I can't even begin to describe how much this video helped me. I've been a songwriter and performer for over a decade and made the decision to learn the skills to decently record my songs at home for distribution. It's a skill I always wanted to learn and as I'm turning 40 in a month, it's my "skill gift" to myself to develop. I have decent microphones, (Aston Origin, AKG C214) and a beautifully sounding guitar (Gibson J15) . I was beyond frustrated EQ'ing it. Plug in presets, generic EQ settings recommended with quick searches (and even ChatGPT) amounted to nothing. I am recording these for just a vocal and acoustic guitar only song so not a full production. This means the guitar is paramount to get sounding good. Watching this video, as well as the vocal EQ video on your channel, changed the game for me. The philosophy, explanation, clarity, and presentation is hands down the best anyone will find. I'm sure my first few songs will have areas of improvement, but that comes with learning anything. This got me from "I'll never feel good about releasing this" to "Wow. I'm actually a bit surprised and impressed with how good I got this to sound with no experience". I can't thank you enough and can't recommend your channel enough. Beyond appreciative sir!
Joe, thank you for the great explanation, and for sharing your knowledge in so many videos that I’ve learned from. The honesty, humor and kindness of a true mentor!
I am struggling right now with an acoustic from a choir live recording and I was told my mix sounds good for a live recording, specially the voices, but I should tame down the mids of the guitar. And aside I think the guitar sounds cheap. I didn’t know where to find both ranges. And now I know! I will try this today night, yes, sir.
On its own this sounds great, my mixes tend to be on the denser side. In my case, I usually add a couple of db of limiting and parallel compression. In a denser mix acoustics need a little bit of body. The gentle limiting is almost inaudible but gives you a bit more headroom. Your eq method is spot on. Sometimes there is a resonance or two to notch out.
Thanks so much Joe, absolutely love your videos. So informative, useful and on point. Much appreciated! Will try this tomorrow on some tracks I recorded earlier today 👍
I tune my guitar a step down and your advice here is PRICELESS !! >> I Was able to clean up some mud and rumble but the dog whining outside my door cuz I locked him out; how do you EQ that thang??? --- Thanks Joe, you're the BEST
I enjoyed this, I like the more organic way of learning, describing the sound rather than being technical. One thing though, if you're using a multiband then that's not going to be just EQ isn't it? It'll be compression and eq combined
Hey Joe, I'm hooked on your videos, great content, explained simply. I'm just starting out recording, acoustic guitar and vocals using Ableton. I really like the EQ you're using in this video, the split of the frequencies looks helpful. Is that a plugin? Where can I get it? The EQ Eight on Ableton doesn't work as well. Thanks
Great video. I wonder if the thumping issue could be fixed through a better take and performance rather then eq. I’ve learned a lot from your videos over the years. Thanks joe.
hi joe nice tutorial, really! A video on fingerstyle guitar mixing would be very interesting, which is very very different from chords for solo or acoustic guitar in a band.
Thank goodness you said no 2 tracks are the same! That's what's missing in so many "Producer" videos. I personally like more jangly guitar but that's just me...
The thumbnail looks like the sort of EQ you would use in a live setting where all you have to work with is the DI off of the Piezo pickup, which will require a lot more work than a microphone recording.
I can’t believe I’ve only just found you. Your videos are so freaking helpful! I’m still kind of struggling eliminating my electric guitar of this plastic-y tone. My amp doesn’t have that effect by itself, only when I mic it up with my sure 57 into studio one. Do you think it’s the mic? Or is it some eq or compression problem? I can’t figure it out for the life of me. I don’t even know how to look it up. I think I’ve gotten close with the term “piezo quack”? But that seems to be an acoustic guitar problem. Any thoughts? Thanks!!
For years, I've been trying to figure out how to get that zither-like, percussive transient on strummed acoustic guitar that one hears on so many records. I've asked in every forum I've come across, but never found the answer. I've tried SPL Transient Designer. It can't just be a matter of a sharp, narrow boost to 8k, or 10k, because it's not achieving what I'm after. There are countless recordings that have this -- one that comes to mind is the Wilburys song "Handle Me With Care." I have come to believe this must be something that a top end boost on a Neve or SSL console can achieve. If anybody has any ideas, I'm all ears :)
I literally just recorded a new acoustic guitar part for a new song of ours yesterday so I can play with your eq ideas with it! Of course i wont do anything permanent yet because i also have you 5 mixing rules....no plugins yet! 😊
Why there is no lock function inside pro EQ for x/y movement. That´s the only point I´m missing, but because of that I don´t use it. Sadly and should be not that difficult to add this function.
Great video Sir, I love the divisions of the frequency ranges. 1-5-1-3, easy to remember and an effective description of what to listen for when looking for problems in the source track. I have some work coming up on acoustic tracks for my friend's original Christian music he has written over the years and is finally getting around to record, these suggestions should come in handy.
