There has been a lot of discussion about recording an Electric Guitar. There are so many different approaches that I almost question what else could be contributed to the topic. I don’t plan on explaining any one technique that will revolutionize the process, but I can offer my understanding of the practice. I have used a number of different techniques to record an Electric Guitar Speaker and I have a few go-to’s that I try just about every time.
In this article, I’ll discuss the importance of getting the sound you want at the source. I’ll talk about the importance of good microphone technique as well as common mic choices.
There is a companion video at the end demonstrating some of the microphone techniques discussed within this article.
Before we can talk about how to create a wide stereo field, or how to make your guitar track fit snuggly inside your mix we have to address some basics.
TUNE YOUR GUITAR. (and tune it often)
That’s lesson one.
It should be obvious that if what you’re playing isn’t in tune its gonna stick out worse than your drummers attitude.
Once your guitars are neatly in tune, You need to dial in the sound your looking for. For this we will use a combination of the Amp’s EQ, a good sounding guitar and a decently treated room.
It’s important to find the sound you want at the source. Its easy to make minor cuts or boosts to settle a track into the mix than it is to make that guitar ‘sound good’ after its been recorded. Garbage in, Garbage out. I’m not a huge believer of recording something one way and then trying to make it sound like something different. Get the sound you want and then put a mic on it. Don’t make the gear do extra work.
The signal flow will likely look like this:
Guitar -> Guitar Amplifier -> Microphone -> Mic Pre amp
Start by listening to your guitar through the amplifier, get as close to the sound you’re looking for.This is totally dependent on what sound your going for and what the character of the amp/guitar combination is in the room. I usually look of a tone that sound bright and full, without being too shrill or muddy.
It’s a common practice to place the amp cabinets on carpet and raise combo amps off the ground onto a chair. This helps to attenuate the low end rumble from the floor that is undesirable In a electric guitar recording. The placement of the speaker cabinet can be an important consideration especially when using ambient room mics. Sound waves will reflect differently depending on the angle of the speaker relative to the reflective surfaces of a wall. This can be a great way of making a source sound much bigger but does run the risk of phase cancellation.
Phase Cancellation is the out-of-sync relationship between two perspectives of the same source. In this case, between direct sound and reflected sound.
When two microphones are capturing sound out of phase, the result will sound thin having lost low end because these long bassy wavelengths have canceled each other out.
The destructive interference of phase cancellation can alter a recording’s formants, resonances, and general harmonic content. This is all depending on the degree to which one source is out of phase with another.
To Learn more about Phase, visit this article.
We can always tweak the tone later using a combination of the Amp’s EQ and mic placement. but to minimize phase issues with multiple microphones were going to make sure that our stereo microphone techniques are near coincident. Meaning that both mic capsules occupy as close to the same space as possible.
Common Microphones Used to Record Guitar:
The three most common microphones used on electric guitar cabinets are
The first two are dynamic, The SM57 is a brighter microphone, The MD421 sounds darker.
The R121 is darker as well, But a little tip: It’s rear lobe is actually brighter than its front.
I’ll pause here and say that Brighter = more high frequencies, Darker = Less high frequencies.
Mic Placement:
When you’re micing a guitar amp here is something to remember about distance.
The closer a microphone is to a source, the more low end it will capture, This is known as the proximity effect. Controversially, the further a microphone is from a source the less low end it will pick up and the resulting sound will be brighter.
By having more high frequencies, we hear them more (duh) and that becomes a more prominent characteristic of the overall sound. If a sound has less high frequencies, the lower frequencies will become more prominent and the sound will appear warmer, more low frequencies. (inverse effect) Sound gets a little claustrophobic without high frequencies.
I like to balance a SM57 and a MD412 because of their different EQ curves. Again, for me its all about balance. Because the 57 is brighter, I like to put it closer to the cone, to pick up a bit more of the proximity effect.
Because the 421 sounds darker, I’m going to compensate for this and put about six inches or less away from the speaker grill.
Now the 57 in getting more bottom end, and the 421 is getting less bottom end, therefore getting more top end, and because each is getting what it DOES NOT naturally amplify the mics will sound closer to each other.
Play around with this positioning and remember to check phase.
