is it better to record e.guitar with amp+mic or directly through mixer?

A

andrewkim9711

New member
Hello guys, I'm curious on how to record the electric guitar as I only recorded acoustic guitar before.
I use many kinds of instruments and put it in one video like SongeLeReveur does in his videos.
however, I want to know whether I should record the electric guitar like

1. Electric guitar -> Amp -> Microphone(placed in front of amp) -> mixing board -> music software(computer)
OR
2. Electric guitar -(connected to the mixer or audio interface)-> mixer or AI -> music software(computer)

does recording straight to the computer give bad quality?

I'm using
mic: Rode NT-1
AI: Komplete Audio 6
DAW: Reaper

thanks in advance!
 
Both. Put a DI box with speaker simulation (Joyo makes one that's only like $50 new) between (assuming you're using a combo) your power amp and speaker. Mic the amp and record the direct signal at the same time. Mix to taste.
 
Strange Fires said:
Both. Put a DI box with speaker simulation (Joyo makes one that's only like $50 new) between (assuming you're using a combo) your power amp and speaker. Mic the amp and record the direct signal at the same time. Mix to taste.
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When you say mix to taste do you mean until the DI is off?
 
Greg_L said:
Why does everyone complicate the simplest things? Just mic the fucking speaker.
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Or just the room. DI guitar is the worst and TBH anyone who has to ask hasn't done any research or testing themselves. These people should get a SM57 rammed up their ass....

On a stand.
 
muttley600 said:
Or just the room. DI guitar is the worst and TBH anyone who has to ask hasn't done any research or testing themselves. These people should get a SM57 rammed up their ass....

On a stand.
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Well that's one way. :laughings:

I just mean all the blending of real and fake. Use one or the other. You don't have to jump through hoops. Mic an amp, use a sim. You'll get good results with either. There's no need to do a bunch of extra tricks.
 
muttley600 said:
DI guitar is the worst and TBH anyone who has to ask hasn't done any research or testing themselves.
Click to expand...

When it's just guitar > DI > interface, that can sound pretty awful, you're right. Especially for distorted tones. But I put my DI box between my Music Man 212's power amp and speakers, and it sounds pretty convincing that way because it's the direct signal from the amp, not just from the guitar (and like I said, it has speaker simulation, so that helps a little too). Hope that makes sense.
 
so in conclusion using the amp + microphone works best with best sound quality, right? :D thanks all for the great answers! helped alot.
 
The answer should be both! You cannot set absolutes. Sure, if the guy has a pile of pedals, a posh amp and an unusual cab, then you can be pretty certain that what comes out of the speaker is what you should record, but piles of pedals frequently hiss like mad, and if the guitar has single coil pickups, then they work brilliantly at 'collecting' every bit of hum and interference around. Re-amping is very common nowadays. So you record what comes out of the guitar, and then later, in controlled circumstances, away from all the lights and sound kit, you re-create the sound. So if they have a pile of effects, all injecting a little hiss, then the ones not contributing to the sound can be removed. You can even work on the raw guitar sound to cut out stuff that once processed, spoils the sound. If the amp is critical, along with the cab - then route the raw guitar back in, and re-record it in a room that sounds better than the stage! For some guitar styles where you really want the instrument to be clean, then chorus and eq might even be better applied afterwards.

The only rule you can have, is that there are no rules, just guidelines. Me - I slap a 58 on the cabinet, unless there's a need not to. When I play guitar or bass - my own style means that I'm happy with what goes to the amp, so I often DI it from there. I don't add processing by the amp or speaker - just not for me, as I prefer the amp and speaker to be neutral, not really wanting much added. I might tweak the tone a bit, but it's never a long job, and I've never been unable to get what I want. In fact, I only hear in my in-ears what goes into the amp, via the DI, so I'm not bothered about what it sounds like on stage at all. I'm not typical, though. The guitarist in my band spends hours tweaking his amp, so for him, it's miking up speakers every time.
 
rob aylestone said:
The answer should be both! You cannot set absolutes. Sure, if the guy has a pile of pedals, a posh amp and an unusual cab, then you can be pretty certain that what comes out of the speaker is what you should record, but piles of pedals frequently hiss like mad, and if the guitar has single coil pickups, then they work brilliantly at 'collecting' every bit of hum and interference around. Re-amping is very common nowadays. So you record what comes out of the guitar, and then later, in controlled circumstances, away from all the lights and sound kit, you re-create the sound. So if they have a pile of effects, all injecting a little hiss, then the ones not contributing to the sound can be removed. You can even work on the raw guitar sound to cut out stuff that once processed, spoils the sound. If the amp is critical, along with the cab - then route the raw guitar back in, and re-record it in a room that sounds better than the stage! For some guitar styles where you really want the instrument to be clean, then chorus and eq might even be better applied afterwards.
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:facepalm:
 
I'm going to record some guitar tracks on an original song I'm working on.... With my new fender mustang amp. It's a modeling amp and really has a killer sound to it. It's stereo and the headphone out doubles as a speaker simulated line out. I've run it into my interface and just recorded some noodling to see how the direct sounds. Bottom line is that it's the best DI I have ever heard. That being said, when I record the guitar tracks on that song I'm going to cut DI and miked guitar on the same amp and setting.

To my ears it sounds the same. But then I'm only listening to a short segment of lead guitar noodling. A complete guitar track in the context of a fully instrumented recording may prove otherwise.

I have always just mic'd a cab. The result always depended on how good the rig sounded going in.
A have learned one thing from experience...
A little distortion (or fuzz) goes a long way. I hear a lot of guitar tracks on home recording that have way to much crunchiness and not enough tone.
 
When you mix DI and mic'd speaker, you're gonna have phase problems unless you slide one track around, make one track much lower than the other, or simply don't care. For me personally, I despise phase problems. I hate the sound, and unless you're recording in in an environment in which you simply can't be loud, I see no reason to DI anything when you have a mic and a good sounding amp.
 
greg_l said:
when you mix di and mic'd speaker, you're gonna have phase problems unless you slide one track around, make one track much lower than the other, or simply don't care. For me personally, i despise phase problems. I hate the sound, and unless you're recording in in an environment in which you simply can't be loud, i see no reason to di anything when you have a mic and a good sounding amp.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^

Even an average sounding amp is better than a decent DI setup. DI = NO WOOD IN THE SOUND.

/*thread//
 
I have been using a 58 to record guitar with.
Somebody walked off with my 57 and I haven't replaced it as I haven't recorded in a long time.
Is the difference in the 2 enough to warrant going out and buying a SM57?
 
jimistone said:
I have been using a 58 to record guitar with.
Somebody walked off with my 57 and I haven't replaced it as I haven't recorded in a long time.
Is the difference in the 2 enough to warrant going out and buying a SM57?
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I use a 57 most of the time despite having other options. I like it so it does for me...
 
jimistone said:
I have been using a 58 to record guitar with.
Somebody walked off with my 57 and I haven't replaced it as I haven't recorded in a long time.
Is the difference in the 2 enough to warrant going out and buying a SM57?
Click to expand...


Try the 58 and see how you like it. What the hell, you have one so why not?
I don't think there's that much difference between the two but when you check EQ graphs, there IS a diff. So it may just be what you're looking for.
:)
 
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