Rhythm guitar

[Clive Hugh]

I spent a couple of hours yesterday recording. No problem but I find the hardest thing is rhythm guitar, overplaying, intrusive. Forget bass and lead they are a piece of cake but nailing the rhythm gave me more headaches than the rest put together. It seems a real case of "less is best". Does anyone else find they overplay?
Clive

[Daddydex]

Hey Clive. I find the recording process has definitely taught me to play less and that is a good thing. Being able to record at home and do take after take really allows me to put my playing under a microscope and realize some of the things I have been doing wrong all these years. The way I see it, this is like a fringe benefit.

Dan

[Clive Hugh]

Originally Posted by Daddydex

Hey Clive. I find the recording process has definitely taught me to play less and that is a good thing. Being able to record at home and do take after take really allows me to put my playing under a microscope and realize some of the things I have been doing wrong all these years. The way I see it, this is like a fringe benefit.

Dan

I agree, it made me rethink my bass playing today as well and try not to be a guitar player playing lead bass. I had a listen to some old stuff today - from 50's and 60's when they all played thru the same mic, simple keeps coming thru.

[pengipete]

Sometimes it's just a matter of getting the guitar to sit "into" the track rather than on top of it.

Try using EQ with a notch to remove some of the low frequencies and adjust the mid and upper ranges according to the other instruments or voices. Adding a touch of reverb will also push the guitar further back and adjust the pan to move it away from other instruments or voices using similar frequecies.

EQ is like salt on your dinner - you can't remove it so always record tracks at neutral EQ and a full signal then adjust at the mixing stage. That way you can adjust it using your ears to guide you how to get a good balance.

Adding a second rythmn guitar track using an acoustic with low volume but plenty of highs will add life and remove the need for over playing on the main rythmn guitar.

In isolation the rythmn guitar will sound somewhat weak but it won't be competing with the bass guitar at the low end or the piano, voice etc in the mid and top end. Your ears will merge the various instruments together and the guitar will sound whole again in the final mix.

[woodman]

i can sympathize -- i agree that on recordings, more is less on rhythm. the flourishes that sound so cool onstage just gum up the works on a recording. i really have to work on keeping bass tracks simple too, suppressing the urge to play melodically.

what pete was saying about EQ really helps too. try to give each instrument its own space in the frequency band ... i've found out that if you cut the bass below 100 hz, it leaves more room for the kick. then you can boost the bass a little at about 250 to fatten it up.

[Tim Armstrong]

Yep, recording is a great tool for learning the lesson "less is more"!!!

That, and the importance of breathing right for singing...



Cheers, Tim

[Clive Hugh]

Thanks for the suggestions, I have always been a fan of acoustic for rhythm but haven't used it on this occasion as it was easier not to and I'm happy with the sound but it was the cluttering that surprised me.

[Ricky D.]

Try "high stringing" a guitar, either electric or acoustic. 1 and 2 tuned as normal, 3, 4, 5, and 6 up one octave like the extra strings on a 12 string. Obviously, you need to restring for this. In a group, it sounds like a 12 string but not as thick.

[guitarzan13]

You would be surprised if you recorded yourself live.... Musicians should be forced to record in a studio before ever stepping onto the stage. They would actually learn to listen to the other instruments and not "showboat" so much.

[Durtdog]

I find it very easy to overplay rhythm as well. When recording an acoustic rhythm part, I flatten out the eq and try to think "maracas" for the tone, kinda high pitched. Lots of pick-on-string sound, but very little bass. Sounds awful by itself, but usually fits into a full production better.

It also helps me to figure out an actual rhythm part to play...and stick to it...rather than just strumming along, which tends to clutter rather than add any real musical value. Kinda like outlining your paper before you write it.

[kludge]

I've been recording other people a lot lately, and I find it's even more difficult to get OTHERS to lay back than to do it myself. Especially drummers. I've been working with folk-oriented musicians who are used to acoustic rather than electric environments, and sparse rather than busy mixes, and their stuff tends to be WAY too busy.