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Acoustic Guitar Tone & the L1®: Difference between revisions

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3/3/2007
{{Editorial}}
'''by Tom Munch'''


Here are some initial ideas on getting acoustic guitar tone.
'''3/3/2007'''
[[Image:TomAvatar02.jpg|right]]
''Here are some initial ideas on getting acoustic guitar tone.''


I feel that great tone is in your fingers & how you adjust to what you hear.  I played three guitars at the gig last night - a Collings flattop, a Godin nylon solid body, & a Yamaha L5 copy.  All of them sounded great according to a couple guitarists I respect in the audience.  I spent just a little time getting the right presets before the gig, & the rest was just listening & adjusting attack & style in the first couple minutes of playing each guitar during the  
I feel that great tone is in your fingers & how you adjust to what you hear.  I played three guitars at the gig last night - a Collings flattop, a Godin nylon solid body, & a Yamaha L5 copy.  All of them sounded great according to a couple guitarists I respect in the audience.  I spent just a little time getting the right presets before the gig, & the rest was just listening & adjusting attack & style in the first couple minutes of playing each guitar during the  
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Form the forum "Tom Munch's Acoustic Guitar Sound" 5/4/2006
'''From the forum "Tom Munch's Acoustic Guitar Sound" 5/4/2006'''<ref>[http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6366055944/m/8101040623?r=8101040623#8101040623 Tom Munch's Acoustic Guitar Sound] discussion on the Bose Musician's Message Boards</ref>


Let's talk about acoustic tone. I searched for the holy grail for years. I have a couple dozen pickups & a dozen high-end preamps to show for it.
Let's talk about acoustic tone. I searched for the holy grail for years. I have a couple dozen pickups & a dozen high-end preamps to show for it.
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The pickups for both guitars were very nice & had been tweaked a lot to get the sound I wanted.
The pickups for both guitars were very nice & had been tweaked a lot to get the sound I wanted.


One guitar was a Goodall grand concert with a Sunrise, a Fishman SBT (soundboard tranducer), & a Joe Mills mic. A custom 4-conductor plug & jack (TRRS) fed each of the pickup signals through a 9-conductor cord (built for 3 discrete mic signals) to 2 Fishman Pocket Blender preamps. Blender 1 processed the Sunrise & SBT & mixed those to the pickup channel on Blender 2 while the Joe Mills went to the mic channel on Blender 2. The Sunrise was EQ'd with bass full up & the treble full down. The SBT was flat on bass & to 3 o'clock on the treble. The Mills mic was EQ'd with bass at 3 o'clock (or full up, I can't remember) & the treble about 11:00. The output of Blender 2 then went to channel 3 of the L1.
One guitar was a Goodall grand concert with a Sunrise, a Fishman SBT (soundboard transducer), & a Joe Mills mic. A custom 4-conductor plug & jack (TRRS) fed each of the pickup signals through a 9-conductor cord (built for 3 discrete mic signals) to 2 Fishman Pocket Blender preamps. Blender 1 processed the Sunrise & SBT & mixed those to the pickup channel on Blender 2 while the Joe Mills went to the mic channel on Blender 2. The Sunrise was EQ'd with bass full up & the treble full down. The SBT was flat on bass & to 3 o'clock on the treble. The Mills mic was EQ'd with bass at 3 o'clock (or full up, I can't remember) & the treble about 11:00. The output of Blender 2 then went to channel 3 of the L1.


[[Image:TomMunchAvatar01.jpg|right|Tom and his Pederson taken at Big Sur April 2006]]
The other guitar was a Pederson small body custom guitar with a triple system from Pickup-the-World (2 top sensors & 1 under-saddle sensor) & a Joe Mills mic. The combined PUTW pickups & the Mills mic went through a stereo jack & plug through a Mogami 6-conductor cord (built for 2 discrete mic signals) to a Rane AP 13 preamp. The PUTW was EQ'd with the 40 Hz at 6dB boost & the rest flat, & the Mills mic was EQ'd with the Low Cut at about 250 Hz & the rest flat.
The other guitar was a Pederson small body custom guitar with a triple system from Pickup-the-World (2 top sensors & 1 under-saddle sensor) & a Joe Mills mic. The combined PUTW pickups & the Mills mic went through a stereo jack & plug through a Mogami 6-conductor cord (built for 2 discrete mic signals) to a Rane AP 13 preamp. The PUTW was EQ'd with the 40 Hz at 6dB boost & the rest flat, & the Mills mic was EQ'd with the Low Cut at about 250 Hz & the rest flat.


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Cliff Henricksen's comments in the same thread:
'''Cliff Henricksen's comments in the same thread:'''


Working with Ron Carter and tweaking his sound with my 1/3 octave (EQ), Ron looked at me, smiled, held up his right hand, fingers spread apart, and said "here's MY equalizer". I said "oh yeah, you are so right".
Working with Ron Carter and tweaking his sound with my 1/3 octave (EQ), Ron looked at me, smiled, held up his right hand, fingers spread apart, and said "here's MY equalizer". I said "oh yeah, you are so right".
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Another thought from me on that thread:
'''Another thought from me on that thread:'''


One of the things that is most important is the touch. You hear great players talk about this all the time. What I posted vocally about playing at 40% with intensity - that's what it's all about for me.  It's like stroking a cat softly around the ears, or feathering your car's throttle ever so lightly, or kissing your love with great passion & & gentle tenderness. Do the same thing for your guitar.  (I know how odd this sounds - LOL.)
One of the things that is most important is the touch. You hear great players talk about this all the time. What I posted vocally about playing at 40% with intensity - that's what it's all about for me.  It's like stroking a cat softly around the ears, or feathering your car's throttle ever so lightly, or kissing your love with great passion & gentle tenderness. Do the same thing for your guitar.  (I know how odd this sounds - LOL.)


''Here's what I had posted about vocals...
''Here's what I had posted about vocals...''


one of the things I did was turn up the master to 2 o'clock & then whisper into the mic. I believe in playing with intensity at 40% instead of the 80% that most guys like to play at. That can make a HUGE difference in tone.''
''...one of the things I did was turn up the master to 2 o'clock & then whisper into the mic. I believe in playing with intensity at 40% instead of the 80% that most guys like to play at. That can make a HUGE difference in tone.''
 
 
'''Another thought - 3/13/2007, Finding the Sweet Spot'''
 
Another way to express these thoughts is "finding the sweet spot".  That is a phrase that applies to an awful lot of life.  The best tone is in that sweet spot guitar-wise, vocally, in any instrument & performance.  Find that sweet spot of tone that really gets you off & work with it.  There are sweet spots in many ranges & volumes on every instrument.  There are also sweet spots with mics & even the L1.  Find those magical ranges & work in them to find every nuance & expressive conduit available.
 
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Related: [[Vocal and Guitar Performance Techniques]] Video by Tom Munch
 
<references/>
[[Category:Editorial]]
[[Category:Acoustic Guitar]]
[[Category:Guitar]]
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