effect of guitars on the wall when recording I’m moving into my new house in a week

[ssjk]

I’m moving into my new house in a week and have a 15 x 18 room dedicated to my office and studio. While I don’t do much recording, and when I do it’s simple solo guitar and vocals with some added tracks, I’d look to avoid decisions that make it harder than it needs to be.

So here’s the question:

I normally have a half dozen guitars and a couple of mandolins that hang on the wall in my office. I’m planning to do that in my new place as well. But I’m a bit concerned about the echo/resonance of the wall-guitars as I record. I like it fine when I’m just playing but I know recording is not too forgiving.

Which path do you recommend?

1 hang’em on the wall and ignore or enjoy the resonance they bring
2 hang’em on the wall but at least put some leather or dampers in the strings so they don’t ring when you record
3 nothing you can do to muffle the sympathetic vibrations, so while you are recording you’ll need to remove the instruments

BTW -this is all for my own amusement. I’ve insulated the ceiling and will add some bass traps and a few rockwool panels but it will remain a decidedly amateur effort. I’m concerned more about the effect on the recording than any effect on the mixing phase.

Comments welcome. Even on the wall vs case case issue, although I’ve considered the pros and cons and I’m sure most of them will be on the wall unless I can’t control the humidity in the room.

[Rudy4]

Most of the time when recording you're monitoring with headphones, so sympathetic resonance shouldn't normally be a problem.

If you're playing in the same room then you do have the small possibility of having some of the instruments resonate, but that level of resonance would be low and shouldn't couple acoustically to the mic at that level.

If you do actually have any problem with induced resonance it's easy enough to simply add a soft foam pad between the top and strings. It doesn't take much damping to prevent sympathetic resonance.

[Tico]

It depends on a few things.

(I'm going to call your wall guitars, WG)

First, do you care if that sympathetic resonating is captured in your recordings?
Some would like it; it would drive others crazy.

Second, are the WGs too quiet to be captured using your mic, electronics, guitar, room etc.?
That depends on the dynamic range of your mic, pre and other electronics you'll be using.
You could buy expensive mics with wide dynamic range and a super low noise floor, but an audio chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
If your pre (and anything else in the recording chain) has a higher noise floor the faint sound of your resonating WGs might not be loud enough to be heard.

It also depends how close the WGs are to the mic, and the mic's pickup pattern and the direction the mic is pointing.
If the mic's PU pattern is figure 8 mic then you can "point" the mic's side and the WGs to minimize pickup.
Even with an omni you could reduce the sound from the WGs by positioning your body and mic so you are between the mic and the WGs - the omni will get no direct WG sound, only reflected.

Next, how loud is your instrument?
The louder it is, the more it will excite the wall guitar strings.
Since sound falls off with distance, perhaps consider sitting on the opposite side of the room with the mic pointing so the WGs the WGs are in a null of your mic's PU pattern.

How staccato is your music?
A loud strum that you immediate mute with your palm will turn excite the WGs's strings, and the the immediate muting may make the WGs more noticeable, whereas if you don't mute the played guitar, it's natural sustain and decay may mask the WGs.

It's complicated, and so much depends on your situation
I'd just run some test of all this and do what sounds good to you.

[Rick Jones]

My Avalon will ‘sing’ in its stand in my den, especially if anyone makes a G or D pitched sound and it’s in drop d or DADGAD tunings.

The way our hallway and staircase works we were hearing it in the main room for a while and it started to bug me, so now I slip a fluffy elasticated hairband over the strings when I put it back in the stand. They’re pennies to buy and it takes seconds to slip it off or back behind the nut when I go to play.

[Bob Womack]

Get yourself a hammered dulcimer hammer and randomly whack on their strings as you play along. Call it "art."

Bob

[ssjk]

About what I figured, except maybe for the hammered dulcimer thought. I’ll do my normal thing and see how it goes.

Thanks for the thoughts

[Al Acuff]

The legendary McCabe's concerts were held in a room that displayed acoustic guitars for sale on the walls. When I worked there around 1981 it was my job to put a card between the strings of each guitar prior to each concert. You weave the card over and under and you place it so that it blocks the sound hole. Give it a try

[Tico]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

The legendary McCabe's concerts were held in a room that displayed acoustic guitars for sale on the walls. When I worked there around 1981 it was my job to put a card between the strings of each guitar prior to each concert. You weave the card over and under and you place it so that it blocks the sound hole. Give it a try

Clever, cheap, quick, and simple.
Love it.