Sampling a [mute] guitar – is it every 7 semitones like a piano or different ?

[Ian N]

Inspired by you guys, I am thinking of sampling an acoustic guitar, but just muted.
Is the sampling interval still 7 semitones like a piano?

Also, 3 velocity layers and round robins?

And mic setup, I heard stereo mic’ing was good for guitar. Release trigger, pedal noises noises, I guess I could sample my fingernails scraping or something!

[Anders Wall]

Hi Ian!

I’d say a guitar behaves a bit different than a piano in that every struck (or tapped/picked/etc) note will be more different than a piano who uses a felted hammer to strike the string(s).

If you have the time (and patience) try and sample at least every second note.
Three round robins is great so is two to three velocity layers.

I’d sample a soft and medium/hard and a super loud layer and then have the loudest layer only on velocity 127.

Best of luck!

/Anders

[Ian N]

Thanks Anders…
I have two SM57s, I am wondering about mic placement.
Or, I can borrow two condensers from work.
I heard that two mics for guitar gave a much nicer sound, more width.
Just wondering about placement. One I think is placed about 1ft away from the hole.

[Anders Wall]

Usually there’s one mic pointed at the twelfth-fret and one behind/below the bridge. The one on the neck will give you clarity, the one at the bridge a more focused midrange.

Another way is using the mics in a x/y setting a few feet away from the guitar. This usually gives a nice stereo image but does require a decent sounding room.

To save sample editing time you could record yourself noodling using different mic techniques and then pick the one you like for the sample session.
If you plan to sample over multiple days remember to take pictures and measure the placement of your mics.

Best of luck!

/Anders

[Author]

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