Classical Guitar

Javanese rosewood bridge with 19 frets, nato neck and spruce top

Indonesian mahogany back and sides

Exceptional playability and superb tone

Delivers outstanding level of quality

Open tuning mechanism with chrome-finished hardware

Special handling fees apply

Mic Selection

Source

Audio Production Techniques - Top Audio Production Techniques For a Smoking Electric Guitar

After checking the performance comes the task of getting a good source tone. The tone of an electric through an amp has many factors to how good it sounds. The first and perhaps most important aspect of tone is the player. How they play and even where they play on the neck. Other factors include string gauge, pickup selections, and even pick thickness. Couple this with all the different settings on the amp and stomp boxes and you have nearly endless tonal possibilities.

First off no amount of studio wizardry will be able to overcome bad sounds being played badly. So your first task when recording an electric guitar is to make sure the source is all it can be. You will want to spend some time on tasks like making sure the player has her part down. Doing this before recording is critical because once the record button his hit anxiety goes up exponentially.

Insiders Secret Alert: I am about to hand you the underground mic placement secret that is usually only known by studio insiders. Here we go.

However it is not always the best choice. So if your budget allows, or if you are renting a studio with a large mic locker, then experiment with some of these other first picks:

I'm going to let you in on a little secret about mic selection - the SM57 is probably THE most used mic for recording electric guitars in the world. This is true even in pro studios with $1000 per day rates. So this $80 gem is a good place to start.

All of this to say that if you are not happy with the sound that is coming out of the amp, then you are not going to be happy recording that sound. So, if you find you are not happy then ask the player to switch some stuff around. Once you have the tone and performance you are looking for then you are ready to record.

1. Power up the amp.
2. Plug an instrument cable into the input.
3. Turn up the volume.
4. Grab the tip of the free end of the cable.
5. Listen for a buzz from you touching the tip.
6. Move your ear in front of the buzzing speaker.
7. Find the spot where the buzz is most pronounced.
8. Place the microphone there.

It is really a simple and effective way to find the sweet spot on the guitar amp. You will probably want to place the mic up close to the grill, which is called close micing. This mic position should get you what you need around 95% of the time. For the other 5% just move the mic around from the sweet spot until you find what you like.

From screaming rock solos, to planky country riffs, nothing adds energy and power to a song like a well recording electric guitar. And good news, they're easy to record.

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