Re: [LAU] how record electric guitar?

On Wed, 2009-04-08 at 13:04 -0400, Paul Coccoli wrote:

> Here's what drives me crazy: someone asks a very basic question, how
> to record a guitar, and you start talking about multiple mics! The OP
> isn't even sure how to use one mic. And as a professional, you know
> full well you don't *need* more than one.

  Sure. My point was hang some mic(s), arm some track(s), and hit the
red button.

> > If you're recording distorted guitar there's little need to compress on
> > the way in because it's already super compressed. If you have something
> > really fat sounding like a Distressor or a Tube-Tech or something, and
> > you want to fatten the sound a bit more, fine.
>
> Agreed; don't worry about compression (yet). But again, if he has to
> ask about how to record a guitar, do you think he owns a Distressor?
> Or should even be thinking about how to use outboard gear (besides the
> mic pre)?

  No idea what his level is. I read the very beginning of this thread,
ignored it for a while, and felt fired up when I saw it today. :-)

> > I've had luck with almost EVERY mic I've ever used on guitars. U47,
> > U67, U87, 414, 4050, 421, KSM44, KSM27, M88. On general principle I
> > won't have a 57 on anything. Maybe it's stubbornness.
>
> It is stubbornness (in my not-even-amateur opinion).

  Absolutely. But I still won't use it. Blame an old boss of mine who
swore by SM56's as well.

> My advice: plug your guitar into your amp, and fiddle with both the
> guitar and amp until you like how it sounds. Then put the mic right
> in front of the speaker. Start with ALL gain controls low, and slowly
> bring them up. Don't worry about low cut on the pre; you probably
> don't need it. Leave some headroom on the mic pre (using the meter)
> but also leave a lot of headroom on your soundcard (use a mixer app).
> Don't even try to get it as loud as possible, because you wind up with
> digital clipping, which will ruin your recording. Just get it loud
> enough. You can adjust the level more precisely later.
>
> Listen to your recording. If you hear lots of rumbling, try the low
> cut on the pre.
>
> If you don't think the recording sounds like what you hear when
> playing, move the mic farther away. Maybe even put it exactly where
> your ear normally is.
>
> Most importantly: stop reading and writing e-mail and do it. If it
> sounds bad, change one thing and try again.

  I'm basically with you.

 But I say just hang some mics and hit record. It isn't going to sound
like Ed Cherney recorded it, but so what? It's something to strive for.

 Rich...

_______________________________________________
Linux-audio-user mailing list
Linux-audio-user@email-addr-hidden
http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-user
Received on Wed Apr 8 20:15:02 2009