Matching Guitar to Voice

[GSFV]

Hey everyone! I’ve recently started singing (which historically has been dangerous). But it’s becoming more of s regular thing at church, especially for the youth group. I’ve been learning a lot and trying to study it so I can do my best. I recently heard about people trying to match their guitar’s characteristics to their voice’s characteristics.

something similar to “my voice has a lot of midrange so I went with a guitar that had more high end”

Any thoughts on this as a concept?
Any recommendations on how to go about trying to match these for someone who is a novice (at best) “vocalist”?

 

[nmiller]

Seems like a bit of a fool's errand. The sound of the two mixed is going to vary widely from one venue to another. It's one thing to consider how an instrument cuts through the mix of a band, either live or on a recording, but I've never heard one person with an acoustic guitar and even thought about whether there was a good or bad mix there.

 

[fronobulax]

People who paint soundscapes with the music other people are playing often call the process "mixing" and they talk about where things fit "in the mix". If you simplistically divide the mix into low, middle and high frequencies you generally are not happiest when everything sounds in the same frequency band. "muddy" may be the most common description. A real quick way to get mud is to play chords that never get above the first five frets with a bass player who never gets below the 7th fret. Contrast that with a bass player who knows their place and tends to also stay below the fifth fret.

So, conceptually, you can talk about choosing a guitar that complements your voice "in the mix". But there are a lot of variables including where you are in your voice range, what the room is doing, what else is contributing to the mix the audience hears and so on.

So you could try and pick a guitar that matched but the attempt might be overthinking because there are so many variables.

For what its worth I talk to a lot of singers who accompany themselves on guitar who play the local winery and brewery circuit. None of them pick their guitar because of how it sounds with their voice. They pick based upon availability, durability, price, sound and factors that have little to nothing to do with their voice. Do they like it when they are not singing? Similarly Mrs. Fro. favors the guitars that make the most noise and doesn't even wonder if they compliment her voice or the singer she is accompanying or the choir she is leading.

Yes you could try and match. But because of all the other variables it probably won't make a difference.

 

[donnylang]

This has been an extremely important discovery for me. I think the only way to know is to play the guitar and find a good match.I would say it's not as simple as "my voice has midrange, so get a guitar w/ scooped mids", but that is likely a part of it. It would depend on not only the EQ of your voice, but does the guitar complement your playing style and leave room for your voice to stand out? If you want your voice to stand out, that is.

For me, I write songs better when the guitar and voice are fitting together well. That has been a major factor I've discovered over the last couple years. I've found guitars that most people would consider to be "quiet" are the ones that match well for me.

 

[GSFV]

That’s a good point! And what I’ve done in the past. I’d never heard of trying to match the guitar sound to the vocal quality. But thought it was an interesting idea.

 

[plaidseason]

I've been doing this for three decades and I have no idea. I think key matters more than anything else. But as far as guitar goes, I think I've always preferred well-balanced guitars, so there might be something there.

Other than that . . . a little reverb is probably everybody's friend.

 

[GSFV]

This has been an extremely important discovery for me. I think the only way to know is to play the guitar and find a good match.I would say it's not as simple as "my voice has midrange, so get a guitar w/ scooped mids", but that is likely a part of it. It would depend on not only the EQ of your voice, but does the guitar complement your playing style and leave room for your voice to stand out? If you want your voice to stand out, that is.

For me, I write songs better when the guitar and voice are fitting together well. That has been a major factor I've discovered over the last couple years. I've found guitars that most people would consider to be "quiet" are the ones that match well for me.

What do you listen for when trying to find something that compliments your voice?

 

[GSFV]

I've been doing this for three decades and I have no idea. I think key matters more than anything else. But as far as guitar goes, I think I've always preferred well-balanced guitars, so there might be something there.

Other than that . . . a little reverb is probably everybody's friend.

Key changes have been a GAME changer for me! It’s almost essential.

 

[plaidseason]

Key changes have been a GAME changer for me! It’s almost essential.

Yeah. I think lots of folks tend to think a cover song has to stay in the original key. Or they have an aversion to capos (I definitely don't) with their own songs, thinking they need to hold on to more standard keys - hanging onto C when their voice might do better in Eb.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

There are guitars that take me to places in time.
Small bodied guitars and old Western songs come to mind.

I never thought about trying to match a guitar to my vocals though.
My guitar gets played everywhere from 1/2 step down all the wat to capoing up the the 6th fret.
This changes the sound of the guitar dramatically.
I do this to match a song to my vocal range.

For this to work best for me, I like a guitar with a lot of bottom end.
This helps keep the guitar sounding balanced as I progress up the neck.

My Baritone is also very useful for doing this.

 

[richardp69]

Sounds way too complicated for me. I just look for a good sounding guitar that seems to fit the particular song I'm playing and not my singing voice. I'm positive I could never be this precise.

