official way of recording guitars

  • Thread starter Thread starter digmudvayne4lif
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digmudvayne4lif

digmudvayne4lif

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Hey everyone I'm sort of new at this and I was just wondering the real way that you're suppose to record guitars with the most proffesional outcome as possible? (is it direct input from pedal, line out from amp head, micing the amp, little bit of both, little of all 3,ect.) And also if it's a mixture of sources, what should the balance be between volumes of the different sources? thanks
 
The most professional sound?

A mic in front of the amp. Maybe more than one mic, and a couple of performances, but not always. Depends on what you're going for.
 
I tried just micing the amp but it sounded way too distant when i played it back
 
digmudvayne4lif said:
I tried just micing the amp but it sounded way too distant when i played it back
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the method is correct. now you must learn how to record amps. browsing around in these forums for a couple of months might get you pointed in the right direction.
 
okay I'll go look around, so its just micing the amp and no one ever really gets an input from the pedal. just making sure. thanks
 
digmudvayne4lif said:
I tried just micing the amp but it sounded way too distant when i played it back
Click to expand...

Well, did you think it would be perfect on your first try? :p

You asked for the route to the most professional sound, not the best route for you in particular. That might not be the best method for you....it depends on several other variables not the least of which is knowing how to actually do it. You should do some reading and research.
 
What sounds best? That's up to you. What I like best is miking a good amp. But like I always say, recording is an art. You don't master it over night. It can take years of trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn't. I like a Senheiser MD-441 tight on a grill of and amp (or even an SM-57) moved around to taste. Condensors can do a great job too. I've had great tracks with everything from the dreaded C-1000 to AT-4033's. In my experience, if your not hearing what you want in a recording, it's the source that's the problem, not the mic choice. If the amp puts out the sound you like, take some time and experiment with mic placement. I would get the amp up off the floor (put it on a chair or something) to decouple it from the floor and play with you mics.
 
I believe the most realistic answer is that approach, given the gear and recording environment you have, that produces the best sound. This might be micing the amp, but might also be some other approach.

It is quite common to see amps miced in studios,but some percentage of home users have neither the best gear or physical setup to do this well. Those that have amp modelers may find that going direct produces a very good result, with no noise during recording, and no issues with passing cars, barking dogs, or A/C units coming on/off.

Try different combos and pick the one that works best.

Ed
 
I find the best technique is to close mic about an inch off of the grill. The closer to the center of the speaker yeilds more treble and further from the center more bass. Then a room mic, usually a large diapragm condensor mic a few feet above the speaker and about 6 feet back. Then double take the parts and pan accordingly in the mix. It can take a long time to get micing an amp to sound good. Generally, a tube amp is a better source than would be a solidstate amp. Modelers are a great way to get "close enough".
 
Too distant?

to bring the guitar sound up front, you may want to try using less distortion or less volume. those are things that you think fatten up a sound, but alot of the time it just translates to noise that isn't renedered properly. the amp shouldn't be quiet, really. I have just found that some amps start putting out alot of high-frequency bite when you crank them, and it over whelms the lows and mids.
 
As all around weekend warriors when my buddies and I record we still try to use the whole guitar rig, mics, into a recording device. I can line out from a fancy schmancy multi effect unit with speaker simulators but it just isn't convincing. So, we close mic the speaker cabs and use distant mics too. The key here is micro adjustment ad nauseum, we don't spend more than 15 minutes getting the mics on the cabs set or else we'd loose our minds. This is probably what makes us weekend warriors. I use Shure sm58 knockoffs that are very respectable at recording the guitar as they handle huge volume and for the most part reproduce the sound of my rig accurately. Also, this mic does not pick up the bass and drums if we are recording all at once, if it does get some noise bleed it is not enough for me to whine about. My bassist has a Yamaha 4 track which is very limited in recording and one day soon I plan to get a Digi-002 sized unit with enough inputs to record a full rock drum set. With a Digi-002 unit I can really control the drums and the quality of recording over a 4 tracker is a giant step. I believe the guitars will really roar when I record with a serious recording device. My budget realistic recording chain for MY guitar looks like this:

LP > Fuzz Face > tube amp > 4x12 cab > Shure sm57/8 + borrowed condensor mic from a friend > Digi-002

I like recording rooms for guitars to be neutral or dead. That's a personal choice, I know most like a more lively sound.
 
I'm sure the "official" way is to isolate 3 different highquality half stacks in 3 different iso rooms, all miced differently into the same board, and then mixing appropriatly...



actually I have no idea... that was just a totaly guess
 
RFrecordings said:
I'm sure the "official" way is to isolate 3 different highquality half stacks in 3 different iso rooms, all miced differently into the same board, and then mixing appropriatly...



actually I have no idea... that was just a totaly guess
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I'd do it more like 3 half stacks, one iso room, 3 seperate performances.
 
i use DI through a Digitech 2120 Preamp. its just easier for me, given my situations.
 
If you're like me, and you're stripped for cash, you probably just have one mic and some sort of pre-amp (in my case a small mixer). I get best results doing this:

1. Mic the amp, double takes on every guitar part, panned hard left and right

or

2. Mic the amp on one track, use direct out from your amp another track, then pan them 30% orso left and right

Both will work ok, depending on the type of song and the sound of the guitar.
 
My personal favourite, DI a Triaxis through a Simul Class 2:90 then through a Palmer PDI-03 speaker sim (set to bright and deep for that big stack sound). You get a real mean kick ass sound that is the same every time you plug in, I love it;-)
 
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