Recording Electric Guitar

phriq

phriq

Freon Productions
Hey Everyone,

I am going to be recording some electric guitar coming up and I am exploring the best techniques and methods for doing this. To my understanding, the best method is still to mic your cab. I was curious as to the best techniques for doing this? what volumes should you have your guitar and amp at when you record?

Aslo, I was wondering about using a Line 6 POD amp modulator as opposed to actually using an amp? can you get good recording this sound this way or would your still recommend using the amp?

Thanks!
 
I think that you will find a lot people more willing to help if you've done, at least, a little forum surfing for similar questions. I'm surely not trying to be rude or offputting, just letting you know what many people consider to be the ediquette.

I don't have a lot of experience with either of these, but as with many questions of this sort, experimentation can be key. There are many who swear by the SM57 standby and just working to find the right mic placement. Some people have really good results with amp modeler (reference the amp modeler poll on this page) while some don't.

As far as volume, many find that lower wattage amps work best for recording because the volumes are more manageable. Hope that helps some.
 
You're better off mic'ing the amp imo. I did pod di recordings for years, I thought it sounded fine at the time, in fact I even spouted off how great I thought they sounded for a long time. Now I got a 57 on a 4x12 and after messing with that lately, I wouldn't do a serious project with the di anymore.. The 57 on my cab gets a lower smoother woofier sound, much closer to what I was looking for right off the bat. The pod di is bright and brittle by comparison, at least in my setup.
 
phriq said:
Hey Everyone,

I am going to be recording some electric guitar coming up and I am exploring the best techniques and methods for doing this. To my understanding, the best method is still to mic your cab. I was curious as to the best techniques for doing this? what volumes should you have your guitar and amp at when you record?

Aslo, I was wondering about using a Line 6 POD amp modulator as opposed to actually using an amp? can you get good recording this sound this way or would your still recommend using the amp?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have never used the line 6 pod but some of my friends went to a studio and the guys used one direct in an I think it sounded good but mic'ing and I think everyone will agree is the best way to go about it. I have been doing some research you should put sound traps around your amp if you don't have any use blankets and isolate the amp well. also if you have wood floor or concrete floor lay a blanket down or a rug in front of the amp the. as far as mic positions there are really no set places to put the mic its just what ever sounds good for the song I would say to most common mic position would be close mic'ing with a sm57 just off the center of the speaker and for volume once again just what ever is good for the song..I hope this helps:):):):):)
 
phriq said:
Hey Everyone,

I am going to be recording some electric guitar coming up and I am exploring the best techniques and methods for doing this. To my understanding, the best method is still to mic your cab. I was curious as to the best techniques for doing this? what volumes should you have your guitar and amp at when you record?

Aslo, I was wondering about using a Line 6 POD amp modulator as opposed to actually using an amp? can you get good recording this sound this way or would your still recommend using the amp?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have tried both ways and like the sound of mic'ing over di. IMHO, it gives a much warmer sound.
 
Like da SuperStarDude...I used to just run DI from my Vox ToneLab all the time and thought it sounded fine until......

I started putting a 57 up on the grill and did an A/B of the 2.

Hands down....micing the cab won.
Try it yourself and see what YOU think.

I generally just crank my amp up (tube btw) til I like the sound I'm getting and track it. The 57 (and alot of other dynamics) will handle high SPL's pretty well. So go ahead and crank it up to where you like the sound, and track it.

IMHO, of course. ;)

Kel
 
This is one of those things where, IMO, you have to decide for YOURSELF what works best for your given situation. There are "pro" studios using amp modeling so I don't think it's an issue of not being able to get an amp simulator to sound "good". A better question might be is the POD a good (or as good of ) amp simulator as you can get.

Bottom line: I would not simply sell myself on one method, try both. Whichever method sound the best to you for the given song go with it.

One thing I've not seen anyone else here mention while using the POD is to also live mic the strings; it does add a bit more character.
 
Simman said:
This is one of those things where, IMO, you have to decide for YOURSELF what works best for your given situation. There are "pro" studios using amp modeling so I don't think it's an issue of not being able to get an amp simulator to sound "good". A better question might be is the POD a good (or as good of ) amp simulator as you can get.

Bottom line: I would not simply sell myself on one method, try both. Whichever method sound the best to you for the given song go with it.

One thing I've not seen anyone else here mention while using the POD is to also live mic the strings; it does add a bit more character.
Click to expand...

I'm with Simman on this. It's a matter of knowing what sound you want and know in how to get it. And the rule in recording is you do whatever it takes, which could be miking a cab or going through an emulator. Neither is intrinsically better or worse than the other . . . they are just different, that's all.

