Any interest in good samples of a bad guitar?

[DSmolken]

Edit: I actually did it and here it is: https://www.karoryfer.com/karoryfer-sam ... ent-guitar

Original post below:

This is something that's been floating at the back of my mind for well over a year now. I know samples of poorly maintained upright pianos have quite a few enthusiasts, so is there need for a fairly detailed sample library of a guitar that just plain isn't very good?

I've been thinking that a lot of what makes lousy guitars lousy wouldn't matter when sampled - high action, lousy tuning stability, crappy intonation, sharp fret ends etc. Even if there are a few missing or broken tuners, just move each string over to a working one to sample it. You'd still get all the tonal character, though.

Whether that "tonal character" is a good thing is open to question, of course, but I'm thinking it might be useful. When recording Shinyguitar, I pointed an SM58 at the body and recorded that along with the electric signal, and found myself using those samples in a couple of tracks. It's a small-bodied plywood archtop and acoustically it makes a short plunk that's not exactly rich or warm, and when recording it I wasn't sure if it would ever be useful.

So, if I were to get a hold of some old Teisco, Jolana or Defil, ideally a hollow body (so I can also do the "point the SM58 at it" thing), and record a few hundred samples, would that make a good freebie? Or would you rather see another decent quality guitar instead?

[bigcat1969]

You are a superbly talent eccentric creator and that is intended as a compliment from a much less talented eccentric. I say go for it and show the world what they have been missing!

[Ridan]

This sounds interesting. There are already a ton of quality guitar libs. As far as i know the only thing remotely close to this is Soundiron's prepared guitar, so having some "bad" guitar samples might be refreshing. Obviously it wouldn't be for everybody, but hey, that's life. =)

[DSmolken]

Sounds like it might be worth asking around if any of my musical friends know somebody who's got a crappy electric somewhere.

That, risers made from jet engine field recordings, brushed drums, and a more detailed bass guitar are on my list. Maybe also an acoustic guitar, there are some very nice ones out there (I'm writing a review of the Ample Sound ones now), but I might do a decent acoustic too, so I can do some less realistic unison layering, like I've done with other instruments. That and the virtual death metal vocalist should keep me busy for the next few years, if I quit making music and just make samples, haha.

[strayboom]

DSmolken: it would be interesting to combine your "crap" guitar library with my "Bad Bassist": http://www.strayworx.com/blog/2012/06/05/bad-bassist/

Also, we'd need a sloppy drumkit with broken cymbals

[DSmolken]

Ha, the Bad Bassist. I remember seeing that. In some ways that's a similar idea, in other ways completely the opposite, but I think if I do a "bad guitar" it should include some humanization. I mean, the Weresax vibrato can get pretty sloppy with extreme humanization settings, I could adapt a lot of that.

[Chad@PA]

How about a prepared guitar similar to a prepared piano? Lots of harmonics and other resonant sounds?

[DSmolken]

A prepared guitar would probably be good for a lot of the same things, but I'm kind of fascinated with taking a really crappy guitar and using the magic of sampling to bypass all its playability and tuning issues. And there are quite a few of them around in Eastern Europe.

[xNiMiNx]

DSmolken: it would be interesting to combine your "crap" guitar library with my "Bad Bassist": http://www.strayworx.com/blog/2012/06/05/bad-bassist/

Also, we'd need a sloppy drumkit with broken cymbals

Damn it. I was going to mention a cracked cymbal sample pack someone had released, but i cant seem to locate it now. Could have swore it was a free set of wavs...

Anyone happen to know what im talking about? Cracked cymbal, broken crash, im about to start breaking shit over here.

[DSmolken]

Haha, once we find that we'll just need samples of one of those melted-looking Trixon kick drums.

[xNiMiNx]

Haha, once we find that we'll just need samples of one of those melted-looking Trixon kick drums.

Go Go gadget braincells.

Paiste 2002 18 Crash Cracked, credit to "Erkan Dogantimur http://www.erdo.se" Raw PCM Wav 24bit 44kHz, AKG Perception 100, through a Mackie Mini Series mixer, into an M-Audio Delta1010LT.

That kick sounds warm, but the only videos i could find with audio, they had a light bulb inside so, maybe that added to the warmth

[hueynym]

Check out Atom Hub's "Drunkeytar" for a wonderful example of a sad guitar sampled by a roaring fire...

http://atomhub.net/Drunkeytar.html

(I generally buy everything Mato makes)

[Uncle E]

I've been thinking that a lot of what makes lousy guitars lousy wouldn't matter when sampled - high action, lousy tuning stability, crappy intonation, sharp fret ends etc. Even if there are a few missing or broken tuners, just move each string over to a working one to sample it. You'd still get all the tonal character, though.

High action actually helps guitars sound better. Lousy tuning stability won't matter much as long as you tune regularly while sampling and stretch the strings before beginning. Sharp fret ends obviously won't matter.

Crappy intonation is bad, IMO. With a piano, each note has multiple strings and part of the charm of an out of tune piano is those strings creating a chorusing effect with each other. You obviously won't get that with a guitar, it'll just sound out of tune. If the guitar is something like a Teisco with a fixed bridge, I could understand where you're coming from, but it doesn't make much sense to me to do it if the guitar has an adjustable bridge.

btw, if you do manage to find a Teisco, you should sample it played with a slide.

[DSmolken]

What I do whenever recording any fretted instrument, even a good one, is retune before sampling each note, so that the note on the particular fret I'm recording is in tune (even if it means the open string wouldn't be). So, if the first few frets are sharp even when the open string is in tune and the 12th fret intonates correctly, or if action is so high that there's no adjustment left in the bridge and all fretted notes are sharp, no problem.

When recording bowed strings I just record while staring at a chromatic tuner, and this would also work for slide. Slide would be interesting.

I'm kinda in the wrong part of the world for Teiscos, but it'd be great to get a hold of one. They sound better and much warmer than the Jolanas etc. But they all have the advantage of mercifully short sustain - saves a lot of time holding the note and waiting for it to die, especially when recording the lowest notes.

[michael2]

sounds like a great idea to me. I was listening to Long, Long, Long by the Beatles last night, and the crappy guitar with fret buzz is one of the hooks of the song.