Common Mic Placement Techniques:
1. 2 SM57/58s
- One pointed directly at center of cone,
- one turned off center at middle of cone.
- Hard pan each track
This setup will provide a wide stereo image due to the differences in mic position. One side darker and one side brighter. This technique was used extensively by Andy Johns, audio engineer for bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Chickenfoot. This technique is great for rock guitars.
2. MD421 + SM57
- Classic stadium rock sound!
- Both mics right up against speaker grille.
- Checking Phase is important here!
This is another classic guitar cabinet micing setup. By double tracking a 4 x12 speaker box with two different microphones with different Frequency pickups (EQ curves) we can create a wide and powerfully full stereo image. This technique was quintessential to the hard rock and metal genres. Bands like AC/DC and Metallica captured their big, stadium filling guitar riffs using this technique
3. 90 degree offset
Heres a bit of an unorthodox one for you:
Point one mic directly at the center of the cone and the other mic pointing to the floor.
The off set position of the second mic capsule will greatly attenuate high frequencies can can be a great approach to taming the harsh top end of some amplifier/guitar combinations.
4. Mic Different Speakers
Each speaker in a cabinet will sound slightly different. This can be a great technique if you happen to have different speaker models within the same cabinet. Any of the above techniques can be used across multiple speakers. Remember, a wide stereo image is based on differences of amplitude, and time of arrival.
________________________________________________________________________________
Use Multiple Guitars
I usually alternate between a Les Paul Standard, and a Mexican Stratocaster.
The Strat is a little thin, as its lacking a hum bucker in the bridge position, I usually find myself turning up the bass. The bridge pickup provides a darker more mellow sound by rounding out alot of the high end attack that a strat tends to have in the bridge position. The middle pickup provides a concentrated midrange tone that is quite signature to the Strat.
The Les Paul has more of a warm midrange sound but, I’m usually pretty sensitive with the bass knob on the amplifier I find it can get a bit muddy depending on the amp, often I boost the mids and treble to bring out the clarity and charm of the humbuckers.
Whether you’re going for a screaming solo lead sound that soars over the mix or a big, thick, and creamy wall of guitars supporting the solo, I can show you how to get there.
I begin with rhythm guitar parts. I’m going to talk about micing a single amp or cabinet. I love tracking through a wall of different amplifiers but I don’t know if most of you are going to be doing that everyday so I’m going to aim to give practical and affordable guidance.
You can use any of the mics I listed above, alone or in combination , and get a great sound.
The Royer R121 is a great choice as a darker sounding mic, but seeing as it has a price tag of about $1100 CAD The budget studio might not be able to afford it.
I use the SM57 as a bright sound, and a MD421 as a dark sound. I blend these together to get a real body to my tone, that adds up to stadium rock guitars.
Tracking a guitar part multiple times with different guitars can be a great way of widening the stereo image by creating DIFFERENCES in the left and right channel.
Ill often record a rhythm part with both my Les Paul and Stratocaster. By using a combination of mic placement and EQ on the amplifier, I aim to bring out the guitars natural tone where I think it fits in the mix.
To me, a Les Paul is a beefy sound and contributes more to the Low Mids, (400Hz-700Hz) it has a great top end, but isn’t as ‘plucky’ as the Strat. The Strat sits closer to the vocal, around 1 – 3 kHz.
It is possible to a get plenty of tonal variation just by adjusting the mic’s placement in relation to the speaker.
The middle of the cone is the brightest spot, The further from center a mic is positioned the darker it will become.
Pro Tip:
Once you have some close mics in place, search for a flat, reflective surface in the room and point a mic at it. This can be used to capture the reflections that bounce off of this surface. This is a great way to add some character to your guitar track, especially if you’re recording in a unique sounding room
There are a lot of different mic techniques to be discussed, some are used just about every time a record. While others can add a unique depth to a dry sounding guitar part.
Most of these mic techniques will use 2 microphones and will focus on creating a wide Stereo Image. Any one of these mic placements will be great in mono. you might even track the same part twice and change the positioning of the microphone for the second take to create more differences between to two takes.
Check out this video for further instruction:
____
Did you like this article?
Was it helpful and informative of the world of sound recording? Leave a comment below!
Join me each week as we explore another area in the world of Audio Engineering.
