Squeeky guitar strings!

[Terry Wetzel]

I'm currently working on a song that only has two guitar parts. Both are accoustic. The rithym guitar part is complete, sounds good and no problems. The accoustic lead parts are another subject altogether. Any notes played onthe lower, wound strings when slid, cause very audible squeeking noises. I painstakingly attempted to go through the entire track and cut each instance out but that leaves holes in the arrangement that stand out like a sore thumb. My question is, can these squeeks be edited out using EQ ? Will a notch eq at the correct frequency solve the problem and, how do I go about implementing that? I started to post this on the "All Things Guitar" forum but I feel it's more suited to this one. I'm looking forward to anyone's help on this. Thanks.

[nst7]

There are a couple of ways to handle this.

One of the easiest ways is to use a de-esser. Though these are made for vocals, the technique works the same. A de-esser is like a notch EQ, but only kicks in if the signal reaches a certain loudness or threshold (like a compressor). You'll need to experiment with settings, but this can be surprisingly effective.

Protools comes with the Dynamics III, which includes a de-esser. I'm not sure how good it is. There are 3rd party plugins that may work better or be easier to use. One of my favorites is the Waves Renaissance DeEsser. You can get it this month for $64 on sale. Better yet, get the Renaissance Maxx bundle, which has several great sounding plugins.

There's also Izotope Alloy, another one I like, which has several good plugins, including a de-esser. And others.


Another way is, instead of editing it out, just lower the volume on them using the Audiosuite Gain control. Or the new Clip Gain, if you have Protools 10. The idea is to lower the volume enough that it doesn't stand out, but still is there to give a natural sound.

If possible, you want to avoid using a notch EQ on this because it could end up taking out other frequencies that are important to the sound when the squeaks are not happening.

However, you could use this method if you simply move the squeaks only, to a separate track, and use the notch EQ on that track so that it doesn't affect the normal sound.

[philip888]

Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel

I'm currently working on a song that only has two guitar parts. Both are accoustic. The rithym guitar part is complete, sounds good and no problems. The accoustic lead parts are another subject altogether. Any notes played onthe lower, wound strings when slid, cause very audible squeeking noises. I painstakingly attempted to go through the entire track and cut each instance out but that leaves holes in the arrangement that stand out like a sore thumb. My question is, can these squeeks be edited out using EQ ? Will a notch eq at the correct frequency solve the problem and, how do I go about implementing that? I started to post this on the "All Things Guitar" forum but I feel it's more suited to this one. I'm looking forward to anyone's help on this. Thanks.

iZotope RX 2 works very well for this. Go and demo it on this situation. Does this guitar player know about FastFret?

[daeron80]

The Digirack de-esser can work sometimes but it tends to be crude and ugly. Its release time is too fast, doesn't seem to be program-dependent, and there's no way to adjust it. Three cheers for Waves Ren de-esser - brilliant tool. RX 2 will give you exactly what you want but it means cleaning up each squeak by hand. If a de-esser will handle it, it will get the job done a lot quicker.

[albee1952]

The De-Ess idea sounds like a good route. Mostly I use the AudioSuite EQ method. Zoom in and highlight the squeak and audition in the AudioSuite EQ 7 band plugin. Boost a narrow upper mid band and sweep it till the squeak jumps out, then cut that frequency. Don't remove them completely as they are a valid part of the track(just tame them so they don't stick out too much)(like a singer's breathing)

[dave911]

I would try some different mic placements.
Also coated strings and string lube can help a bit.
Depends on what you are looking for, a bit of squeak is a natural part of the sound.

[PD-John]

Originally Posted by dave911

I would try some different mic placements.
Also coated strings and string lube can help a bit.
Depends on what you are looking for, a bit of squeak is a natural part of the sound.

+1, mic placement can make a big difference - just angle the mic away from where the player's fingers are more toward the body. But if it's already recorded a de-esser usually works well for me too.

[Terry Wetzel]

Thanks to all you guys for answering and suggesting great options. Sounds like the de-esser is the way I'll go on this. All I have right now is the plugins that came with Pt's 9 but I have used the De-esser on vocals and it works. I had another idea. I'm going to change the accoustic guitar strings to electric with an unwound 3rd and record the lead guitar on another track. I may wind up using a blend of both in the mix. (Who knows, it might work). (Most of the squeeks were from that string). I know it's not kosher but I've learned that what works, works!

[dave911]

Might try some D'Addario Flat Tops.

[prototypetools]

I have used Adobe SoundBooth for that. There is some kind of graphical restoring tool, where you can see squeeks and just paint rectangle around and say "repair". It was incredible fast and funny way to repair the track and the results was was also excellent and suprising.