Squeeeeeeeaaakk!!!

[Chicago Sandy]

Sorry about that.

But my engineer & I have a difference of opinion over finger-squeak. Lately, I’ve been very careful to lift my fingers as completely as I can between chord changes. But there are some songs where moving-chord-form glissandos are an integral part of my arrangements, and even where I can change between chords quickly enough without glissing, the effect is just not legato enough (and I miss hearing the echo of the previous chords). I’ve tried using Polywebs (ugh), smoothing the flakes off my calluses, Fast-Fret, Finger-Ease, Guitar-Hands cream, with little-to-no results. Now, I don’t mind some string squeak (and I hear quite a bit of it from some very highly-regarded players), just as my engineer and I agree that deleting all breaths (not just the gasps) sounds a bit too robotic. But he utterly detests string squeak and is not okay with it even if I am. He’s tried de-essing tools and EQ, but they tend to dull the tone too much. I’m wondering if blending in a plugged-in track with the basic mic’ed track might ameliorate some of it, but he also hates recording off a pickup.

Any suggestions? I really like this engineer, he really “gets” what I do, but I don’t want to have to change some guitar parts that really “make the song."

[RodB]

I have the same opinion as you FWIW, but in my case I only record for my own pleasure and don't have to work with anyone else. I know some good guitarists say it is a matter of technique, but for some of us these 'guilty' movements are an integral part of our style, our sound - they "make the song" as you say.

My suggestion: Not a technical suggestion....whilst your engineer "gets what you do" this doesn't seem to extend to your squeaks. I would have a frank discussion with him, explaining that you don't intend to compromise further than what you already have done. You might remind him that he is not your customer...

[Bob Womack]

As a recording engineer I can tell you that there is a time when a recording engineer's personal preferences need to be stuffed into his back pocket and forgotten. Period. Have your engineer listen to the Doobie Brother's 1972 Toulouse Street album. It is a great album, full of squeaks. Same with Eric Johnson's acoustic work on his award-winning Ah! Via Musicom album. Sometimes it just has to happen.

As a guitarist, I can sympathize with you. At one point in my playing career I was playing at a church where a a very nice but outspoken lady simply couldn't handle string squeak. She would wince every time a squeak happened and came up and asked me about it. It was right at the point when Elixer Polywebs came out so I tried them, for her. I made a friend for life. I haven't been a member of that church for ten years but this lady looked me up on Facebook and every year posts a nice remark about me being the kind fellow who went to great lengths to end her misery.

Bob

[mc1]

two things come to mind:

- lift your fingers off of the wound strings, but not the unwound strings, which will reduce the squeak but retain the glissando.

- try d'addario flat top guitar strings. they are ground smooth.
http://www.daddario.com/DADProductFa...1-bca3ac518b85

[rick-slo]

For more specific advice post an example of one of your recordings that has the type of squeaks in question.

One general thing, if you play fairly quietly then play a little louder - squeak volume stays the same, note volume increases.

Also for the recording engineer, move those mikes, and point those mikes, more towards the body of the guitar than the
fretboard.

[KevWind]

First Bob is correct Yes it is nice to have a Team feel, BUT ultimately ( unless it is a finically collaborative project) you are the employer and he is the employee.

That said, couple of things come to mind perhaps he has already tried this but he could automate the de ess or the eq to be in bypass for all except for the squeak, or the squeak only can be automated to be volume ridden down.
Also I recently watched a vid about a plugin by Izotope their Audio repair plugin RX 3 now actually version 4
with an example of this exact purpose

[MikeBmusic]

You mention Polywebs, but have you ever tried any other coated strings if you like them better?

[runamuck]

I have the same problem.
Out of everything I've tried that works the best is to move the mics
further back from the guitar and make sure that neither of them are
pointed anywhere in the direction of the fretboard.

[Rudy4]

Simple solution, Flatwounds.

(No flames; just kidding...)

Seriously, it's just something that guitar players more of less have to put up with. The suggestions for coated strings are probably your best line of defense with the lowest impact on your tone.

Unless they become unbearable I consider it part of the acoustic signature of the instrument and player. It's perhaps analogous to saying you love automobile racing but don't care for the sound of the engines.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

You mention Polywebs, but have you ever tried any other coated strings if you like them better?