 

[Canard]

I am not a great singer, but my experience with guitar playing singers is that they generally like Dreds. Lots of bottom end and mid range support for the voice.

My natural range is baritone. it is not a good register for guitar accompaniment unless you are writing/arranging for the guitar part to suit your own voice. Most Pop, Rock, Folk, Country male voices are in the tenor/low-alto range. So if you are doing covers with a baritone voice it is awkward. I can tune low. I can use a capo up high and sing an octave lower. I can try transposing keys. It's all awkward.

At one point I thought a baritone guitar might be the answer - just play everything as you would on a normal guitar and it's a 4th lower and it's good. But it's not. Intervals like 3rds (major/minor) ... well anything below a 5th ... sounds terrible in the bass. It might work if you learned to play the baritone as entirely different instrument and rearranged everything and used open tunings.

 

[Nuuska]

Here's a FOH-engineer view - and I also play guitar & sing :

I can imagine a singer w guitar change guitar between songs - and if needed - I would adjust the BALANCE of the two - if necessary - naturally starting point being that both guitar and vocal are mic'ed best possible way & EQ is correctly set.

That same adjustment naturally goes on all the time - while hardly ever there is a situation - except w truly pros - that a little nudging of channel fader is not needed. Little w a fairly good amateur usually means something within +/- 3dB - just subtle.

 

[GSFV]

I’m not a huge fan of capos. But I primarily play electric. My mentality is “just learn the chords on the fretboard.” But on acoustic it’s totally different. I’m not capo aversive there. Especially for singing. I’m changing the keys for almost every song. Even if by just a half step.

Taylor Martin Guild, that’s a good perspective. I hadn’t thought of it that. Maybe keeping something in the same key, but changing WHERE it’s played on the neck would be a better ove. And provide more options even moving forward. Thank you!

I’ve been using a Cole Clark Fat Lady 2 for years (dred shape) and it works beautifully. It does seem to lose a little life after I put the capo on though. Which is interesting. Haven’t figured that one out yet. It’s a D’Addario adjustable tension capo. I’ve always felt this guitar sounds better plugged in. Good acoustically, just better plugged in.

I haven’t tried a baritone guitar. But I’m interested for sure. It’s a cool sound! I think my vocal range is Low Tenor to Baritone range. But it’s hard to tell as I’m still trying to get my footing. Which May conflict? Maybe not? Hard to say.

 

[Uke]

Capos have been my salvation when it comes to singing. I just wish someone would invent a capo for a piano (not a digital piano, which probably has a digital "capo").

 

[mushroom]

I tune the guitar (acoustic) down to suit my voice. I’ve no idea what pitch that is and it probably changes every time I tune it or change strings. No good for a band situation though works well for me warbling at home.

 

[donnylang]

What do you listen for when trying to find something that compliments your voice?

Basically if my singing voice comes out naturally and easily (as opposed to the guitar sort of overwhelming the voice or the voice overwhelming the guitar). I suspect it’s a combo of volume of the guitar + the EQ balance of the guitar + EQ balance of guitar + how guitar responds to my playing technique.

 

[donnylang]

… a good example for me is my ‘68 Gibson J50- along with a ‘68 D40 I used to have, this guitar suits my voice very well, where it almost seems like the sound was carved out for the voice to sit in. This is just an iPhone mic- but it’s not only the sound of it; it also set the scene for me to write the song- hard to describe but I don’t believe this song would have come out on another guitar:

 

[Vanaspatti]

Years ago I got a Martin D15 mahogany because I was starting to sing and it was a mellow and quiet guitar that I could sing and be heard with. Life happened and me and the Martin parted ways. Last year I bought my current Guild D240E which is the first solid wood guitar in at least ten years. It is my favorite guitar I have ever played. I love the way it feels when it’s cradled in my arms. I love the neck and action. I love it’s quietness when I strum with my fingers and I love the way it rings out and the definition of notes when I use a pick. I also love the touch harmonics when I hammer on notes. Just play guitars and take mental notes about what you like and don’t like. Eventually you will run across one that just fits you and you’ll know it. It’s like it was made specifically for you and when you find it it’s like God presented you with a bride. Everything will feel right and like it was meant to be. Then, in a year or two, you can take a second wife, and then a third… at least until you get a human wife and have kids.

 

[GSFV]

… a good example for me is my ‘68 Gibson J50- along with a ‘68 D40 I used to have, this guitar suits my voice very well, where it almost seems like the sound was carved out for the voice to sit in. This is just an iPhone mic- but it’s not only the sound of it; it also set the scene for me to write the song- hard to describe but I don’t believe this song would have come out on another guitar:

That’s really cool! I love finding a good match. And you’re right. That guitar matches your voice very well! Beautiful pairing. I appreciate you explaining what you’re looking for when looking for complimentary sounds. Thanks!