SOUND ADVICE
same increase in sustain. That’s electronically.
Acoustically, you want to have the guitar amp
speaker combo going because a lot of things
involve acoustic feedback with the guitar.
The sound comes out of the speaker, which
vibrates the guitar, which causes the string
to vibrate, which goes back into the amp, and
makes the note last longer. People have tried
to do these things artificially in the board.
Generally, what’s more important is that if
you have gotten some experience with a
particular amp and guitar that sound good
together, then that’s what you should stick
with when you record.
Are there any microphones that you
recommend for this type of recording?
Shure SM 57s are a good all-around mic. It’s
acceptable for guitar and even vocals. It’s
not a great studio vocal mic but it’s passable.
In fact, I use it for all the drums except the
overheads. It’s also fine for organ.
What about mic placement?
Generally, if you were to stick your ear up
close to one of the speakers in a multispeaker cabinet, the sound you’d hear would
be somewhat different than if you were
standing away from the cabinet. Acoustical
interference is set up when there is more than
one speaker in a cabinet. Even if there’s only
one speaker, the reflections off the floor and
nearby walls will cause acoustic cancellation
and reinforcement. What this means is the
tone that hits your ear has changed from the
time the sound is first made. If you were to
stand about four feet away from the typical
guitar cabinet and play while walking back and
forth in that area, you’ll hear drastic changes
in the way the cabinet sounds. Place the mic
relatively close to the speaker, within three or
four feet, listening to what happens. Then,
measure the location and make a short
recording of the sound. Spend a couple of
hours moving the mic around and recording
the sound at each location. I do this myself
occasionally to help determine where to put
the mic. You can use this to your advantage if
you don’t have a lot of EQ equipment. ■
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GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
DIGITAL EDITION
DECEMBER SPECIAL