Not every guitarist records. In fact, most guitarists will never make a recording of themselves. However, many of the burdens associated with the task of recording have been, in recent years, pushed aside. In the past, it was necessary to assemble an entire team of people to make recordings. You had to have one or two engineers, usually a producer, several band members and generally a few hangers-on who just wanted to get in on the action. As technology has increased, the amount of labor associated with recording has decreased, along with the number of people needed to produce recordings.
For most guitarists who want to record, especially in a home studio, the recording environment will consist of three primary things: the guitar, the amplifier or direct device, and the recording device. All three of these are of equal importance in producing quality guitar recordings.
First, you must make sure that your guitar is of quality and in good working condition. If you’re not up to the challenge yourself, take it to a quality repairperson who will be able to make sure that your string heights are adjusted correctly, the action is comfortable and that your electronics are in working order and free of buzzing and other electrical noise.
Second, the amplifier or direct interface. More and more these days, guitar recordings are made with direct recording interfaces, such as the Line6 POD. These types of devices can be great time-savers in the studio and, more and more, can offer you a tone equivalent to or better than a traditional amplified signal. If you’re more of a purist, make sure that you have a quality microphone to pick up the signal from your amplifier (the standard is a Shure SM57) and that your signal is free from interference. This means making sure that your amplifier, microphone and microphone cables are free of buzzing and that all fluorescent lights in the recording environment are turned off. Fluorescent lights, although great energy-saving devices, reflect up to sixty percent of their energy back into the system. If an amplifier or loudspeaker is hooked up to the system, a beautiful 60-cycle hum ensues, ensuring that whatever recordings you make are utterly useless.
Third, the recording device. For most of us these days, our primary recording device is a home computer. Macintosh has been the industry standard for years, but most PC makers have revved up their models enough (and made them crash-free enough, thank you very much) so, although the majority of studios still use Macs, the only real difference is your personal preference. Whatever type of computer you decide to purchase, however, make sure that you max it out with speed and memory.
Although many computer programs and direct recording devices will have some pretty good-sounding presets, to get original tones, make sure that you experiment and try to come up with something that sounds original. Many presets are loaded with gain and effects to make them sound impressive to first time hearers. Remember, a whole lot of great guitar sounds have been recorded with a minimal amount of distortion, and effects can always be added later, so don’t risk screwing up a great take by committing your effects to tape right away, without being sure of the tone that you’re going for.
Good Luck!
You can find more information about guitars, recording and recording techniques at http://www.guitar-4u.com
Written By: George Nellas
