 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
|
EQ That Guitar!
By Amanda Garrigues |
|
| |
|
She
walked to the stage in her black boots; acoustic guitar and songbook
in hand. She stepped up to the mic. The swell of the noisy crowd
deflated to a whisper; she was nervous but hopeful. The audience
were the priests and the songs her confessions. She plugged in and
began to play. Her guitar vacillated between
boom-y and brittle. It wasn't pleasant and she was praying for a
miracle. In the end, the audience wrinkled their noses and turned
back to their conversations ... she lost them.
The girl was ready to play, but her guitar wasn't. Why? She didn't
know the importance of EQ and the acoustic guitar.
I am similar to the girl in that fictional story. I used to just
walk on stage, plug in my guitar and hope for the best. I didn't
understand that knowing a few basics of EQ'ing an acoustic guitar
can dramatically change the way it sounds and make for a great performance
or recording.
I am going to start with the basics.
What is EQ, exactly?
The term comes from the telephone company. When telephones first
came into existence, they tried to make the signal "equal" or "even"
through the entire telephone line, so that people on all points
of the line had the same clear signal. When we talk about instruments
however, EQ doesn't make the sound "equal" or parallel, as we know
it. In its simplest definition, EQ'ing any instrument basically
means you are adjusting or manipulating the tonal characteristics
to get the result you want.
There are two ways to amplify an acoustic guitar. The first is with
a microphone, used mainly for the studio setting. The second is
with a pick-up, used mainly in the live show.
In the studio: EQ'ing with a microphone:
Be aware of the proximity effect.
The closer you put a microphone to the sound hole in a guitar,
the "boomier" and more unnatural it sounds. It's similar to what
it sounds like when a person is holding a microphone too close too
their mouth: all the low frequencies are emphasized and it's hard
to understand what s/he is saying. The usual way to combat the "boomier"
sound is to increase the level of the high frequency.
By the same token, if you move a microphone away from the guitar
too much, you get a less clear signal. If you use a microphone to
amplify a guitar in a live setting (although not recommended), you
increase the probability of hearing the other noises on stage. i.e.,
drums, bass, etc.
Use your own ears to find that "sweet spot".
Trust your intuition! Michael Laskow says "get down on your knees
and position your ear as if it were the microphone while someone
else is playing the guitar. Move your ear around to find that 'sweet
spot'". (Audio Recording Center, online, Recording the Acoustic
Guitar).
Live performance: EQ'ing with a pick-up:
When the guitar sounds brittle or tinny.
One of the pluses to using a pick-up is that it doesn't call attention
to stage noise and has a very crisp, clean signal. However, most
pick-ups are usually built into the bridge of the guitar, which
means it "picks-up" the vibrations the strings are making against
the wood. "So, what's wrong with that, you say?". Well, nothing,
exactly, except that it's just not a true representation of the
acoustic guitar. Alternatively, a microphone picks up the natural-wood
sound that an acoustic guitar offers.
**Tip: If your guitar sounds brittle or "tinny" bring up the low
frequencies and de-emphasize the midrange frequencies.
Discover your own sound.
Discover what guitar sound you like. I like my guitar to have a
good bit of low frequencies (I pretend I am a bass player sometimes!)
So, I usually crank up the lows and turn down the highs, always
adjusting for the muffled sound low frequencies can create. Trust
your instinct to find the sound that suits you or your band the
best!
I will leave you with a general rule to follow when EQ'ing the acoustic
guitar: focus on what needs to be removed vs. what needs to be
added. I heard someone say the following about a song once:
"It succeeds more because of what it avoids than what it does".
Remember the best music comes from the spaces between the notes.
For this article I asked my good friend and engineer of all my
records, Harry Monkhorst to help. Harry works at Mirror Image Recording
Studios in Gainesville, FL, and is a member of the band, Squeaky.
The band Squeaky is located in Gainesville, FL. You can find
them at http://www.geocities.com/squeakyrock
Mirror Image Recording Studios is also located in Gainesville, FL.
You can find them at http://www.mirrorimagestudios.com
|
|
_________________________________
Amanda Garrigues is a singer and songwriter based in Gainesville,
Florida. She runs her own label, Average Sinner Records. For more
info check out Amanda's official Web site:
http://www.amandagarrigues.com
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
_________________________________
Amanda Garrigues recently released a 9-song cd titled "Groundswell".
It can be purchased at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/view/garrigues2
or directly through her Web site. |
|
|
