Recording Electric Guitars Explained
Who doesn't long for a great guitar tone? A great tone can sometimes make a riff sound larger than life or send a solo to an otherworldly dimension, taking the listener along for the ride. However, as many home recordists have discovered, it's not always an easy matter to translate the sound you hear in your head to the recording. In this two-hour video course, Patrick Coffin teaches you several techniques, tools, and methods for consistently achieving stellar guitar tone on your recordings. From DI signals and reamping to mic choices, amps, and more, you'll learn all you need to know to achieve professional-sounding guitar tones that you can be proud of. These videos are for those new to recording electric guitars.
Videos
• Introduction & Overview (02:46) - We start with a brief introduction and rundown of what we'll be discussing in this series. We talk about tried-and-true steps and best practices that will consistently lead to excellent electric guitar tones in your recordings.
• Setting Up Your Tone (09:04) - As simple as this sounds, recording a great guitar tone starts with ... having great guitar tone. In this video, we discuss which attributes are desirable when setting up your guitar and amp for recording and how to make the recordings as clean as possible.
• DI Recording (06:28) - Next, we continue setting up for recording electric guitar by getting a DI box properly incorporated into the optimal spot in the signal chain. Having these "dry" recordings of the performance will give us endless options later in the process, essentially fool-proofing the process.
• Finding the Sweet Spot (07:40) - Now that we've got our amp and tone the way we want it and our direct signal ready, it's time to dial in the perfect sound with our microphone. Small adjustments to the microphone's position in relationship to the cone will deliver vastly different sound and can really make or break the tone you're recording. In this video, we talk about what these movements mean and what we're listening for as we find the sweet spot of the speaker.
• Mic Choice (12:00) - Each microphone has its own flavor and polar patterns. Here, we discuss which attributes of different types of microphones typically excel at recording guitar amplifiers and how to use their strengths to achieve optimal results.
• Mic Positions Pt. 1: Close & Room (10:38) - Next, we talk about all the tried-and-true mono and stereo recording techniques that can take your guitar recording to the next level. Of course, there are no hard rules, and every amp is a totally different animal, but understanding these techniques will get you in the right ballpark every single time.
• Mic Positions Pt. 2: Creative Dual Mic (11:01) - In part 2 of Mic Positions, we kick it up a notch and talk about interesting techniques, such as mid/side, Fredman, and more.
• Reamping Basics (11:37) - Earlier in the series, we discussed how it's always important to record a DI version of every performance in addition to a miked amp. Now, we're going to discuss how we can use that dry track to elevate our guitar tones after the recording session is over by using a technique called reamping. This allows us to send the same performance back out into an amp, pedals, or several amps and/or pedals to get larger-than-life guitar tones and craft any creative guitar ideas with no time limit.
• Post-Production Techniques (09:08) - Even great electric guitar recordings require some post-production to get them sounding perfect and polished. Here, we talk about some basic editing, noise reduction, and mixing tips that will ensure those well-recorded guitar tracks will shine in the final mix.
• Alternate & Creative Mixing (10:05) - Next, we explore some creative techniques and alternate microphones that may not be common in the recording world but can really ramp up your guitar recordings.
• Alternate Recording Methods Pt. 1: Direct (06:57) - Amps are loud. There's no hiding it; they're loud and will be heard by anyone within a decent radius. Because of this, not everyone is in a position where recording a live amp is a possibility. In this video, we discuss how to record direct using amp simulator plugins in your DAW.
• Alternate Recording Methods Pt. 2: Hardware (07:39) - In part 2 of Alternate Recording Methods, we talk about hardware options that allow you to either record your prized tube amp without running into the cab or hardware that emulates the sound of amps without all the noise.
• Conclusions & Final Thoughts (03:29) - Finally, I send you on your way with a few tips and tricks that'll help you get the hang of all these techniques faster and start recording awesome guitar tracks right away.