"compressed" or "balanced"?

[d03nut]

Does a guitar that qualifies as "balanced" compress somewhat more easily -or effectively- so as to keep not only the volume levels uniform across the fretboard/strings but also prevent any part of the frequency spectrum from "standing out"?

Sometimes people complain about guitars that "compress under heavy strumming", for instance. Maybe those guitars are just "balanced" and that's not the kind of sound they're looking for -and they're using the wrong word to describe it.

So just to reiterate, a guitar that's balanced should by extension compress "better", right?

Cause such a guitar would be great for recording.

[JasmineTea]

Everything.

That said, I disagree.



Well, sort of. I think we've all got an IMO about what's ballanced and what is'nt. However, I think it's true that flat sounding guitars record easier, but not necissarily "better".

[recordingtrack1]

I have never heard that particuar phrase, "Comress(es) under heavy strumming", when talking about an unmiked acoustic guitar. That is something to think about.

I have always thought of compression as an artificial variance that is created by means of an external source. The loudest (peaks) and the (softest) valleys are pushed toward the middle, thus creating the ability to maintain a louder sound without transient attacks. In other words, much smoother (balanced). Other than skills of an experienced player, I do not know how you would MAKE that happen other than to use a COMPRESSOR to create it.

Does all this make sense?

When I think of a balanced guitar, I just think of exactly what D03nut said in his initial post about "keep. . .volume levels uniform across the fretboard/strings . . . prevent any part of the frequency spectrum from standing out". In other words a well built instrument should be naturally that way.

Anyway, just more ramblings from the cracked mind of RT1

[nylon rock]

Don't know if this is it.

An OM is considered to be very balanced but the strings are wider apart, too. A 000 is not as balanced as an OM and the strings are closer together.

Could it be that for a strum speed being identical for both guitar types, the OM would not have a sound "front" as tightly compressed in time as a 000, and hence it would not be as "compressed" by the definition you are alluding to.

Then, by extension, it could be argued that "balanced" means "less compressed," but this is not correctly derived since you could custom order an OM that would have just as narrowly spaced strings as a 000, and it would be just as "balanced" as any other OM, all other things being equal.

[riffmeister]

I prefer a guitar that is very dynamic and uncompressed.......I use a compressor in the studio to even things out.

Balance? I think of that as the relative volume of bass/mids/trebles. OM's are usually thought to have a good 'balance' of bass/mid/treb frequencies, dreads usually have a more pronounced bass, etc....

[guitarist21]

I think that a guitar that errs on the side of too bright tends to record best. I'm always a little more comfortable chopping off some of the trebles post-recording than turning down the bass.

Ellen

[exhaust_49]

I have a very balenced acoustic guitar. Because it is so balenced it is what some people would call "a bit bright". Under heavy strumming it does compress a little, but not as much as you'd think. It doesn't bother me at all. I love it for it's strong tone when it is pushed and for it's deep sound (even though it's a little bright) if you can understand that.

[d03nut]

Thank u JT, RT1, NR, R (m), G21, E49.