I have a question for you, you say just EQ, but what about iZotope Nuetron 4 that uses A.i. to make the instrument better? It uses a couple of effects to adjust the sound? Also, how come you haven't used iZotopes EQ plugins? I know Presonus ones are fine, but their also kinda limited too in what you can do. i.e. Side-tone adjustments.
Nice vid. i always thought, is EQ always important? Or should you do a lot with EQ? Especially if the sound comes from a top quality guitar. I think it’s a lot about music preference though. For example Radiohead’s exit music for a film, is a classic masterpiece in my book, and it has this deep guitar sound. Makes me wonder.
How can I send a copy to you Joe, for a critique of this very particular situation. The engineer and mixer/mastering engineer are two different humans. This recording is extremely tricky. I am a prime member
Also, I feel like you cut out the mid range to much, you created an empty feeling mid range, I wouldn't have made that mid cut spread so wide like you did, but I guess it's a matter of what you want to hear as a mixing engineer.
such a great job of explaining your thought process
"Easy, Turbo. Let's not make it too complicated." I am stealing that.
Was about to comment about that but u beat me to it
I can't even begin to describe how much this video helped me. I've been a songwriter and performer for over a decade and made the decision to learn the skills to decently record my songs at home for distribution. It's a skill I always wanted to learn and as I'm turning 40 in a month, it's my "skill gift" to myself to develop. I have decent microphones, (Aston Origin, AKG C214) and a beautifully sounding guitar (Gibson J15) . I was beyond frustrated EQ'ing it. Plug in presets, generic EQ settings recommended with quick searches (and even ChatGPT) amounted to nothing. I am recording these for just a vocal and acoustic guitar only song so not a full production. This means the guitar is paramount to get sounding good. Watching this video, as well as the vocal EQ video on your channel, changed the game for me. The philosophy, explanation, clarity, and presentation is hands down the best anyone will find. I'm sure my first few songs will have areas of improvement, but that comes with learning anything. This got me from "I'll never feel good about releasing this" to "Wow. I'm actually a bit surprised and impressed with how good I got this to sound with no experience". I can't thank you enough and can't recommend your channel enough. Beyond appreciative sir!
Vocal EQ video I referenced: ruclips.net/video/J36CJP4eUwA/видео.htmlsi=MHg0_7-_7Z4MN2Oh
Thank you Joe, very good mixing tips,, I depend on my ears90 percent of the time due to poor eye sight this has been such a help ,,
Acoustic guitar wasn't even in my radar, but I think videos like this help me know about the kinds of things to listen to even for vocals
Clear and concise. Really helps.
Joe you are a gift from God and we are grateful! So many helpful videos!
Joe, thank you for the great explanation, and for sharing your knowledge in so many videos that I’ve learned from. The honesty, humor and kindness of a true mentor!
Thanks Joe!
Thanks for showing the process with mistakes, Joe! That's helpful.
Awesome presentation! A fan in NH🎸🎸🎸
Thank you for showing the REAL process 👍👍👍
Great video and you really explained this well. Thank you
You are an absolute champion mate, now I get it.
thanks for unraveling your process!
Ok, this is amazing. Thank you sooooo much.
Great input! Many thanks for sharing this man !
I am struggling right now with an acoustic from a choir live recording and I was told my mix sounds good for a live recording, specially the voices, but I should tame down the mids of the guitar. And aside I think the guitar sounds cheap. I didn’t know where to find both ranges. And now I know! I will try this today night, yes, sir.
Big help this tutorial Joe
Thanks for your time.
I like your Brando impersonation, Joe. Made me happy.
Good video Joe. I will try it out..
Another great, informative video. Thanks for all you do.
On its own this sounds great, my mixes tend to be on the denser side. In my case, I usually add a couple of db of limiting and parallel compression. In a denser mix acoustics need a little bit of body. The gentle limiting is almost inaudible but gives you a bit more headroom. Your eq method is spot on. Sometimes there is a resonance or two to notch out.
Thank you joe❤
Fabulous
Thanks so much Joe, absolutely love your videos. So informative, useful and on point. Much appreciated!
Will try this tomorrow on some tracks I recorded earlier today 👍
I tune my guitar a step down and your advice here is PRICELESS !! >> I Was able to clean up some mud and rumble but the dog whining outside my door cuz I locked him out; how do you EQ that thang??? --- Thanks Joe, you're the BEST
Thanks
There are many acoustic guitar EQ videos, this being one of them, but I wish there were more nylon string guitar EQ videos.
Thanks for your vids I learn a lot watching them.
Immensely helpful, thank you.
