Matching Guitar to Voice

[GSFV]

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.

I’m very glad you’ve got “the one!” That’s awesome. I’ve heard stories like that before, but haven’t come across anything like described. Except of course my actual wife. That was one of the easiest (and best!) decisions of my life.

looking forward to finding “the guitar” in the near future.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Now that's something I've never thought about.

On one hand, there's not much chance of a voice being mistaken for a guitar or a guitar being mistaken for a voice. So I doubt frequency matters.

On the other, I've heard guitars drowning out singers and, occasionally singers drowning out their guirars. So loud singers should get big guitars.

But since big guitars can be played softly, soft singers should be fine with anything.

Now 'scuse me while I go back to not thinking about it!

 

[Vanaspatti]

One thing I have learned from trying out a lot of guitars is that I like the way mahogany back and sides sound and cedar tops. The D240E was a surprise to me because it is a spruce top. I have also changed my mind over the years about Chinese made guitars. Some are junk but some are very good. My guild is good and I have checked out some Eastman, they make a lot of the instruments my school uses for band and orchestra, that are excellently crafted. I also played a Mitchell spalted maple acoustic at my local GC recently that sounded really good and felt very nice. It is pretty awesome what you can get in the $400-$800 range these days. My Dad thinks I’m crazy cause I want an Epiphone Les Paul Melody Maker but I am thinking I get it cheap and set it up myself. I learn how to dress frets, change the nut, mod the wiring, and things. I will have more money in mods than the guitar is worth but I’ll have hands on experience that is worth as much as a new Martin or Taylor. IMO

 

[plaidseason]

… 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:

This alludes to a larger point, which is, there's a reason so many singer-songwriters lean toward mahogany dreads, with J45/J50s being super popular. But even the beloved (by us) D25 and D35 fit that mold.

 

[Stonehauler]

From what I have been told (not an expert myself), but Rosewood and Ovankol have a midrange scoop in the frequency, but do better on the higher and lower ends, where Maple and Mahogany are mid/mid high range, while being lower on the low/very high end.

Body shape will also have something to say. Jumbos will have good bass support, while smaller bodied instruments have less support on the bottom end (comparatively).

Couple of other things. Are you singing with or without amplification of the guitar? How big an area? A bigger area without amplification for the guitar itself will probably support going with a dread/jumbo over a smaller bodied guitar, while with amplification, you might need a smaller bodied to minimize feedback depending on how the speakers are placed.

Have you thought of a 12 string to help support the upper end? Personally, I think some (most) hymns can use some shimmer in them to support the singers and add some dimension. You talked about your singing, but you need to keep in mind that the kids will be learning and singing the songs too (maybe?) so if that's something you want (the kids singing), then eventually, you will probably want them to be the focal point, so a standard 6 string may be better to help bring them to the forefront. Keep the kids voices (higher range) in mind when looking at a guitar, as it won't just be your voice. A mahogany dread might very well be a very good way to go with them.

Last...but certainly not least. Can you play jumbos comfortably? Can you play small bodied guitars comfortably (I have no problems with big guitars for instance, but feel like I am holding a toy with a parlor sized for instance, yet a guy I know (big guy) has an elbow problem, so he prefers parlors.

So, as you can see from my above wall-o-text, lots of things you need to think about and balance around. You can go anywhere from a small parlor all the way up to a 12 string maple jumbo with lots of options in-between.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

One thing I have learned from trying out a lot of guitars is that I like the way mahogany back and sides sound and cedar tops. . . .

I love the way they all sound. I'm just a guitar slut at heart.

 

[Br1ck]

The easy answer would be you can sing with any guitar. Don't worry about it. I've never bought a guitar with singing in mind.

That said, I've found that guitars will affect the way I play when I sing. A big full resonant Martin dread will find me muting with my palm and playing fewer notes, and partial chords. My Epiphone Texan will have me playing more prominent bass and busier single note treble fills, because it is a drier guitar, and notes can be heard distinctly. My Guild D 35 just blends with anything. All this is somewhat automatic at this point, and varies with the song. When I got my Martin D 35 Custom, for some reason I started playing Eagles tunes, and Neil Young too.

It is scary, but record yourself. Then adjust. But the important thing is not to play above your abilities, and the vocal should be primary. Once in a while a song just demands a simple strum, something at this point I find hard to do. If you buy a better guitar, buy the guitar. If you can't lighten up, don't buy a loud one. Experience will reveal if you want to make changes. Listen to how Neil Young mutes the bass a lot. He's developed a style that a big rosewood dread works with. But he can sound great with a 00 too. Man knows what he is doing. Back to experience again.

A very different approach is Richard Thompson. Lots of single note picking patterns. You kind of have to find out who you are. I doubt non players think about it much. Just keep doing it. Hit open mics. You need to get past the nerves. And lastly, just try to find someone who is happy with their own voice. You won't be either. But you can come to terms with it.

