Playing one guitar but pointing a mic to a 2nd "un-played" one...

[d03nut]

The other day, I was going back & forth between my 2 acoustics while sitting on the (wood) floor. So as I played one, I'd rest the other on its' back right in front of me on the floor.

 

It was shaping up to be a very good "session" and dreds being what they are, I was soon swimming in a sea of "boominess" (in a good way). But I could also hear an added dimension to each guitar's voice. At first I couldn't really pinpoint what it was but pretty soon it became obvious. The second "un-played" guitar was responding "sympatheticaly" (?) to the sound of the one being played. What really surprised me though was just how loud and "musical" the "reflected" sound appeared to be.

 

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to use another mic to record this "un-played" sound, to mix in with the "direct". It seems that if done/amplified properly, it could be used as a nice ambient effect.

 

Another variation would be for another player to actually fret the notes that are being played on the "primary" guitar on the "un-played" guitar.

 

Or am I just hearing things again?

[JasmineTea]

Try it with a piano. Put a brick on the loud pedal (the one on the right) and play into the piano.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hmmmmmmmmm....interesting idea!

I'm going into the studio this weekend, so I'll give it a try and see what I come up with...likely tune one of my Guild 12s chromatically, mic it onto one track and DI it onto another.

I'll let ya know Monday...science marches on!

[axe2 2001]

Pete Townsend used that theory on a tune called Rough boys.In the intro, he played a double neck 6/12 string electric. Played on the 6 string part w/pickups off and the pickups on, on the 12 string. I thought it was some effect. Pretty cool!

[d03nut]

Originally posted by JasmineTea Try it with a piano. Put a brick on the loud pedal (the one on the right) and play into the piano.

 

 

In fact, if I play the piano, which is louder & more "powerful" than my acoustics and instead set up an acoustic as the "receiver" much in the same way that I described initially, I can then take whatever the mic picks up from the acoustic and mix it in with the piano (being the main track) and see what it sounds like.

 

Now, I need to find me a piano player.....and a piano.

 

Or I'll just wait for Terry A.H.'s conclusion..........

[JasmineTea]

No. Sit by the piano and play guitar.

[d03nut]

I was thinking that playing the piano will "vibrate" the guitar more than the other way around..............

[JasmineTea]

try it. with a mic in the piano.

im eating chicken mcnuggets, otherwise id use capital letters.

[Ultimate Dave]

Originally posted by JasmineTea Try it with a piano. Put a brick on the loud pedal (the one on the right) and play into the piano.

 

 

much of the dialogues recorded for zappa's civilization phase III was recorded that way, inside a piano with the sustain pedal weighted down

[Whalebot]

Originally posted by d03nut Or am I just hearing things again?

You're out of order!! LOL, where are my chicken McNuggets!?

[guitarcapo]

My guess is that it's no different than a guitar with "sympathetic strings" Unplayed strings that are supposed to resonate along with the guitar.

I would think that your best bet would be to tune the strings on the unplayed guitar to the key the song is in...Like if the song is in D...tune the guitar to open D (DADF#AD)


I guess if it's in D minor tune it DADFAD etc.....

[d03nut]

That too......

[Dave Keir]

Guitars ringing sympathetically is one reason why you should never judge a guitar in a small room with 20 other gutars hanging on the wall.