![]() Few of us have properly treated spaces at home that truly sound good. But in most cases, you want to remove the sound of your room from the equation. Okay, don’t literally knock down your room. Experiment to find the quietest locations and directions in your particular space. Most noise in our rigs is actually airborne, and it can change dramatically depending on what direction your guitar or amp faces and where it’s placed in the room. And then find the “quiet spots” in your room. Clean power - both AC and pedal power supplies. Go through your gear with a fine-tooth comb and clean it up: Good cables. You’d probably never notice any of that noise onstage. But put a microphone in front of it, and you may be dismayed to hear how much hum, buzz, and other noise is coming out of the speaker. You may think your amp has no noise or that your rig is really clean. Put in some extra time in the ‘shed before you hit the Record button. Even if you’re going for a loose, raw feel, being able to cleanly execute the parts you want to play is essential for good-sounding recordings. You may think you’re playing a part cleanly, but under the watchful eye of your DAW, flaws in rhythm, groove, technique, and execution may start to show up. You’ll quickly learn to hear where you’re pulling and pushing strings out of tune. The best way to learn to play in tune is to record yourself - a lot - and listen carefully. Avoiding this a touch and ear thing that comes with practice and experience, and it really separates the pros from the not-so-pros. In the heat of the moment onstage, no problem. Just a hint of extra pressure on a string can make it go sharp. It’s easy to pull a string or strings out of tune as you’re playing. ![]() The third aspect of this is simply playing in tune. I recommend installing fresh strings and checking intonation before making a recording. The second factor is having the instrument set up for proper intonation so it physically plays in tune as you change positions on the neck. I use Peterson Strobostomp HD tuners on my boards, but even the least expensive clip-on tuner can do a great job… if you use it! That’s one part of it: accurately tuning the instrument. ![]() If you watch a pro in the studio, it’s not uncommon for them to check their tuning before every single take. One way I can often tell a pro session musician from many musicians recording at home is tuning. Here are three “hygiene” areas you can focus on to get great-sounding tracks before you ever pick up a mic or hit the Record button. It’s a very different experience because everything is under the microscope and you’ll hear things in a recording that never would have been noticed at a gig. And it’s not like performing live onstage - even if you’re trying to capture a live performance of your band. Recording isn’t like practicing your instrument. What a shame, then, if that tone doesn’t come across when we record tracks at home! Here are five tips that I’ve found useful for getting great-sounding electric guitar tracks in my home studio. Five Tips for Great Electric Guitar Recordings at HomeĪs guitar players, we spend countless hours - and often a lot of cash - ensuring we have the right instrument, the right pedals, the right amp, the best tubes, ideal speakers, even the best picks, all in service of developing our own signature tone.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |