Steven Wilson and String Noise

[dddaaannn933]

So I'm curious.......what's the deal with all the guitar string noise on the Steve Wilson produced albums???? Not that I don't like it......but is it from a particular way of miking the guitars or on other albums is it edited out????

Thanks, Dan

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

I dont know what you mean, could you give a specific example of the time in a song???

 

[KennonKun]

I believe he means being able to hear the band members' fingers slide up and down the strings as they move to new positions. Listen to the middle/end of Windowpane. That's a good example. I think they're meant as gentle slides, not intentionally played notes. It is pretty loud at the mentioned part of Windowpane, however.

As for an answer, I just think Steven Wilson does a nice clean job on the albums. I don't remember ever hearing those "sliding" noises on any PT albums. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure which PT albums SW produced. I'm assuming all of them, but other than the Coma Divine re-issue, In Absentia, Warszawa, and possibly some other re-issues, I think that the production on Porcupine Tree's albums is kind of muffled sounding. You think of good headphone music as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, with lots of experimentation using sounds in the left ear, right ear, but PT's albums weren't like that. The muffled feel made it feel classic, though. I think that's cool.

 

[Kaberonie]

I dont know what you mean, could you give a specific example of the time in a song???

Second solo in Windowpane (end of song)

its very evident there.

I love that style though......it adds such an organic feel to the music.
Anyways, Wilson is a great producer...

 

[jaykeegan]

You can sort of hear there fingers moving up & down the strings in some of the older songs, i think there was some of it in Still Life.

 

[BurningSky]

yeah, i like being able to hear it sometimes... and you can hear it in the older albums too.. its actually retarded to take that shit out... makes it sound like a machine is playing it or something

 

[deliverance]

^ agreed. while it obviously is more pleasing without the noise from chord changing, or sliding, it takes away from the naturalness of the song. when you hear those, you can actually envision the band playing it in the studio, a little better.

 

[osse87]

For massive string noise check out 7:37-8:03 on Advent!

God damn!

 

[spigot]

Well, the non-heavy parts of orchid and morningrise had a lot of that I think. I kindof like it.

 

[Mayh]

Acoustic guitar has to have the sliding sounds, it´s just so, i don´t know, great, organic or what ever. Even in the last solo (which is electric ofcourse) in Deliverance you can hear the string rubbing on the frets when he is bending it, just before they go into the acoustic part and that just gives me the chills.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Yeah, I know what you guys are talking about now. That sliding noise is like a part of the music man....kind of gay to listen to it without it, and it adds to the atmosphere when the clean parts on acoustic guitars are playing, so it's awesome.

 

[osse87]

Some string noise on the acoustics is nice but that part on Advent I mentioned before hurts my ears when playing it loud!

 

[Kn1bbl]

I never realised this noise in Advent, but know it makes the song even better to me. I think it just fits.

 

[Demilich]

I never noticed this except I think in Bleak and Funeral Portrait.. now I'm gonna be lookin for it when I listen to them.. I think it could make it sound more organic and real

 

[NFU]

Whether or not Opeth intended for them to be part of the song, Steven DID intend for them to be that loud in the mix, he knows what he is doing. Also, certain guitar sounds of that nature are inevitable, depending on the part you are playing...so maybe a bit of both?

 

[Nico]

Cant go past Moonlapse Virtigo for sliding noise. Give a realy nice atmosphere to that track.

 

[Kaberonie]

Benighted
and Face of MElinda tooo

 

[jaykeegan]

Theres quite a bit on Morning Rise.