What kind of fx do you guys use?

[Danny Klass]

Just a bit of reverb.

[GibbyPrague]

A little bit of reverb, a little bit of compression.

For a 12 string type sound I cheat a bit with chorus and also use a volume booster when playing lead.

[gigmaster]

Other than a little EQ, and maybe just a bit of compression and a little reverb, hardly any. Neither my voice, or my Balladeer require any.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Grumbum

I've been listening to a bit of Michael Hedges again and there is something about his sound...I'm not sure if it is all just his acoustic, it sounds very airy.

So I messed around with some fx, but couldn't really get a nice sound besides a little reverb. I'm wondering what you guys like to use for your tone.

Hedges used many different setups for the recordings. Sometimes he used just the two FRAPs and Sunrise pickup (akin to his live transducer setup). Other times, like the original released recording of the song Aerial Boundaries, he used those same pickups but also used a pair of Neumann KM154 mics (maybe a pair of KM 84 mics - my memory is failing me) and recorded in in a rustic cabin rented or owned by Windham Hill in New Hampshire. Sometimes he was heavy on the magnetic pickup (e.g., the tune Baal T’shuvah from the Oracle album) or just mics (e.g., Layover from the album Breakfast in the Field).

As to effects, sometimes it was the room he was recording in. Other times he added reverb and/or chorus and/or delay.

And, of course, there are Michael's techniques and the nature of his compositions.

[MikeBmusic]

If you like the sound of your guitar and the room you record in has good sound (and hopefully some acoustic treatment), then you shouldn't need much EQ, except to let it blend into the other parts of a recording. Track it well, you dont' need to do much else.

I've used very minimal chorus on one song I recorded in the last year. Compression very occasionally if I find I've got a hard attack strumming going on.
Reverb (very minimal) goes on most tracks when I record, using a buss.

Anything else would be an effect for the effect's sake, not to make the guitar sound better.

[Andy Howell]

I would start with a tiny amount of delay and then add some reverb if I feel,it is needed.

[delaorden9]

Originally Posted by zabdart

If you think you need effects on your acoustic guitar, you're doing it WRONG!

What can be wrong when it comes to develop several sorts of sounds ? Hopefully you're kidding, music has no rules.

[alohachris]

Aloha Grumbum,

Scroll down here to Michael's stage rig from his website:

http://www.nomadland.com/Point_A.htm

It might help get the basic Hedges lay of the land in terms of his FX approaches & signal chains, the many.

I had a chance to hang w/ Michael for a few days at the end of a global tour in Germany in '88. Saw him set up & breakdown his live rig half a dozen times & asked questions as I drove him around to half a dozen gigs.

Michael's FX sound changed with every gig/venue. Yes, there often was a lot of air in his basic setup - but not always. He varied the sound & amount of FX alot. Effects were tools to Michael, another toolbox to master & push the limits on, like everything in his sadly shortened, but joyfully full life. And he didn't seem to plan how he implemented them. Just grabbed one & threw it in where he wanted it - in real-time on the fly.

Andy McKee probably does Michael's music better justice than most. You should email Andy about how he equates that Hedges sound. He gets very close using a K&K pickup & combo of Hedgian-like FX. And his playing is getting so musical now. He's terrific!

In terms of Michael in the studio, sdelsolray provided some great info. I'd imagine that Windham Hill's very creative, ground-breaking engineers on Aerial Boundaries: Steven Miller, Bill Mueller & Oliver DiCicco & also Cookie Marenco could provide more info as well.

Just think of how much fun Michael, Steven & Ackerman had editing those tracks in Will's Southern Vermont studio in post, Ha!

