removing sliding sound

[crestfallen]

hey all. i'm new here. i could really use your help. my problem is that i need to know how to remove the sound produced when you move your fingers over the guitar strings. when i record the track i can hear that sliding. are there any softwares which enable you to remove that? tnx

[CW14]

Hmmm... A noise-gate mabe?

[ScottMoney]

remove it? are you insane??? why would you want to do something like that you weirdo haha

maybe it's an acquired taste but i love it. this is on the acoustic right?

[Kevin Taylor]

You can try EQ'ing it out slightly.
But if it's really important to get rid of it on a background track, you can record each chord on separate tracks.
ie, play all the A chords on track 1 (stop playing and leave silence when other chords should be playing.)
Go back and record all the B chords on track 2 (leaving silence where track 1 is)
Keep going until you've got the whole song covered and then combine everything onto one track. If you do it right, it'll sound like one player

[SPL]

How about you try and play without making those sounds? That'll be a lot easier than trying to get rid of those sounds after you've recorded it. A noise gate will definitely not do the trick.

[R. Shackleferd]

Maybe if you put vaseline all up yer fretboard...just kidding, don't do that! Perhaps changing brands or types of strings might help. As for removal of the sound post recording, that's gonna be tough. There's programs (Cakewalk, Acid Pro, etc) that can expand the view of the signal's wavelength, and then edit individual peaks of noise. But I'm with Scott...I've grown to like those kinda nuances, because it's an instant reminder that someone real is playing. Plus it's part of the character of the instrument that say, a piano, doesn't have.

[SPL]

Here's another thought. In my mind, removing the sliding sound is like removing the breathing sound in vocals. It ends up sounding unnatural.

[Cryptic Excretions]

remove it? are you insane??? why would you want to do something like that you weirdo haha

maybe it's an acquired taste but i love it. this is on the acoustic right?

I concur. It makes the music sound so much more present and less like it's generated. To hear the inevitable slides of a natural imperfection adds to the essence and seems more realistic to me. Besides, a crisp slide on an acoustic when shifting and changing chords. What a sound. I love it.

[PRSplaya]

Soak your fingers in water until they get wrinkled. This will make them softer and the slides not as noticable.

[SPL]

A way to make those sliding sounds a little less loud is to either EQ them, or maybe try using a de-esser on them.

[Renisenb]

Here's another thought. In my mind, removing the sliding sound is like removing the breathing sound in vocals. It ends up sounding unnatural.
Totally agree.
In fact I think it's cool to hear the sliding sound. Always liked it myself ;)

[Andrew Sa]

look into a string lube of sorts...that will make the string buzz go away on most acoustics...i think there is one called fret-ease, also look for fast fret.

[Superhuman]

look into a string lube of sorts...that will make the string buzz go away on most acoustics...i think there is one called fret-ease, also look for fast fret.
I'm not so sure about that for getting rid of the sliding noise... I use it because it GIVES a nice sliding effect! Sounds great with a nice heavy distortion on muted power chords;-) I agree with everyone, guitar playing sounds better with the little scratches and slides etc. More natural.

[Kevin Taylor]

Sometimes it sounds good but other times it's just annoying.
An old band of mine (well, just me and my brother on drums) did a comedy song about 10 years ago that I thought sounded pretty good as far as the music goes. (even thought the lyrics were kinda weird).
But all anybody ever did was comment about the scratchy noises all the way through the song. Especially in a car stereo system with subs etc...

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/ILoveHer.MP3

Some people didn't even notice the song cause the string scratches were so loud.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough money to re-record it, so it stuck.

(and yeah it's supposed to be a stupid song obviously although you'd be suprised how many people dance to it at parties...while we sit in the background and laugh our asses off)

[ScottMoney]

Some people didn't even notice the song cause the string scratches were so loud.
Man, the INSTRUMENTAL is really good, I enjoyed it. The sliding is noticible but it still sounds good!