I enjoyed this, I like the more organic way of learning, describing the sound rather than being technical. One thing though, if you're using a multiband then that's not going to be just EQ isn't it? It'll be compression and eq combined
Hey Joe, I'm hooked on your videos, great content, explained simply. I'm just starting out recording, acoustic guitar and vocals using Ableton. I really like the EQ you're using in this video, the split of the frequencies looks helpful. Is that a plugin? Where can I get it? The EQ Eight on Ableton doesn't work as well. Thanks
Very informative video, as always. Can I assume that this also applies to (acoustic) ukulele, or are there considerable differences?
Great video. I wonder if the thumping issue could be fixed through a better take and performance rather then eq. I’ve learned a lot from your videos over the years. Thanks joe.
hi joe nice tutorial, really! A video on fingerstyle guitar mixing would be very interesting, which is very very different from chords for solo or acoustic guitar in a band.
Thank goodness you said no 2 tracks are the same! That's what's missing in so many "Producer" videos. I personally like more jangly guitar but that's just me...
really like your philosophy haha thanks a lot
I recorded accoustic guitar only two times in my life. I found it super easy to record and mix.
I love it when Joe plays devil's advocate. Hilarious!
Haha, you’re hilarious! Love your videos. 👍🏽
The thumbnail looks like the sort of EQ you would use in a live setting where all you have to work with is the DI off of the Piezo pickup, which will require a lot more work than a microphone recording.
I can’t believe I’ve only just found you. Your videos are so freaking helpful! I’m still kind of struggling eliminating my electric guitar of this plastic-y tone. My amp doesn’t have that effect by itself, only when I mic it up with my sure 57 into studio one. Do you think it’s the mic? Or is it some eq or compression problem? I can’t figure it out for the life of me. I don’t even know how to look it up. I think I’ve gotten close with the term “piezo quack”? But that seems to be an acoustic guitar problem. Any thoughts? Thanks!!
TNX!!!
For years, I've been trying to figure out how to get that zither-like, percussive transient on strummed acoustic guitar that one hears on so many records. I've asked in every forum I've come across, but never found the answer. I've tried SPL Transient Designer. It can't just be a matter of a sharp, narrow boost to 8k, or 10k, because it's not achieving what I'm after. There are countless recordings that have this -- one that comes to mind is the Wilburys song "Handle Me With Care." I have come to believe this must be something that a top end boost on a Neve or SSL console can achieve. If anybody has any ideas, I'm all ears :)
Can you please do one with on a Classic guitar, with nylonstrings 🙏
I literally just recorded a new acoustic guitar part for a new song of ours yesterday so I can play with your eq ideas with it! Of course i wont do anything permanent yet because i also have you 5 mixing rules....no plugins yet! 😊
I really like this approach, however, I've never heard an acoustic guitar that doesn't sound better with a little light compression on it.
Why there is no lock function inside pro EQ for x/y movement. That´s the only point I´m missing, but because of that I don´t use it. Sadly and should be not that difficult to add this function.
does anybody have a link for the multiband dynamics plugin?
Great video Sir, I love the divisions of the frequency ranges. 1-5-1-3, easy to remember and an effective description of what to listen for when looking for problems in the source track. I have some work coming up on acoustic tracks for my friend's original Christian music he has written over the years and is finally getting around to record, these suggestions should come in handy.
I have a question for you, you say just EQ, but what about iZotope Nuetron 4 that uses A.i. to make the instrument better? It uses a couple of effects to adjust the sound? Also, how come you haven't used iZotopes EQ plugins? I know Presonus ones are fine, but their also kinda limited too in what you can do. i.e. Side-tone adjustments.
Nice vid. i always thought, is EQ always important? Or should you do a lot with EQ? Especially if the sound comes from a top quality guitar. I think it’s a lot about music preference though. For example Radiohead’s exit music for a film, is a classic masterpiece in my book, and it has this deep guitar sound. Makes me wonder.
Why do you not use the Multiband Dynamics to do your correcting? I assume it is so you can be a bit more "surgical." Correct?
I didn't. I used it to show you the frequencies, but I didn't use it for any mixing.
Simultaneous acoustic+vocals in 1 mic?
My brother Dave used to say : Why add plugins? It sounds like a guitar, right?
I don't need no philosophy on nothing
How can I send a copy to you Joe, for a critique of this very particular situation. The engineer and mixer/mastering engineer are two different humans. This recording is extremely tricky. I am a prime member
Let me explain,that last part the recording engineer was a different person than who will be mixing and mastering
"Slow Down Turbo" 🤣🤣🤣
the G STRING😂😂 15:02
I have to keep reminding myself to substract and avoid boosting 😬
Video starts at 1:50
'PromoSM' 🤭
Also, I feel like you cut out the mid range to much, you created an empty feeling mid range, I wouldn't have made that mid cut spread so wide like you did, but I guess it's a matter of what you want to hear as a mixing engineer.