FWIW, I prefer the natural un-abetted sound of playing an acoustic guitar. Therefore, I don't add much in the way audible FX to my acoustic tracks: a room & hall reverb on most, maybe some slight delay or light chorus for barely perceptible air, some medium tremolo for slow slide blues. But you rarely can hear those FX, they're more for texture, how it feels. I like Logic Pro's Designer onboard plug-in's along w/ Altiverb 6 reverbs, Waves Silver Bundle exterior plug-in's, UA 1176 external compressor (for vocals), a TC M-2000 stereo external FX unit, & Ozotope's Ozone 5 to clean up the low end & room.

That said, I hope someone can take Michael's musical FX experiments forward - & make them more musical than most copiers have been. Many technicians (all chops, no heart) have come & gone trying to enter the Hedge's tradition. But few have left musical tracks that could move our hearts & minds the way Michael's did - FX & all.

We all miss that guy.

alohachris

[DesertTwang]

Deleted characters

[perttime]

Originally Posted by The dman

... lately I've been having fun occasionanlly adding just a little grit with a distortion pedal

Acoustic pickups through distortion (or overdriven electric amp) can sound interesting. Not particularly traditional, though.

Playing at home, I usually just try to get my fingers to produce good tone, and walk around the room to find a spot where sound bouncing from the walls adds some ambience.

Some more adventurous stage performers get cool stuff done with splitters, loopers, octave pedals and whammy pedals...

(edit: first time, I did'nt notice this was in the Recording section)

[Woodstock School Of Music]

Originally Posted by perttime

Acoustic pickups through distortion (or overdriven electric amp) can sound interesting. Not particularly traditional, though.

.

I was talking about something I was experimenting with live but with recording if the track calls for it I'm not against using subtle saturation to beef up a track or give it a little hair as I like to say, as a matter of fact it's done all the time and part of the premise of the new Bagg's session pedal.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by The dman

... I'm not against using subtle saturation to beef up a track or give it a little hair as I like to say, as a matter of fact it's done all the time and part of the premise of the new Bagg's session pedal.

That is interesting.

I was thinking of distortion as used in electric guitars - but this thing with adding "hair" or harmonics while still sounding like acoustic makes sense too. Acoustic pickups tend to sound ... dry. This just might fix it for live use, and recording where you don't have megabucks and days to improve a guitar track.

[D. Shelton]

Originally Posted by Grumbum

I've been listening to a bit of Michael Hedges again and there is something about his sound...I'm not sure if it is all just his acoustic, it sounds very airy.

So I messed around with some fx, but couldn't really get a nice sound besides a little reverb. I'm wondering what you guys like to use for your tone.

Mwaa haa haa haaa ... okay, you asked ...

Did some noodling around with the EBow and Lowden last night , with nickel-wound electric guitar strings (better response to the EBow's magnetic field).

Left channel : small diaphragm condenser mic -> mic preamp -> compressor pedal -> delay pedal -> usb mixer

Right channel : Baggs soundhole pickup -> Line 6 Pod 2.0 (amp modeler , set with a splash of reverb and delay swell ) flanger pedal -> delay pedal -> usb mixer.

Lots of possibilities I'm only beginning to experiment with, and there's a synth/wah pedal in the mix . What came out last night was nothing less than amazing sounds (not necessarily amazing music, but it's music to my ears) . The EBow and electric-strung Lowden is a magnificent combination ; a glorious fountain of sonic delights . I almost don't even need an electric guitar, but I have one now and will experiment more with it too.

This is fun

[D. Shelton]

Originally Posted by zabdart

If you think you need effects on your acoustic guitar, you're doing it WRONG!

Dude, I'm so far out there into the realm of wrongness now ....you have no idea

But that's for that part of my playing . For straight-up solo acoustic (fingerstyle ) , yeah, with a good mic , recording ,
and room setup (which I don't actually currently have (bad room) , I don't NEED any fx , but have used a little
anyway. The EBow thing is a whole other universe though . Different parameters and possibilities entirely, and no rules,
and especially no right or wrong (just what sounds good or not).

[Yamaha Man]

I just put together this pedal board for musical experimentation. I have the option of using all or none...