A very beginner question I guess but I am a beginner at recording.

So, I have a Fender CD 60E BLK electro acoustic guitar with built in Fishman pre-amp. I know first thing is to be a better player (I am average) but what other technique(s) are used to reduce the squeaks during playing and after recording (plugins, etc)? Below is the guitar demo from Fender.

Thanks.

 

use Fret Ease or some other brand of lubricant made for guitar strings.

 

It sounded pretty good to me, but you could try facing the mic away from the neck and more towards the body. Sqeaks and bumps are included in sample libs to make them sound more realistic. Don't worry it's a good performance !

 

strings are key ! are you using mediums? if so downgrade to light or ultra

 

New strings. I find that I get the worst, loudest squeaks with old strings.

 

Lift your fingers unless you need to slide. You don't even have to lift off the string completely, the less pressure applied the less noise. Be careful not to substitute unwanted slide noise for unwanted pull-offs.
I guess you could use a side-chained EQ but I hate remove frequencies from acoustic sounds. I'd rather use iZotope RX5 on the recorded audio.

 

Last edited: Mar 12, 2017

You can't eliminate it totally. It isn't possible.
All the things mentioned above will help but as said you're always gonna get a small amount.
Is much more pronounced with the thicker, wound metal strings.
For example you'll get less with say Nylon strings but you'll still get some as the lateral movement across the strings as mentioned gonna create some noise.
Lifting off the strings as you move the most obvious thing as mentioned however the others will also help. Is part & parcel, especially with steel string acoustic stuff.
Steel string acoustic always gonna make some noise but the more adept you become the more you can actually use it a little bit in creating you're own sound which really important.
Personally unless hugely excessive it can sometimes sound pleasing I guess in a way.
Nice guitar btw and the clip sounded pretty cool to me
As said it's part & parcel so unless it a huge problem don't worry to much about it and embrace it.
Main technique as mentioned is actually to lift off the strings themselves as you move your fretting hand.
Large jumps etc need much more precision and accuracy as opposed to small movements.
If thats the case a good thing to look into is say economy of movement as in methods of spanning strings, performing runs etc whereby movements are kept as economical as possible.
Applies in main to say picking hand itself but can also be incorporated into methods involving say arpeggios and actual fingerings etc you are using.
Many beginners for example find it really difficult to incorporate their pinky into chord shapes & runs etc which increases the need to move outside the standard shape. However the best players always overcome any problems that way and a few notable players still don't use their pinky finger for example. It does help though if you can nail it early on.
99 percent its just about refining your technique rather than anything else and that takes years of practice

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2017

You could mb try abusing de-essers or multiband compressors? idk

 

If you are looking for a post production solution Izotope RX works great. You can select the "squeaks" and they dissapear.

 

Very thin insulator gloves. No joke.

 

Thank you guys, very helpful.

Although I bought this guitar some years earlier but it's practically new. Strings are the ones came with it, just like new.

And actually I don't mind the squeaks; they usually are pleasant, but as soon as I turn the preamp on, they are obvious and quite annoying. In the demo video by Fender, the girl is playing using mic and not the built in preamp. That's why they are not much pronounced, I think. I had another guitar that wouldn't make much noises but it didn't have preamp though. My problem starts with the preamp. Even finger picking noises get so obvious when I use Guitar Rig. I will post a little demo of mine to actually let you hear it.

If I gather all your suggestions, the sum up is adaptation, playing technique and some plugins in general.

Thanks again.

 

Strings can`t be "as new" after a few Years, even if You never touched them !!!
They stretch, loose their intonation, oxidize...

Strings can last up to 3 months if You don`t play much (depending on string brand)
they last up to a week if You play a lot
- It is common to change strings before every gig for a reason !

To minimize that squeak You can try to use coated strings like Elixir polyweb or similar, but keep in mind that coated strings sound different than "normal" strings... try and see if You like it.

But at the end it all comes up to the way You play (Your style)
Do not rely on plugins, and no preamp will solve Your problem; rather adjust Your playing style. (and buy new strings)
If You have very dry hands, try to use ie. "GHS fast fret" or similar products

 

A little late to the game, I am..though...lack of or not changing strings, silicon spray, naked hands draped in insular gloves or software solutions filed under "squeek" are not the reasons that you sound like a male screech owl in heat under a full spring moon in eastern Kentucky. It is really and truely because you are rubbing your fingers over the strings. Although the others each alone or in concert might ease the symptom of your affliction, the only real solution and cure is to make a great effort to work on your technique. It might really only be a matter of raising your fingers off of the fretboard a matter of one millimeter and working hard on fully releasing after playing a note, but changing up the way you play is the only real permanent solution. I confess that it will be hard to do, but it can be done with due diligence, the same as adhering to any mental or physical exercise in order to move forward in any endeavor. Time and effort will pay off in the long run, in the end. Finally, I will leave you with my favorite Bazooka Joe Comic and one that sums up all I have written...
image hosting free

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 12, 2017

+ 1 for string lube/fast fret..........and a set of Exlir strings, nanoweb, the ones with the goretex coating.....plus most of the above.

 

olive oil, wd40 , deesser, multiband compressor, low pass filter, 2khz notch, wash/grease hands, etc

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 17, 2017

I forgot...
Keep also in mind that shat "squeak" is part of the guitar sound and it can beautifully fit into the composition, so try to accept it as it is and use it at Your advantage.

I never felt that these squeaks were a bad thing.
Here an example:

now imagine that piece without the squeaks... halve of the atmosphere would be lost IMO

 

Damn you! I came to say "Be a better player" but you have taken that from me.

 

+1 for BAZOUKA JOE ... Long time no see...

 

It was only after being admonished take after take by the fellow who was engineering the three songs that I was recording and mixing (of which I was paying for by the way in a 24 hour lockout situation, those last 5 or 6 were vocal overdubs, what a bitch 18 hours in), having me do this rhythm guitar section again and again because he thought that it sounded sloppy and unprofessional. It finally got as good as it was going to get, and after that worked and worked on it to get it under control. Scratchy sound is inherent while playing wrapped strings, but it can become annoying. I kept myself mindful of my technique back then and now longer need to think when I play. It hasn't altered the speed which I can play at now, but it certainly did back then. I couldn't see how speed and this new way of playing could coexist, but my persistence paid off. I make noise but not nearly as much as I had in the past.

 

The first, most obvious solution would be to use flatwound strings. Problem solved.