In this series, we are going to look at how to record a wide range of sound sources from a solo vocal through guitars, bass, piano strings, brass woodwind and percussion, before moving onto the drum kit. In part 3 we are going to look at recording an electric guitar.

Throughout this series, we are using some excellent videos produced by Audio Technica and they naturally profile their own mics. But of course, you don’t have to use the specific Audio Technica mics they recommend. Take note of the type of microphone they recommend, like a large-diaphragm cardioid condenser or a hypercardioid dynamic microphone and chose one of that type that you prefer and'/or own. What makes the biggest difference to the sound is where you place the microphone, not the particular brand and model of microphone.

Electric Guitar

Be it rock, punk, jazz, country, or funk, the electric guitar has been at the cutting edge of popular music for over half a century. Here are a few techniques to get the most out of any setup.

Tracking electric guitars can be one of the most enjoyable instruments to record as there are so many variables to the sound and style in which it is played.  For this article lets assume the player, either yourself or someone you are recording, is a guitar god and that their abilities are flawless.  What should you do, as an engineer, to ensure his performance translates well to the recording.  Here are 5 tips for tracking electric guitar.

Restring

Avoid using guitars that have rusty old strings as such strings can provide you with a dull tone with a compromised sustain.  Make sure the guitar is restrung well.  Look to see that the strings are wound properly at the tuning pegs and that the guitar has been played in a little before recording.  Freshly strung guitars need their strings “stretched in” to stop the instrument from going out of tune during playing.  This can easily be done by tuning in a string and pulling it up and away from the fingerboard at fret 12.  This will apply even tension to where the string meets both the bridge and nut.  Stretch the string away from the fingerboard then retune it.  Repeat this process until the distance between the string being “in tune” to “out of tune” narrows.

Tuning And Intonation

So the guitar is in tune… but as the performer is playing in the upper register of the guitar you notice tuning problems.  This is most likely intonation problems and can easily be corrected.  Plug the guitar into a good quality tuner, try to avoid tuners that are indecisive and erratic. Tune a string, then play that string’s harmonic at fret 12 (the octave).  If the note being played at the octave is sharp or flat then the saddle needs to be adjusted with a small screwdriver.  If the octave note is flat you need to shorten the length of the string at the saddle by loosening the screw.  If the harmonic is sharp then you need to lengthen the string by tightening the screw at the saddle.  Make small adjustments and keep tuning the open string in as the open tuning will change with every small turn of the screw at the saddle.  This is a worthwhile skill to learn as guitar shops in the UK charge anything between £20 - £40 for this service.

Cables

Always keep a handful of high-quality jack cables for recording that aren’t 30ft long and been gigged a hundred times.  The cable is the connection between a quiet piece of wood with some strings jangling on it and the power that will amplify it so don’t take that cable for granted.  Cheap cables hurt your sound and are more prone to failing.

Pedals

Stompboxes and pedals are a lot of fun to use with electric guitar but be aware that too much of a good thing can be damaging to the sound you want to achieve.  Our advice is to always get the best sound and tone from the player, the guitar and amp so that you can slowly add a pedal into the chain ensuring that every pedal you include in the chain adds something you are looking for.  Pedals can really easily take something away from the sound of an electric so try not to indulge the guitarist who has just purchased their next great pedal that makes them sound like all the great guitarists in one.

Volume

If you are recording an electric guitar with a microphone through a valve amp you will most likely have the amp quite loud to get those gutsy tones out of it.  If you are using a solid-state (transistor) amp then there is little benefit in re-enacting  Spinal Tap.  When working with loud guitar amps and microphones it is all too easy to get distracted by the energy of the sound to not listen to what it sounds like through your monitors.

In this video James Ivey demonstrates how to record your first Electric Guitar into Pro Tools.  

He starts by showing how to set up a DI (Direct Injection) box to enable you to record a clean guitar signal into Pro Tools which can be used for later processing if you decide the sound through the amp if not what you want. 

Next James talks about positioning a dynamic microphone on the speaker cabinet to get the desired tone before sharing a couple of tips that are good rules of thumb for recording not only guitars but any instrument where you think you are going to record multiple takes.

Using More Than One Microphone To Record An Electric Guitar

Though one mic can capture a great electric guitar sound, there are also several multi-mic techniques that can take your sound to the next level.

But what about more than 2 microphones? Is there any benefit of using say 3 microphones. James Ivey decided to investigate.

Why Three Microphones?

We are sure you have all heard stories from famous engineers about how they stuck a Shure SM57 on the guitar amp, it sounded amazing and that was the sound of the record. Well, I’m not a major fan of the Shure SM57 and I think there are much better mics around these days. I also like to blend mics to create tones that are not possible to achieve with just a single mic, which is why these days, I find myself using 3 mics.

The first mic I use is the Sontronics Corona which is a dynamic mic and is my alternative to the SM57. The real body of the guitar sound comes from this mic. The next mic I blend in is the Royer Labs R10. I love the warmth that ribbon mics can add without making the sound soft or woolly. The final mic I add is a new one to my collection and the main reason for this rethink is the JZ Microphones Vintage V11 condenser microphone. Condenser mics can sometimes be a little too bright or brittle to use up close on a guitar cab but the V11 is quite dark sounding and works really well on heavy distorted tones.

Three Microphones On A Single 12” Speaker

Getting three mics onto one speaker cone when using conventional stands can be tricky, add to the space issues the fact that the positioning of the mics on the speaker is very critical and you can see below quite how I had to juggle the mounts and mic clips to get it all to fit. The JZ V11 is still a “work in progress” as the mounting system for this is not the most flexible I have ever used but for now, it works and the sound is good.

Making sure the sound gets to the microphone diaphragms at the same time is all-important here. Remember that not all microphones put their diaphragms right at the front of the grill so a little bit of trial and error has to go into getting the mics in phase with one another. You can see from the photo above it looks like the Sontronics Corona is too close to the speaker but due to its internal design the diaphragms all line-up.

Take A Listen

In this short video, you can see and hear how my new electric guitar recording technique works. I will let you hear the 3 mics blended together, then individually and then in pairs with the dynamic mic. You will be able to see that the fourth channel or Combi mic has audio in it. This is from the tracking session but you are not hearing this as the Combi track is set to Input Monitor.

Keeping Your Options Open

I am really pleased with this new technique as I get a big sound very quickly while tracking but it gives me the option to go back and re-mix the guitar mics that maybe don’t cut it quite so well later on in the tracking or mixing process.

Let us know how you record electric guitar and if you have any smart or time-saving tips or tricks that you have developed.