If one guitar is good, then two guitars are better right? This can be true depending on the kind of music you are recording. Let’s look at a few ways to double up on guitar parts while recording and mixing that can add some excitement and dimension to a recording.
Create the guitar wall of doom
If you are into heavy guitar sounds, I know that I already have your attention. With words like “doom” describing your sound, what’s not to like?
When recording those bone crushing rhythm guitar tracks, have the guitarist record two or more identical takes. Pan one take far to the left and the other far to the right. You could pan the first 50 takes to the right and the other 50 to the left, but I think that is why the saying “less is more” was invented. …show more content…
This will intentionally create an impedance mismatch, giving you a raw, spanky tone that works really well for funk and maybe even country.
Reamping
With reamping becoming more popular all the time, it straddles the line between an effective trick and a common technique. In a nutshell, use a reamping box to record a dry signal to your DAW while listening to the tailored tone from your amp. Next, use the reamping box to play the dry performance back to your guitar amp. You can dial in alternate tones using the same performance that has already been captured. Mic the amp as usual and record these alternate tones till your heart’s content. This is a great way to layer different sounds while using just one take.
Let’s interact
With all of the great technology and recording equipment available to the non-billionaire crowd, one of the killer benefits of an amp cranked up loud enough to crack windows gets overlooked. I’m talking about that important interaction between the amplifier and the resonant wood in the body of an electric guitar. There is something very real about this amp-guitar synergy that adds flavor and sustain to the guitar sound. Since over-saturation begins to make a guitar sound small, try backing off on the drive and replace it with this resonance created by blasting the guitar …show more content…
This speaker should be sent a feed from the mic’ed guitar sound. This speaker does not have to be cranked up very loud to have the intended effect. The guitarist can step closer to the speaker for more interaction and further away for less.
Mic the body of the electric guitar
For a guitarist who wants to sit in the control room while recording tracks, slip a set of monitoring headphones on her and then set up a mic right in front of her electric guitar body. Blend this in with the amped sound and compress it a bit. This is a neat way to add some excitement to the sound of the track.
Specialization
Whenever you are dealing with multiple mics, amps or girlfriends, keep in mind that specialization is the key. Grab the mids with an SM57 and the highs and lows with a C414. Decide ahead of time what elements of the total sound you are trying to capture with different mics or amps. Look for these different facets of the guitar sound and be sure you are handling each of them
Create the guitar wall of doom
If you are into heavy guitar sounds, I know that I already have your attention. With words like “doom” describing your sound, what’s not to like?
When recording those bone crushing rhythm guitar tracks, have the guitarist record two or more identical takes. Pan one take far to the left and the other far to the right. You could pan the first 50 takes to the right and the other 50 to the left, but I think that is why the saying “less is more” was invented. …show more content…
This will intentionally create an impedance mismatch, giving you a raw, spanky tone that works really well for funk and maybe even country.
Reamping
With reamping becoming more popular all the time, it straddles the line between an effective trick and a common technique. In a nutshell, use a reamping box to record a dry signal to your DAW while listening to the tailored tone from your amp. Next, use the reamping box to play the dry performance back to your guitar amp. You can dial in alternate tones using the same performance that has already been captured. Mic the amp as usual and record these alternate tones till your heart’s content. This is a great way to layer different sounds while using just one take.
Let’s interact
With all of the great technology and recording equipment available to the non-billionaire crowd, one of the killer benefits of an amp cranked up loud enough to crack windows gets overlooked. I’m talking about that important interaction between the amplifier and the resonant wood in the body of an electric guitar. There is something very real about this amp-guitar synergy that adds flavor and sustain to the guitar sound. Since over-saturation begins to make a guitar sound small, try backing off on the drive and replace it with this resonance created by blasting the guitar …show more content…
This speaker should be sent a feed from the mic’ed guitar sound. This speaker does not have to be cranked up very loud to have the intended effect. The guitarist can step closer to the speaker for more interaction and further away for less.
Mic the body of the electric guitar
For a guitarist who wants to sit in the control room while recording tracks, slip a set of monitoring headphones on her and then set up a mic right in front of her electric guitar body. Blend this in with the amped sound and compress it a bit. This is a neat way to add some excitement to the sound of the track.
Specialization
Whenever you are dealing with multiple mics, amps or girlfriends, keep in mind that specialization is the key. Grab the mids with an SM57 and the highs and lows with a C414. Decide ahead of time what elements of the total sound you are trying to capture with different mics or amps. Look for these different facets of the guitar sound and be sure you are handling each of them