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#1
01-26-2001, 01:49 AM
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Compression - Recording an Acoustic Guitar
I'd like to start a discussion on Compression. There are many among us who have spent much time in a recording studio or recording at home with an acoustic guitar. What kind of compression settings work for you? What about sidechain EQ, limiting, De-Esser, etc?
I've recently begun recording some stuff, trying to get familiar with my gear so that I can write and record a song for the upcoming Taylor Forum Compilation CD. I'm admittedly a hack at recording, but a hack with a picky ear. I use a DBX DDP which is a very powerful compressor - probably much more than I need - but I'm always tweaking it trying to get the best sound. When I do get what I feel to be the best sound, it sounds disastrous when I move the CD over to my car or another lower-end setup. So, I have to go back, re-eq, recompress, etc. I'd like some feedback from members of this forum on what works for you! J.R. 
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#2
01-26-2001, 08:30 PM
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Well, if I need compression, I try to go for something with around a 2:1 ratio, a pretty tight attack time, a release time that's not too quick, and a rather high threshold so I'm just grabbing the very hot signals. If there's a "hard knee/soft knee" switch, I go for the "soft knee" which is smoother and less harsh sounding.
If you're in the market for something basic, you might want to look at the ART Tube PAC preamp compressor. I revamped my acoustic rig (more on that later) and added the Tube PAC in the expansion section for another guitar or microphone. Anyway, because it is a compressor based upon an optical circuit, it has a very smooth, subtle effect on the signal. You almost can't tell it's working, which is a good thing. I paid about $219.00 for mine, and ART might be discontinuing them (as they are becomming a bit "dated" compared with some of the newer and more expensive units coming out, and sales has dropped off a bit), so it's possible they might start selling at aq "clearence price," or people might strt buying them up. It's not totally transparent, but has a nice sound. Here's the address at the ART website if you're interested: http://www.artroch.com/131/131desc.htm Also here's the page for it at "ZZOUDS" with the present price: http://www.zzounds.com/searchresults...+PAC&x=15&y=12 Either way, basically going for a "soft touch at just the edges" seems to work for me. Brett
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#3
01-27-2001, 08:03 PM
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JR,
As I am new to amplified acoustics, I could use some help with the basic of the tools of the trade. The discussion on compression will be great, but a glossary/explanation of the other components of effects and processors (limiters, noise gates, .....) would be very helpful!! Any possibilities???
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#4
02-23-2001, 11:12 AM
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Well, lessee. You actually are asking for a book 'cause there are so many different kinds of guitar recording.
 Let's consider a couple: solo fingerstyle and strummed rhythm.Strummed rhythm: Here you want volume consistancy so you can kinda set-it-and-forget-it. You want the chinka-chink to cut through consistantly without being too loud. You can run the signal through a tube compressor with medium-fast attack and medium-fast decay (you don't want much "pumping and sucking") and go for a 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 ratio. Set the threshold down about 5-10db into the signal and see what you get. Adjust to taste. Solo fingerstyle: Sometimes I get a really glistening recording and can't stand to do much more than peak limiting and manual/automated riding of any loud passages. I'll set the compressor to a 10-to-1 or infinity-to-1 ratio and only knock down the top three or four db. I'll be working with a pretty fast attack and decay so the limiter gets in and out quickly. I just find that with modern digital equipment, I prefer to only do what is necessary to get the signal usable on a CD. A mastering engineer can do band-restricted compression and end up with a much more transparent sounding overall compression than I can, even with sidechain EQ so I'll leave it at that. In the olden days, we used to compress everything like nobody's business and you can really hear it as the notes fade off, or don't. Bob
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#5
03-01-2001, 02:31 AM
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Great advice Bob,
Lately, I've gotten to the point where I don't like to limit much more than 6:1 anymore, even on the last 3 or 4 db. I'd rather bring down the trim a touch, and tube based limiting circuits are great if you can get 'em. 2 nice non-tube uits are the Finalizer, and the Waves L-2. You can get them to work at a pretty subtle level. The Finalizer gives you multiband compression (. . .just more toys to buy. . .). Brett 
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#6
03-04-2001, 08:03 PM
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Yea, and with some of the newest plug-ins, I can have virtually the very same tools as the mastering engineer. Hang, there's a neat mastering plug-in which has a routine which can analyse a file and apply the tools for you. Only I, and the routine, don't have his experience.
 Have you seen the old McDonalds Ad where the guy is flipping burgers and his hands (only) are extremely speeded up? He says, "I am a professional. Do not try this at home." There's a reason why we pay these guys the big bucks...  Bob
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#7
03-05-2001, 04:15 AM
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Quote:
 Yup, but if you're a seriuos "gadget man" and merciless "tweeker" like me you can't wait to get YOUR grubby mits on them same toys! Brett
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#8
03-06-2001, 11:20 AM
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I have to admit that I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to using effects on recording. My last recording attempt went very well - I recorded my 614CE direct on one track (using a blended setting) and mic'ed up the guitar using an SM57 to another
I panned these hard left-right and was knocked out by the sound I got. (My recorder is a Tascam 688) The sound I got was (to me at least!) excellent, so why use compression at all? I ask only out sheer curiosity because I don't know! 
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#9
03-06-2001, 03:51 PM
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Quote:
Okay, if you have a playing style that uses a wide dynamic range, you might run the problem of having your very loud sections too loud for your digital recorder causing distortion (which in the digital realm is bad). If everything else is at a good level, you might want to add some limiting to just the very hot signals, in other words "just at the edges," to keep them just under the distortion threshold. The nice thing about the tube compressors is that they are very smooth, and it is possible to set them up to the point where they are almost "invisible" to your ear. Brett
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#10
03-07-2001, 01:45 AM
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Just a thought on compression. If you look back at some of the great recordings of classical music. Typically the Norma Cozart Fine recordings for Mercury Living Presence or the Layton recordings for RCA from the late 50's and early 60's, you see that they are recording large orchestras with simple tube systems onto tape. No compression! Plus they are using simple single mike techniques or three-tree miking only.
The overload onto the tape was not a major problem because of the wide bandwith of the tube equipment. Today, single mike technique is still used with tube amps for some incredible recordings, and I suspect that if you can get the guitar recorded with as little in the way of eq/compression in the way as possible a better sound will result. I will soon be trying this method and will report. Just a thought. [ 03-07-2001: Message edited by: Dave F ]
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