[LAU] Recording accoustic guitar and string noise

[frank pirrone]

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lanas wrote:
> Hi all,
>
>   Regarding recording accoustic guitars (regular steel string and bass)
> is there a trick of some sort to minimize the sound of fingers sometimes
> swishing on the strings ?  A bit of Finger Ease gets rid of some, but
> there's some of that sound that still creeps from time to time.  Proper
> technique might not always be a solution.  I'm more thinking along the
> lines of some notch filter but have no idea of the frequency (nor which
> filter in Ardour) to use, that is, if it's worth a try.  I use a
> M-Audio microphone, which might not be the best, but then I'd need some
> convincing to believe that a top quality mic would actually do
> something concerning this.  Perhaps better focus on the sound source.
>
>   Any suggestions/ideas welcomed.
>
> Cheers
Excuse me if this is something you already know perfectly well, but
most general-purpose microphones have a "cardioid" pick-up pattern -
shaped like an apple with the "working face" or end of the mic
pointing toward the "stem" or the round "bottom" beyond.

What that means in the context of your question is that if you point
the mic away from the neck and toward the sound hole and guitar top
(essentially parallel with the top, facing away from the neck), the
volume of noise generated in the vicinity of the fingerboard will be
minimized.  You could even put a "shield" of something as simple as
cardboard on the side of the mic nearest the guitar neck.

If you were to point the microphone directly at the sound hole, or
even directly toward the guitar top or bridge, the left hand would be
solidly within its pick-up pattern and you'd clearly, as if intended,
record noises from that hand.

Frank

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