Mixing Tips/Tricks for Direct Acoustic Guitar

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I have a mix project coming up. The client sent me rough mixes and it sounds like all the acoustic guitars were recorded direct. Replacing them likely isn't an option so I ask - Does anyone have any tips or tricks for making direct acoustic guitar sound less plastic-y and gross?

[Injured Ear]

My dirty trick is to use a convolution verb of a small space (or ideally a model of an acoustic guitar body) that I blend in to get some body resonance.

[kslight]

Depends on the context? Solo acoustic up front or rhythm with a full band, etc??

If struck with the task, I'd pull out some of the peaky uglies, then probably multiband compression (again deemphasizing the upper mids and bringing some low mid body in) or maybe play around with some degree of "clean-ish" amp/cabinet modeling or other type of filtering.

That's a bit of what I did on a mix where my singer played some direct acoustic to go along with my half-miked Supro acoustic and half-direct Variax acoustic parts in a mix. Within the context of the (somewhat dense, though not in a rock way, mix of piano, bass, small string section, acoustic guitars, sparse percussion, and vocals) mix, I think it works.

[joninc]

for me it might depend on whether is piezo (the worst) or magnetic/soundhole type (a little better generally) ...

if the artist is open maybe trying amping them with a small tube amp (thinking like a champ or blues jr or something) to make them a little more interesting and textural?

or alternatively convert to midi files and replay with "clapton unplugged ? NI virtual acoustic gtr" (jokes)

irrelevant side note: don't you wish artists would call you BEFORE they start tracking and ask for a few tips so that they can get a great end result? i just got some files to mix a solo instrumental piano album and it's just 2 mics jammed inside a grand - no room - no distance or ambience - no "reality".

[A.David.MacKinnon]

for me it might depend on whether is piezo (the worst) or magnetic/soundhole type (a little better generally) ...


irrelevant side note: don't you wish artists would call you BEFORE they start tracking and ask for a few tips so that they can get a great end result?

It's a piezo. The worst.
God, I wish people would ask before tracking. It amazes me how often I get tracks to mix with direct acoustic.

[joninc]

Using a mb comp and honing in on 3-5k might help too and setting the threshold so that as they dig in you get less of that bitey plasticness but if they are gentle then it's not doing much.

I might try a tape sim too to take off some of the top end

[MoreSpaceEcho]

reamp it? maybe through a guitar amp or maybe through something more full range like a PA speaker?

tons of distortion and make into something totally different?

sneak some of the distorted one under the reamped one?

[Magnetic Services]

Reamp through a small speaker pressed against the back of an acoustic guitar, then mic the front?

Sort of like reamping a snare track on top of a snare to mic the bottom.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Reamp through a small speaker pressed against the back of an acoustic guitar, then mic the front?

Sort of like reamping a snare track on top of a snare to mic the bottom.

This and the convo reverb using an impulse response from a guitar body may just save the day. I've done the speaker trick with snares and also with an upright piano to save shitty sounding digital piano tracks. Never thought of trying it on a guitar.

I'm hesitant to get into making a new sound altogether with re-amping and distortion. I may go that route in the end but I feel like he must like something about the direct guitar sound if thats what he went with.

[vvv]

EQ the vocal to sound like Donald Duck so it's consistent with the piezo quack?



(I will, say the piezo on my acoustic bass is not at all bad, so I suspect EQ, by itself, could make a big difference; I only ever mic acoustic guitars, tho'.)

[MoreSpaceEcho]

Reamp through a small speaker pressed against the back of an acoustic guitar, then mic the front?

genius!

[kayagum]

If there is a way to reamp it or run it through a Fishman Aura pedal, you will like it. They're modeled assuming a brittle sounding piezo as an input. I was impressed and I'm an acoustic guitar tone snob. Recording the pedal output back through a PA or avoustic guitar amp works even better.

[JWL]

If there is a way to reamp it or run it through a Fishman Aura pedal, you will like it. They're modeled assuming a brittle sounding piezo as an input. I was impressed and I'm an acoustic guitar tone snob.

I've also done this, although through an old Yamaha AG Stomp, rather than the Fishman Aura. If I was buying one today I'd likely get the Aura.

[drumsound]

I did a live record years ago, so direct acoustic with the only option. The singer always had his monitor ear bleedingly loud. When I mixed any of the songs with acoustic I reamped through a very clean and lovely sounding tube amp, with some revery and backed off an LDC quite a bit.

The bands FOH guy and I has talked about the acoustic, it was his and he thought it sounded great. He cam in onw day with the band to hear mixes. He said "I told you that acoustic pickup sounded good." It was then that I told him how I made it work.

[I'm Painting Again]

the dirtiest trick of all - have someone else play it exactly the same