I agree - I disliked polywebs but love nanowebs

Also I've been meaning to try flat strings - I heard good things about them.

[Chicago Sandy]

I’ve yet to try flatwounds. My usual go-to string (on my Gramann OM, with which I usually record and on my Voyage-Airs, with which I don’t) is Elixir Nanowebs; but on my Martin M-36 I really like the feel, sound and durability of Martin Lifespans. (Apparently, when I tried Cleartone-branded strings and found them too stiff, it was because my guitar needed a neck reset--now that it’s been reset, they feel great). Sadly, I find no difference in squeak between any of the foregoing coateds (D’Addario XLs either) and plain D’Addarios, GHS and John Pearse strings. The Polywebs reduce squeak very little, but feel awful, shred easily and sound dull, IMHO.

I’ve been trying precisely the technique mc1 suggests--sliding only the unwound strings--but either the chords sound thin and empty if I don’t fret the wound ones (even just the G string when sliding a D shape), my pinky stops short of where it needs to be for suspensions on the E string if I can’t use my index as an “anchor pivot” on the G string, or my rhythm gets completely thrown off if I have to slide the unwounds and then place my fingers on the wound ones a nanosecond later, which I find jarring even if I can pull it off. The fingerings my engineer suggested and demonstrated are not only alien to me but don’t produce the sound I was looking for when I wrote the song: a "Latin-meets-Joni-Mitchell-meets-Steely-Dan" feel that makes the song so striking to me and to those who’ve complimented me on it after hearing me play it in concert. And there’s another song which depends on a movable E chord shape--so that particular technique change is impossible.

What keeps me from adequately “standing my ground” with this particular engineer is that he is also an experienced and highly regarded bluegrass flatpicker (which is how he has access to prominent sidemen like Robert Bowlin), He is probably the “cleanest” player I’ve heard other than some of the champion pickers on the AGF (such as Allen Shadd). He and his wife--a very successful old-time/bluegrass duo who have toured in Europe and officially showcased at most Folk Alliance regionals--have over the past years become dear friends and co-billed a couple of concerts with my singing partner and me; they also host a well-attended house concert series we’ve been trying to play and I fear that if I insist on doing things “my way” I might well kiss that chance goodbye. As good a performer and writer as I am, I am nowhere near his league as a guitarist.

Perhaps if I can’t alter my technique in such a way that doesn’t compromise the song (or flatwounds don’t sound good), I might ask him if we can “experiment” with mic placement--after all, the “clock” is running on my dime.

I’d post clips, but due to the squeak issue we haven’t gotten as far as tracking either of the two songs. You can hear an example of the squeak (albeit somewhat ameliorated via editing) on the song “Morning” on the current Andina & Rich release Two Guitars, a Dulcimer, and an Attitude (it’s the intro). I haven’t posted it to Soundcloud because it’s a cover, I have only a solo Soundcloud account (barely a couple of weeks old), and to be on the safe side I post only originals. The song(s) I’m trying to record are on my upcoming solo album, not our next duo CD--so my singing partner doesn’t get a vote in this. (He has no objection to finger squeak--which he sometimes commits, but he also understands why squeak bothers such a clean picker as our engineer).

[rick-slo]

Squeaks are just part playing the acoustic steel string guitar, unavoidable here and there, especially if you are sliding around on the wound strings. Here is a great performance by Allen Shadd, yet squeaks abound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1d_oHU8Z8Y

[Doug Young]

Rx is amazing. It wont remove every squeak, but can handle most. I have a demo Ive posted before where my cat meowed during the tail of a recording. Rx removed it easily. As simple as the "healing brush" in photoshop. Oh, here, i found the post:

http://www.taylorguitarforum.com/for...4&postcount=42

[Chicago Sandy]

Wow, Doug! Impressive. How expensive is the Rx plug-in? Is it for ProTools?

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Wow, Doug! Impressive. How expensive is the Rx plug-in? Is it for ProTools?

You can read all about it here:

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/audio-repair/rx/

$349 for the base product. I don't know if it works with protools, but it can be a standalone app, which is how I typically use it - as an external editor launched from Logic. It's not cheap, but for home recording, where you never know if the dog's going to bark, a car's going to go by, etc, it's a pretty decent investment. And it fixes squeaks, too!

It's also very good at removing constant noise sources, like computer fans and so on.