 

[Br1ck]

One thing I have learned from trying out a lot of guitars is that I like the way mahogany back and sides sound and cedar tops. The D240E was a surprise to me because it is a spruce top. I have also changed my mind over the years about Chinese made guitars. Some are junk but some are very good. My guild is good and I have checked out some Eastman, they make a lot of the instruments my school uses for band and orchestra, that are excellently crafted. I also played a Mitchell spalted maple acoustic at my local GC recently that sounded really good and felt very nice. It is pretty awesome what you can get in the $400-$800 range these days. My Dad thinks I’m crazy cause I want an Epiphone Les Paul Melody Maker but I am thinking I get it cheap and set it up myself. I learn how to dress frets, change the nut, mod the wiring, and things. I will have more money in mods than the guitar is worth but I’ll have hands on experience that is worth as much as a new Martin or Taylor. IMO

Buying an instrument to practice skills on is a worthy thing to do. I started building partscasters years ago, and eventualy they needed fretwork. So I bought the tools and went to town. I got into mandolin and bought a blowout Michael Kelly. God help those that try to learn on one right out of the box. It needed a lot of fretwork, but eventually it got to the point it played well. Later I bought a fifties department store arch top. The back was coming off anyway, so I removed it, shaved the braces, put in a JJb pickup and slipped the neck block for a correct neck angle. Cut channels for binding, it had painted binding, bound it front and back, and did a refret. Very satisfying, and it gave me enough confidence to build an F style mandolin. I bought tools as I went along. Ended up with $1200 in it. Sounds and plays great. Certainly better than a $1200 mandolin.

Basic fret leveling skills will serve you well if you like to buy old instruments. This is a primary difference between cheap and expensive instruments as far as how they play.

 

[GSFV]

Sorry, been away from checking this a few days. But this is all super helpful information! I think right now my primary goal would be to sing well enough to be a back ground vocalist. Obviously I am leading currently, but I just mean to have strong enough vocals to do back ground work in a band context.

I really appreciate y’all’s responses and they’ve been quite insightful and helpful. I’m not looking to buy anything right now but I love the perspectives offered.

I have a close friend who has a fantastic singing voice. I’ve recorded myself a few times and sent it to her for help which was great (and sad) it’s amazing how what sounds good or fine live and in the moment can sound terrible in a recording. But my wife says I’m improving dramatically and so do the kids. So I’m glad for that.

 

[West R Lee]

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").

I couldn't make it without a capo. Right off the top of my head I can think of about 10 songs that I capo at various frets to change keys and match my voice.

West

 

[Br1ck]

With backing vocals, the tone of your voice is much less important than the pitch. Singing in tune is of top importance. In fact when my cellist daughter was struggling with her intonation, her teacher had her singing scales and intervals (solfage) to get her ear trained to know she was in tune.

Recording is a reality check, but also the most important gauge of progress. And when you can hear and sing harmony you become a valued asset. There are a lot of musicians getting gigs because of this. Those utility guys who can play a little steel, a little fiddle and mandolin, and can sing harmonies are far more valuable than a great steel player who can't sing.

Like anything, experience brings confidence, and you'll get better.

 

[scottferreter]

I definitely think this a worthwhile way to think. I play in a duo where we sing a lot together, and so certain frequency ranges are already plenty occupied, and so in our instrumentation we're looking to emphasize the areas that aren't already saturated. I'd say for vocals, different people's voices have their "magic" in certain freq ranges, and it's best to leave a gap there, the way a mixing engineer might. For us, the most important thing is not having too much high-end information coming from the guitar taking away from the "sheen" of the vocals, and since we play as a duo a lot, making sure to have nice low fundamentals that can really hold the whole groove together.

But of course, as soon as it becomes a stressful undertaking, then it's definitely a fool's errand. And you don't need to "think" too hard about it. Just notice which guitars make you want to sing and make your voice feel flattered, and which don't!

 

[HeyMikey]

Scott, That is one of the things I love about and attracted me to Guilds. Compared to some other brands I had been trying the Guilds seemed to be more fundamental oriented and balanced, generally speaking. The don’t seem to have the excessive overtones that I find often get in the way of vocals and muddy up the mix. That is also one of the reasons I’m attracted to the smaller mid sizes in that they don’t tend to get in the way of and overpower the vocals.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

This alludes to a larger point, which is, there's a reason so many singer-songwriters lean toward mahogany dreads, with J45/J50s being super popular. But even the beloved (by us) D25 and D35 fit that mold.

Yup. My D-35s have always been good with my voice.

Maybe it's just because they've drowned it out. But it's perfectly possible that I unconsciously just adjust my voice to fit the guitar.

Regardless, I don't think it makes sense to look for a guitar that goes with your voice. It's better to just get a guitar you love. All other roads lead to misery.