Members oneflightup Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Hi everyone, Just finished a new piece on recording electric guitars. Check it out: 5 Tips for Amazing Electric Guitar Recordings Comments / suggestions welcome! Nick ---Sydney Recording Studios One Flight Up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 nice summary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speakerjones Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Great, concise article. These are all techniques I've used over the years. The one thing I might add - when capturing ambient sound, you might want to use a condenser or ribbon with omni or figure 8 pattern. A good starting point is to walk the room while somebody is playing until you find a spot that sounds good to your ears. Place the mic there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Dynamic microphones are the ideal choice for close-miking a loud guitar amp. If you're going to use a condenser or a ribbon microphone, be sure not to overload them with a too-powerful amp. I'm not sure I'd agree with the first sentence of that. I am (and many other engineers are) as likely to use ribbons and (to a somewhat lesser extent) condensers on electric guitar amps as moving-coil dynamic microphones. In the multi-mic section, you might want to mention coincidentally-placed multi- mic approaches where two different types of microphones are placed the exact same distance from the source, and blended together to create a composite sound. For example, a ribbon and a moving coil dynamic might be used together, with the ribbon providing more of the transient information that the slower moving coil dynamic doesn't capture, or with a dynamic and a condenser, with one providing more top end clarity and detail to the sound... For ambience, bathrooms are the old standby, but give a nice long hallway a try sometime, or try opening the "studio" door and putting the mic in an adjacent room or hall. I use that from time to time with drums when I'm working in a smaller room to give them the impression of being tracked in a larger space. One final tip - whenever possible, use a second mic for the distant miking, and print it to a separate track - that way, you avoid the possibility of winding up with "too much" ambience - you can control "how much" you use later at mixdown. Overall, very nicely written and lots of good tips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Excellent article and tips - thanks for posting it Phil!There was one small thing in there that caught my attention - and this is kind of a side discussion. The statement in the first part:"Remember: Hendrix (or whoever) didn't play any old crappy instrument and then expect the engineer to wave a magic wand to give him his sound." While I certainly agree with this in principle, in the case of Hendrix, who I've been a huge fan of since the late 60's, I'd have to say that his engineer, Eddie Kramer, actually DID wave a magic wand on Jimi's studio recordings to give him his sound (to a degree). Of course Hendrix was a phenomenally creative guitarist with excellent equipment, but when he played live, he didn't use many effects. It was in his collaboration with Eddie Kramer that he developed some of the more psychedelic sounds that were the hallmark of Hendrix' studio albums. Just as Sir George Martin is sometimes considered the "5th Beatle," Eddie Kramer as an engineer had a big influence on creating Hendrix's recorded sound. Again, I do agree with the original statement, but just thought I'd add this side comment, since this is a forum to express our opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 18, 2015 Members Share Posted September 18, 2015 Comments / suggestions welcome! Nick --- Sydney Recording Studios One Flight Up Tip 5... Where is the toilet in all of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted September 19, 2015 Members Share Posted September 19, 2015 Doubt I'll ever have occasion to use it, but sounds good nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oneflightup Posted September 20, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 20, 2015 Hi everyone, Thanks for checking out the article! Glad you like it. Speakerjones - Great that you mention the "walk around with cans on" trick. I do that all the time. excellent advice. Phil - thanks for adding those points - all definitely good things to try, especially the hall / corridor. Love that one! I wanted to keep the article fairly simple as I know there are lots of people just starting out on the road of recording themselves. For these people as a starting point I recommend the 57. But you're right, there's definitely a world of possibilities from there in terms of microphone choice, combinations and positions. I'm a big fan of the Royer 121 on guitar amps... Excellent point about printing the room to a separate track! Karma1 - you're absolutely right about Eddie Kramer. I suppose I was trying to keep things a simple as possible in the article, really just trying to make the fundamental point about getting your sound right as much as possible before hitting record. But you're right, guys like Kramer and George Martin absolutely had a massive impact on the records they made, and good engineers and producers still do to this day.... But it's important for musos to understand that even though the Engineer / Producer can help with their sound, the responsibility is still very much the musician's to make the basic kind of sound they want to make... Billybilly - toilet's off to the left in the photos Cheers! Nick One Flight Up Recording Studios Sydney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 You skipped an important item when using two on the same cab at different distances. You basically said, record with two mics at different distances and blend the two tracks mixing. Being too superficial in describing recording techniques can be worse then not mentioning it at all. Unless you compensate for the phase shift you're using blind luck in having this produce good results. Whenever two mics are used on the same source you have compensate for the time sound takes travel through the air and strike each mic diaphragms at different distances. Since there's 360 degrees in a sine way basically have a 1 in 360 chance of getting the phase correct by just guessing. You can get it in the ballpark by using the 3:1 rule but its still best to listen to the mics through headphones in mono, then adjust the distance between the two mics for minimum phase. You can shift tracks or use a DAW plugin specifically designed to adjust phase but it more efficient to just get their distances correct and leave the first aid to unintentional mistakes. Shifting tracks can be PITA even under the best circumstances. You can also use phase intentionally for creating some special width effects in a stereo mix, or getting some EQ effects in a mix (like you'd get with pickups out of phase) blending two tracks, but again, its not something most recordings benefit from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 Excellent article and tips - thanks for posting it Phil! There was one small thing in there that caught my attention - and this is kind of a side discussion. The statement in the first part: "Remember: Hendrix (or whoever) didn't play any old crappy instrument and then expect the engineer to wave a magic wand to give him his sound." While I certainly agree with this in principle, in the case of Hendrix, who I've been a huge fan of since the late 60's, I'd have to say that his engineer, Eddie Kramer, actually DID wave a magic wand on Jimi's studio recordings to give him his sound (to a degree). Of course Hendrix was a phenomenally creative guitarist with excellent equipment, but when he played live, he didn't use many effects. It was in his collaboration with Eddie Kramer that he developed some of the more psychedelic sounds that were the hallmark of Hendrix' studio albums. Just as Sir George Martin is sometimes considered the "5th Beatle," Eddie Kramer as an engineer had a big influence on creating Hendrix's recorded sound. Again, I do agree with the original statement, but just thought I'd add this side comment, since this is a forum to express our opinions. Roger Mayer came up with the fx`s Hendrix was famous for,the rest of Jimi`s gear was bog standard for the day really ,Eddie just captured Jimi`s sound ,his mix`s on electric ladyland still sound great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted September 21, 2015 Members Share Posted September 21, 2015 Picking at a guy's article when it's "5 Tips" and not "5 Rules" or "5 Things You Gotta Do" is like complaining about five-cent lemonade. Good article. It's well written, and I like the style of your website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted September 22, 2015 Members Share Posted September 22, 2015 Good basic tips, but I DI my amps. Anytime I use a mic to record with, that's when the trains come thru the area, or the next door neighbor decides to mow his lawn, etc etc. Another reason I love my Yamaha THR10! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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