Acoustic Guitar Sound on "Nothing Else Matters"

[rockrev]

Alright, I'm figuring one of you smart TDM'ers can lead me in the right direction. I've been listening to Metallica's Black Album (Metallica) a good bit lately. What a great sounding record! Anyway, I'm curious as to how Bob Rock got the acoustic guitar on "Nothing Else Matters" to shimmer like that. I'm positive there's a good bit of EQ there - multiple mics too. I also hear another guitar track with a distance mic - very roomy. But still, there's this shimmer I can't put my finger on. Is it a chorus effect? Maybe a natural chorusing? I've heard that Bob Rock likes to use phase cancellation as frequent trick on guitars (not sure if this is true or not). Maybe it's an exciter? Not sure. Any clues?

Thanks,

rockrev

[Naagzh]

A TDMer I am not, but...

Anyway, I'm curious as to how Bob Rock got the acoustic guitar on "Nothing Else Matters" to shimmer like that.

You don't mean the clean electric guitar, do you?

If so, then search "doubling" or "Eventide".

Might be a bit of flange or chorus in the mix, too, along with some really soft delays.

Also, read the Charles Dye Hard Disk Life articles in the digizine, and really listen to the "before-and-after" mp3s that go along with them.

I'd bet they used an EQ at some point, but not as severely as you might expect. Rather, the texture and depth and "swirl" come from the subtle (and layered) use of delays, panning, and, quite probably, pitch-shifting.

Naagzh

[rockrev]

You don't mean the clean electric guitar, do you?

No, I'm talking about the intro acoustic guitar(s). I guess it's (or they're) possibly acoustic/electric(s) and the DI gives it/them more of an electric quality.

I'd bet they used an EQ at some point, but not as severely as you might expect. Rather, the texture and depth and "swirl" come from the subtle (and layered) use of delays, panning, and, quite probably, pitch-shifting.

I'm still leaning towards some hefty EQ - possibly even exciters. As for the delay, panning, and pitch-shifting, well that's basically chorusing, right?

Thanks for the reply.

rockrev

[Naagzh]

Yeah, you're right: it's acoustic (after a fresh listen). My sieve of a memory had me believing it was electric, because Kirk Hammet is just sooooooo smooth, it's crazy.

I checked it out with headphones; very enlightening. You can hear eighth and quarter note delays panned WAY out, very noticeable on the more staccato notes. I'm guessing that the guitar shimmer is from the ol Eventide 910 trick, which is a combination of chorusing, pitch-shifting (both up and down), and panning (but in this case the panning seems rather narrow, ~ 25 to both sides). I'm thinking there's also a bright, but subtle, reverb. Probably a plate. IMHO, this may be what you perceive as heavy-handed EQ, because a plate reverb can really bring out the high end.

[Naagzh]

You know, it could be a resonator guitar, too...