. The chase for perfect tone will drive you mad...
 
wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
Soundguy said:
When you get your condenser mics, be sure to watch some YouTube videos or read up on mic placement. Moving a mic 1” or getting the angle just right is so crucial. I could go on for days about how to properly mix an acoustic, but you’ll learn more from experimentation. And I’m lazy.

Anywho, I was digging what you already posted. The chase for perfect tone will drive you mad...
Click to expand...

thx soundguy. feel free to check in once in a while as our goal is to keep adding new songs and improved versions of the songs already posted. we're in the process of adding somebody (i.e., another neighborhood dad LOL) that will bring some percussion/ drums (i.e., hopefully a bit more interesting than the very basic percussion we've incorporated so far)
 
MMuller

MMuller

Well-Known Member
wonderturtle said:
thx soundguy. feel free to check in once in a while as our goal is to keep adding new songs and improved versions of the songs already posted. we're in the process of adding somebody (i.e., another neighborhood dad LOL) that will bring some percussion/ drums (i.e., hopefully a bit more interesting than the very basic percussion we've incorporated so far)
Click to expand...
Oh boy, wait till you get into recording drums and perc! Pandora's box.
 
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