Recording Guitar/Using gear

  • Thread starter Thread starter lord_bow
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lord_bow

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Hey, so I bought some stuff for recording, but I'm an idiot that doesn't know a thing about recording. So.... I have an iMac computer, I use Garageband as my recording program, I have a Presonus Firepod. I try to record by directly inputing my guitar to the Firepod and just use Garageband amp simulators but they sound horrible, so I'd rather just mic my amp. My distortion sounds great, but the recording sounds horrible, I hear too much static/hissing in the background of my playing and it sounds like my amp is too far away or like if it were in a carboard box. Another thing is Garageband has like three different volumes for each track recording, plus i still have to worry about the input knob on my Firepod, which matters the most to avoid clipping or just go get the right volume? How the hell do I get a decent sound or what do I have to do to properly record my amp? Which is better to use, Garageband or Cubase? I think Garageband is freaking easy to use? Sort of, or else i wouldn't be asking these questions. I herd Cubase is much more difficult than Garageband. Please help a local idiot who through himself to the wolves of recording. OH and i use some lil cheap mic i got from Guitar Center, I don't know what it is, but it says Samson Q6 on it.
 
Welcome to homerecording!

okay, garage band is totally fine to use. That's the first software i used personally.

here's how I'd approach it:
  1. place microphone right next to guitar amp. like no more than 3 inches away (I often have the mic pressed right up against the grill cloth)
  2. create a new instrument track in garage band. Make sure it is enabled to record, and don't touch the volume controls for that track.
  3. play as loud as you'll get on the guitar/amp, watch the level on that track in garage band. Adjust the input gain knob on the firepod until the levels are nice and healthy (make sure they don't hit the red).
  4. hit record and start recording!

the volume levels in garage band are for mixing. The input gain level on the firepod is what you'll use to make sure the computer is getting a proper signal. It's a little annoying there aren't any level meters on the firepod, but C'est la vie.

You may consider getting a better mic depending on your goals. The Shure SM-57 is a great place to start for guitar amp mics. I'm personally really digging the Electro-Voice ND-468 on guitar amps right now.

Again, depending on your goals, you may also want to consider a bit of localized acoustic treatment. I use something like this that I built myself (only mine's 4 feet tall instead of 2): http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm and it helped a lot.

hope that helps, and good luck!
 
Thanx, I pretty much do what you told me to do, except I don't use one of those acoustic treatment things, but I'll try to make one out of a cardboard box and some mattress sponge. Hopefully that works. Thanx again, but what can I do about the hissing? Does that just mean I have too much Gain on my amp or should i just turn down the volume on my amp?
 
hmmm... not sure what the hissing is from. Does your amp hiss a lot? It could be just recording what is actually happening, and you never noticed it before. The firepod pre-amps are decent, and if the mic is right up next to the guitar amp, there's no way you've got the gain cranked up high enough to hear an overwhelming amount of hiss. If the guitar amp is what's hissing and you don't want to hear it, you can try putting a gate on the channel.
 
I've tried a few Samson mics (R 11 & R 21) and they seem a little high Z (trebly with a lot of hiss) to suit me for micing guitar amps. They do fairly well for micing cymbals though, if you don't set the gain too high. For amps I use Electro Voice ND 2578 mics about 3 inches or less from the grill. Different mics for different uses, some work great for certain sounds but not for others. Try a few different mics and you will see (hear) what I mean.
 
I record too on my Imac (G5) - started with Garageband then moved on to Logic Studio 8. I didn't care much for the amps in Garageband so I started using Amplitube 2 and now have Guitar Rig 3 - those along with the GUITAR AMP PRO in Logic are amazing sounding sims... I rarely Mic amps anymore as the sims when properly tweaked and along with a few AU's can sound pretty sweet.
 
You may have the gain set too high.

A good practice when tracking is to set the gain about 50% of what you would normally play live with, and adjust it up from there during rehearsal. Get your headphones out and listen to what the mic is hearing before you hit record.

If you have an eq on the amp, boost the mids a bit, and back off on the bass.
 
get a better mic!
make sure that you are using your soundcard... the default is the line in port (i'm sure you already have it configured, but just check)
also every other pickup on my fender buzzes with the amp. try different settings there too. it could even go all the way to having a crappy cable.. you never know.
maybe even try different inputs on the firepod. you have 8 after all
 
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