acoustic EQ'ing

[Themetallikid]

I have a doubleneck acoustic, that is on the verge of two extremes really.

 

The top (12 string) is pretty bright, which sounds decent, but the 6 string suffers and sounds dull/flat in a way, even with brand new medium strings on there.

 

I am running into a G Major into a direct box to the board. The G Major gives me an EQ I can play with as well as the guitar's EQ, but the G Major lets me choose the frequency I wish to alter.

 

What frequencies could I change to add some of the "Presence" or Brightness that a six string has?

 

Any help would be appreciated. I know I'll have to play around with it, but I havent had the chance yet, and would just like some info to maybe jump start my research so it doesnt take me as long.

 

I know in my electric EQing, it seems that the 2.5 hz adds some brightness, wondering about any other frequencies.

 

Thanks.

[djsrc]

[i know in my electric EQing, it seems that the 2.5 hz adds some brightness, wondering about any other frequencies. Thanks.

 

Interesting question.

 

More than one answer, depending on whether you are recording OR playing live.

 

First of all, and not to nitpick, but it is 2.5Khz, not 2.5hz.

 

2.5hz would be a super low bass note that only vibrates 2.5 times a second, and is below the threshold of the human ear.

 

2.5Khz is upper mid, lower treble, and would be 2.5 Kilohertz, or 2,500 hertz.

 

That is around a very good frequency to get a crisper acoustic sound.

 

Even up to around 5.0Khz will sound good, depending on how many decibels you add, and at what frequency. If you experiment and boost frequencies above that, it is really getting into a level that most people can't even hear, especially if they use I-Pod style headphones, or go to insanely loud concerts. That is exactly what damages ears, in that you can no longer hear the higher frequencies.

 

Don't forget that with EQ, you can also decrease a frequency that might be too dominant.

 

Recording

 

If you are recording, the most important thing to remember is that you need either a set of speakers, or especially a set of ACCURATE headphones, that gives you an accurate rep of what the sound is like.

 

Without that, which usually is achieved only by trial and error, you don't know if what adjustment you have made, is actually going to sound good with headphones, mini-speakers, medium speakers, or monsters.

 

That's the mark of a truly in touch engineer, one that can make a mix sound good in any of those genres.

 

In order to do that, the mix has to be listened to in all of those mediums.

 

In a bad mix, for instance, if the engineer boosted the 80hz bass signal by 10db, and listens to it on a set of speakers that doesn't go down to 80hz, it will probably sound good, UNTIL it is listened to on a set of monster speakers that can go down to that frequency, and then....

 

In summary, when recording, use trial & error to find what sounds good to you, and then play it back through different types of speakers and headphones to make any further adjustments when and if you need to re-record.

 

Live

 

As I have mentioned before on another thread, whatever sounds good out in the room is the key. Don't adjust the EQ to what sounds good to you on stage, alone. Check that it also sounds good to the people who will be listening.

 

One last point, and especially with EQ, if your adjustments are extreme, like more than 6 or so db, one way or the other, you are probably doing something that may sound good on one set of speakers, but not on others.

 

Anyhow, good luck with your endeavours!

 

 

 

[Themetallikid]

Thanks,

 

you are right, I meant 2.5 Khz, and inadvertantly left the K out. BIG mistake audile wise.

 

This would be for the live situation.

 

Thanks for the tips about not going above the 5Khz range. I've found that out, with my electric stuff, that it just doesnt seem to add anything that 'helps' the sound much so I never venture much above 3Khz usually.

 

I'm much more a fan of reducing the bad frequencies rather than boosting the missing ones, but I think in this case, the missing frequencies are pretty detrimental to what an acoustic 'should' sound like. To me, the higher strings should have a fair amount of bite to them, but like I said, even a brand new pair of strings, just sound dull, and flat sounding. Even the low E sounds like its been on there for 3 months and played heavily. And these are only a week and a half old with two shows and one practice on them. Our shows are only acoustic in teh 2nd set for about 7 or 8 songs... so not much play when you look at it.

 

I'll take your tips and try them out.

 

Are there typically any frequencies that are considered 'bad'? when trying to EQ for Live purposes. I know that the 'bowl' of my ovation tends to vibrate pretty well with some lower ones, what kind of low frequencies can I start cutting to help that out, but not kill the low end of the guitar? is 100hz or 125 a good place to start or should I start round 80?

 

 

Thanks again for any tips/help.

[djsrc]

I gotta tell you that it sounds like you may have some kind of SET-UP problem there.

 

It is not my area of expertise.

 

Others here can help with that.

 

A very important recording issue:

 

If there is a fundamental problem, adding effects to correct it, is almost definately the wrong solution.

 

Correct the fundamental problem.

 

You have made an excellent point in that it is BETTER to take away from a frequency, than to ADD to it.

 

No frequency is BAD, unless it SOUNDS bad.

 

Lower frequencies are more powerful, much more powerful.

 

A low bass frequency can travel across a room at 10' to 30' wide.

 

That's correct!

 

Low frequencies are therefore much more dangerous, depending on how low, or how loud.

 

The lower the frequency, the more powerful, especially IF amplified.

 

As far as BASS, 100hz is a good starting point.

 

If your guitar resonates too much at certain frequencies, through experimentation, you could eliminate that with EQ.

 

In a recording environment, that is easier to do than in a live environment, one being more or less constant, and the other variable, theoretically.

 

It is also due to ROOM ACOUSTICS, but that is another story, for another time...

 

I don't know.

 

Let me send you one of my contracts that I just happen to have right here, and then we will talk about this, a little bit more.

 

Oh, and don't worry about getting a Lawyer, or anything, because I use all STANDARD forms...

 

[Themetallikid]

hehehe, you forgot the obligatory lines of...

 

"wow thats messed up....but I think I can help."

 

Thanks for the tips. Its not so much a setup problem as much as teh design of the guitar. Its an ovation double neck acoustic which the sound holes aren't under the strings, so therefore the volume/projectino of the acoustic is different than most single necks. The 12 is bright, the 6 is a bit flat sounding and not so bright.

 

Thanks for the tips though.