It's really difficult to describe a 'best' method. The best method will deliver, for you, the best sound. It's highly likely that no-one else here will have an identical recording environment to you . . . so what works best for them may sound not too good when you try it. The same goes for volume settings and so on.

Many people prefer the sound of a miked cab to an emulator. Sometimes this is simply because it delivers the sound they want. Sometimes this is on principle . . . they believe that emulators are not the same as the real thing. Perhaps it isn't, but not using an emulator on principle is removing a whole mess of colours from your possible pallette of guitar sounds.
 
Thanks everyone for all the information so far! It's really helped alot. I guess one of the main reasons I ask is because I live in an apartment and am afraid that in order for me to get good sound recorded, I will be blasting my neighbors to much.

Will it affect sound in my recordings much if my amp is surrounded by mass amounts of pillows and blankets so that my neighbors don't get cranky?

Also, with micing, I see alot of you prefer the 57. I have used one in the past (a friends) but don't have one in my personal arsenal. I have a KSM27 and a Sure Beta 57A. Would it be wise (if planning to do a lot more electric guitar) to get a 57? I have also heard that Sennheiser e609 Silver are good for micing amps. Any suggestions?

At this time for me, since I am in an apartment, it basically is coming down to a question of whether or not I should spend money on a mic to mic my amp with blankets and pillows galore around it, or to not get a mic, but spend money on a modulator. As of now, it sounds Mic (though it truly is opinion) does seem to be more of a popular consensus.

Thanks again everyone, And I look forward to hearing back from you all.
 
sorry, can't answer much about the mics except that I've heard good things about the sennheisers. As far as volume goes . . . .

If your working with a tube amp, try getting a lower-wattage amp. i've heard of them going all the way down to 1 watt. The thing here is that you get to overdrive your tubes at much lower levels giving you good tone at an appartment-friendly volume. I don't know enough about solid state amps to be able to tell you anything useful. Just a thought.
 
Unlike a tube amp, tone on a solid state amp doesn't vary so much until you get loud enough that you're pushing the limits of the cab. Natural speaker compression, speaker distortion, etc.. I don't track very loud at all (pod->ss amp->4x12->sm57), definitely a lot quieter than stage volume.. I guess I turn the gain on my pre a little higher to get a good level on my DAW. I don't feel I get a better sound cranked up to all hell.

IDK about your mics, I don't have either of them. But I do know 57's are inexpensive and useful as can be, I use one exclusively for my guitar work now. Try your mics, if you don't like em, get a 57.
 
another thing you can try would be to use a D.I. box, track clean and DI'ed then RE AMP. This way you can mess with amp settings, mic placement, etc while the track is playing. You can focus on your playing during tracking and on production later. Just remember that when you re-amp you'll need to "load" the signal before it gets back to the amp. Honestly, I don't know a ton about this but I have some info on it back at the house if you need/want it. But my guess is someone here could give you good info on loading before i get home and am able to post again. Good Luck.
 
nate_dennis said:
another thing you can try would be to use a D.I. box, track clean and DI'ed then RE AMP. This way you can mess with amp settings, mic placement, etc while the track is playing. You can focus on your playing during tracking and on production later. Just remember that when you re-amp you'll need to "load" the signal before it gets back to the amp. Honestly, I don't know a ton about this but I have some info on it back at the house if you need/want it. But my guess is someone here could give you good info on loading before i get home and am able to post again. Good Luck.
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This is a good idea. Also, I don't know about the POD, but my Toneport UX8 allows me to send an unprocessed signal in addition to the processed GearBox/Pod Farm signal. Set up two tracks, get both the clean signal and the processed signal, re-amp the clean signal and mic it appropriately. This gives you a multitude of ex post facto options for a guitar track that you don't want to do over.
 
i would think that the best technique would be based on what gear you are going to be recording, if the guy has a nice tube amp and a nice guitar, mic'ing the cab would probably be the best way to go, if he has a really crappy amp, a well worked out pod setting would probably sound better (although I would recommend the vox tonelab over the pod)
 
Actually one of the only things I've ever done well in my few recordings had been getting a killer guitar tone with a single ES-57 (3 for $80 at speakerrepair.com) near the edge of a speaker.

I think the 57s like loud sources, and they excel at capturing those loud sounds...I miced a Traynor YCV80 (very rich sounding), and a 4X12 cab powered by a Marshal Vint reissue. Both were turned up to normal stage/practice volume, which is quite loud. Got a nice big sound.
 
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