When it comes to EQ, one of the main instruments that mixing engineers seem to have a hard time with is the acoustic guitar. The tonal characteristics of this instrument are quite complex. From the warmth and boom of the body to the sparkle and presence of the strings, you must determine what you want the focus to be.
If it wasn’t recorded properly, to begin with, it will likely make your job a lot harder. Check out these 7 techniques for how to mic acoustic guitar.
If you’re struggling with acoustic guitar EQ, come dive in with us as we explore how to get your guitar sounding as good as the pros.
Acoustic Guitar Eq: 6 Simple Steps To Studio Quality Sound
The first thing you’ll want to do with an acoustic guitar recording in a multi-instrumental mix is get rid of unnecessary low frequencies. Below 60Hz, for example, you’ll only find low-frequency hum, sub-bass, floor noises, and room rumble.
If you have a solo acoustic guitar, on the other hand, you may choose to leave this rumble in there, as it can add to the space and vibe of the mix. Taking it away in a solo acoustic guitar mix can leave you with a thin-sounding mix.
Next thing I usually like to do is check out the low-mids for any mud. Generally, you will find mud in the 100Hz-300Hz range, especially if the microphone was placed too close to the soundhole during the recording process.
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On the other hand, if your acoustic guitar recording sounds thin, you may choose to boost this range instead. If you choose to boost, we recommend going with a wide Q and boosting no more than 5dB if you want to keep the sound natural.
Lastly, I typically like to add a bit of sparkle or shimmer to my acoustic guitar. You can do this by using a high shelf starting anywhere from 8kHz-12kHz. When adding top-end, it’s usually a good idea to use an analog EQ.
Digital EQs are great for surgical moves and cutting, though when it comes to high-end boosts, they tend to create a harsh, digital sound. Here is my review of the best EQ plugins.
Mixing Acoustic Guitars Live
Irecommend using a high-shelf on an analog style EQ, like a Pultec style EQ, where you can boost pretty hard without it ever sounding harsh.
PRO TIP: Most people say NEVER EQ in solo. While I find that to best practice most of the time, as no one will hear your acoustic guitar in solo, there are some moments where I feel like it’s okay to EQ in solo. Those moments include high-passing and searching for resonances using the sweep and destroy technique.
The beauty of FabFilter Pro-Q3 is that it has a beautiful interface with intuitive color-coding, making it easy to navigate. You have a virtually endless number of frequency bands and a frequency analyzer to help you see where your problem areas are at right off the bat.
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It’s super easy to find resonances or clean up low-end mud, both of which you’ll often have to deal with in an acoustic guitar recording.
We love the fact that FabFilter Pro-Q3 is transparent. Unlike some analog EQ plugins or cheap digital EQ plugins, you won’t get any unwanted noise, color, or phase issues. You can make HUGE EQ changes without anything sounding wonky. You can see our full FabFilter Pro-Q3 review here.
As I noted earlier, a good recording is the most important thing to getting an acoustic guitar to sound good. But after that, EQ might be the top tool to reach for to solve typical acoustic guitar problems, like finger noise on strings. Especially dynamic EQs like the FabFilter.
Acoustic Guitar Eq: Studio Quality Tone With Minimal Effort
If you notice that your acoustic guitar recording has a ring in it, you can use the sweep and destroy technique to get rid of it. Take a band digital parametric EQ and lower the Q value so you have a super-thin bell. Boost it by around 10-15dB and slowly sweep it through the frequency spectrum until you hear the ringing sound accentuated.
Once you hear it, stop on that particular frequency and reduce the volume of that band until it’s gone or less noticeable.
You’ll often find string noise in your recordings from sliding up and down the strings. Unfortunately, this string noise has a pretty wide frequency range and can be anywhere from 700Hz and up. We recommend using a de-esser or dynamic EQ to get rid of string noise.
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Set either of these tools in such a way that they only reduce the level of that particular frequency range when a squeak pops out. With this method, you can leave the frequency range intact for the majority of the song.
One of the first things you’ll want to do when EQing an acoustic guitar and vocals is get rid of excessive low end, especially if there are other low-end instruments in the mix, such as bass. More often than not, you won’t find any useful information below 60Hz on either of these.
Next, you’ll want to get rid of any offensive frequencies. For example, you might find that your acoustic guitar sounds boomy anywhere from 200Hz-350Hz. If the acoustic guitar you’re using is cheap, sometimes cutting between 500-700Hz can help get rid of that plastic-like sound. For vocals, you can usually find boominess around 200-400Hz.
Mixing Acoustic Guitar: Eq, Effects, And Tone
Lastly, you’ll want to see if and where these two signals are fighting each other for space. The concept of two instruments fighting each other for frequency space is known as “masking.”
If your vocal is present in the 1-2kHz range, for example, and you notice a lot of frequency content in your acoustic guitar that is also in that range, you may consider cutting it.
PRO TIP: We recommend using dynamic EQ like the FabFilter)or multiband compression to get rid of masking. Simply sidechain your vocals to your acoustic guitar so that the particular frequency range (in this example 1-2kHz) only drops in level when the vocals show up.
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To help you get the most out of your EQ plugins, we've put together these detailed guides to teach you how to use EQ on some of the most popular instruments.
My name is Evan, and I've been making music since around 3rd grade. I'm from San Diego, California, but I've lived in Washington, DC for the last 20 years.
After 3 grueling years of grad school, though I had put aside serious attempts at making music. I found myself spending my days doing work that was dreadfully uncreative, with a ton of student student loan debt.
Processing Acoustic Guitars
Being in my early 30s with tons of student loan debt, in a world where there is no money in music , I felt like my youthful dreams of trying to make it big were dead. Like my music would remain unheard in my head and hard drive.
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While I still have a full-time day job, I have created systems that have allowed me to produce dozens of songs a year in my spare time.
My songs have been on Netflix, TV shows like the 90 Day Fiance, an award-winning indie film, and NPR’s “All Thing Considered.” They've also been streamed millions of times.
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Thousands of musicians, like yourself, have trusted me to guide their musical journey. My YouTube videos have been watched nearly a million times. And my story has been in Forbes, Side Hustle Nation, and the Side Hustle School.Sometimes recording acoustic guitars and finding that sweet spot can be tricky. Joe Albano explains how to improve the quality of your recordings depending on the pickups used in the mix.
Everybody knows that the best way to capture the sound of the acoustic guitar is by placing a high-quality mic (or two) about a foot in front of the instrument, finding the sweet spot, and hitting record. But that's not always an option, and—for a variety of reasons—when you sit down to mix, you may find yourself confronting an acoustic guitar track with a less-than-stellar sound quality.
One common cause is a DI'd recording—the use of an on-board pickup to record, instead of a mic. This might be done in a variety of situations. It could be a live recording, in front of a loud band, where a mic would have picked up too much leakage to be usable, or a rehearsal performance, where the playing captured something special, and was used as a keeper. Whatever the reason, you're left with a recording that lacks the richness and air that an acoustic guitar track should have, and you need to massage that dry, direct signal into something that will do justice to the instrument. Fortunately, there are a number
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