Recording Guitar - Untreated Room

T

TheNightman77

New member
Hi All,

In my patrolling of these forums, I see it repeatedly stressed to both newbies and home recorders in general that room treatment is essential to a good mix, even more so than hardware and mics in many cases. In fact, it seems to be arguably the second most important factor, after the performance itself.

I currently record guitar in an untreated basement that has at least 3 foot thick concrete walls on all sides. Great for a practice room, not so great for recording due to reflections. I do a good amount of recording down there, micing my amp with an SM57 approximately 1 inch from the grill. Considering I am using a dynamic cardiod mic right up against the grill of the amp which is at pretty high volume so as to reduce the pre-amp coloration, what are the chances that these reflections from the concrete walls are coming through in the recorded track? My assumption is that room treatment is more apparent for things that aren't so close mic'd: vocals, drums, mic'ing a foot away from a cabinet, etc. Is the impact of the room still significant when close mic'ing an amp?

Obviously the easy answer would be to use my ears, but since I've never recorded in a treated room, I don't know how much of the difference between my home recorded guitar tracks vs. commercial releases can be attributed to untreated room noise.

Thanks in advance for any insight!
 
Also, if it's an "it depends" situation like so many recording questions are, I can post an mp3 so those with trained ears have a direct example to work with if it helps
 
I record in an untreated basement too, and whenever I mic my amp up close and loud (practically touching the grille and cranked to jamming-with-a-drumset levels) I can't tell much of a difference between it and a DI'd signal with an amp simulator, so I'd say no. In the few instances I've tried recording the amp from further away (like three feet), the room made it sound pretty weak.
 
Most of the "good room treatment" stuff is directed towards mixing. Since many home recorders track and mix in the same room, I think it's generally accepted to treat the room for the mixing environment potentially at the expense of the room's live sound. I say that's a good thing. I can't think of many situations where some guy's bedroom or basement is a good live room, so fix it up for mixing. Not many of us live in a cathedral or theater or any other large good live space.

Having said all that, sure, mic your loud amp close with a cardoid dynamic. The room will play little to no role in that situation. The room only matters when the room matters, such as when using room mics, directional mics, or miking from a distance.
 
3 foot thick concrete walls??!! :wtf: How'd you get a bomb shelter to use as a recording space?! As said, as long as you close-mic, you shouldn't have issues recording guitar, except to your ears over time. I'd get some bass (full frequency) traps in the corners first, then some on the walls.
 
The closer you place your mic to the speaker, the lesser the impact of the room sound. So if your room is an issue, do get the mic as close as you can while still getting the tone that you need. Do be aware of the proximity effect, though.
 
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