As a young musician first starting out tying to record instruments in my makeshift home studio, I had no clue what I was doing. I would just throw up a mic somewhere near the guitar, amp or piano I was recording and hope for the best. Fix it in the mix I thought.
Fast forward 15 or so years and through trial and error, education and experience in studios and live sound, I can tell you I record completely the other way round. If you get the sound of an instrument “right” at the source, you save a hell of a lot of time trying to tackle those recordings at the mixing stage.
In this post I aim to give you clear instructions on how you can achieve great results recording instruments in your home studio or band room. With the microphones and music technology available today, there is no reason why the average musician can’t make great recordings at home – as long as you know what each instrument needs, you can deliver great tracks to your mixing engineer.
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Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar Bass Guitar Piano For a comprehensive (some might say the ultimate) guide to recording drums, head to this post – DIY Drum Recording – The Ultimate Guide.
In recording electric guitar we are putting up a microphone in front of the guitar amp. There are many different opinions on exactly where to put the mic, but generally I implore you to use your ears.
A microphone in front of the centre of the speaker will pick up a lot of high frequencies as that is where the most treble is produced. Moving the mic to the edge will give you a duller sound. Experiment with the position until you find a balanced sound with good levels of treble and mid frequencies.
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The centre of the speaker will deliver a tone with a lot of high frequency harshness. The edge will be relatively dull. Somewhere in the middle is a good starting point.
There is no real need to put the mic right up at the speaker cone. This will give you a very direct and sometimes harsh sound that doesn’t sound very natural. Back off the mic 10-30 cm or so should give you a full-bodied, natural sound like you hear with your ears in the room.
You can even add another mic like the picture above to add an extra flavour from further back. More on that below.
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This one is no secret but for me is the key to a great guitar sound when recording. Using two mics with different frequency characteristics and blending them together will give you a full tone that really holds it’s own in the mix.
But generally you could use any combination. I like to use one dynamic (often an MD421 or Beyerdynamic M88 TG) and one condenser. The dynamic provides a solid foundation with a lot of body, while the condenser provides more subtle dynamics and air.
In order to eliminate phasing issues (where delay between signals causes timing artefacts), either make sure the microphones are the same distance from the speaker OR that you align the tracks in your DAW with a delay plugin. The first option makes sure you are hearing the combined signal properly while recording, the latter gives you more flexibility regarding tone and placement of the second mic.
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You really want to get the sound right at the source while recording. I can’t stress this enough. There is nothing more annoying than pulling yourself out of the mixing zone to re-record a part that is just not responding to your EQ efforts in the way you’d hoped.
That being said keeping your options open is a good idea and it has saved me on countless occasions. Sometimes the recording stage is stressful and you make mistakes or don’t pay enough attention to every single signal. Or you might need an extra layer of guitar or double track panned hard left and right.
So recording a clean, unaltered guitar signal before it goes to the effects and amp is a good idea. You can re-amp the signal later, sending it through any pedals or amps you desire.
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To do this, connect the guitar lead directly to a DI box and use the parallel output to connect the rest of the signal chain (effects and amp). The XLR output goes directly to your interface.
Another option would be to use a splitter to connect the clean signal to a Hi-Z (high impedance) or instrument input of your interface, and the other to the normal signal chain and to the amp. As long as the cables are not too long, you shouldn’t have any noise issues. If you want to go the safe road, get a DI box.
The Shure SM57 is probably the most popular mic ever, and is used for recording guitar, any kind of amp, drums, hell, even vocals sometimes. It’s so durable you could drop it 100 times and it will still work.
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I find it can sound a little flat and lacks depth and detail so generally I steer clear of the SM57 when recording guitars. However, using a second microphone to complement it, you can get very good results. But try it yourself, pretty much every rock album from the 1990s featured guitars recorded with an SM57.
The MD421 delivers a crisp, clear and honest electric guitar sound when used for recording amps. It responds well to harsh tones such as distortion and gives a full body to clean guitar sounds.
This is the mic you see dangling from the amp on stage at your local concert venue. It was specifically designed for electric guitar amps and delivers on practicality and sonic quality.
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The M88 TG is a lesser known option for recording guitar amps but an absolute gem. It has a slightly vintage quality that sounds immense on a crisp fender blackface and responds to overdrive and distortion well.
It’s kind of like putting a mic through a preamp with mojo, giving it a different vibe. They’re not that cheap, but well worth the cash.
The C414 is an honest and extremely versatile little bundle. If you can get your hands on one of the vintage (1980s, god I’m getting old!) B-ULS models, you will appreciate the neutral frequency response. Also works great on overheads, vocals, percussion – it is so versatile, it works with pretty much anything.
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The only ribbon on this list, the M160 is one of THE go-to mics in recording studios for guitar amps. The slightly duller tone of the ribbon really matches the otherwise harsh sound of a driven guitar, evening it out nicely. A lot of engineers swear by it so it should be on your radar.
Acoustic guitar may in fact be the simplest of all instruments to record, yet there are a few aspects to consider in order to get some really good tracks on tape. It’s all about getting the right balance between high and low frequency components and a good relationship between the guitar’s body resonance and string sound.
When recording acoustic guitar, cardioid condenser microphones are your best bet by far. You will need the clarity and detail they provide. The sparkle of the strings and jangle of the strumming is best brought out by microphones that are sensitive to high frequency transients. Condensers are the best for this, and the cardioid pattern picks up primarily from the front of the mic, while rejecting sound coming from the back.
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My pick of the above for bands on a budget would be the Røde NT5 or NT55, simply because they deliver the most bang for your buck. The only difference between the two are the interchangeable capsules to change from a cardioid to an omni polar pattern, as well as the -10/-20 dB pad and 75 Hz high-pass-filter.
Many musicians won’t be able to afford a C414 or KM184 – but if you can, then definitely take some time to evaluate these mics. They will improve your acoustic guitar recordings immensely.
This is the best way to start when searching for your perfect acoustic guitar sound while recording. Putting the microphone at the 12th fret just delivers a balanced sound with enough string jangle and body resonance and is suitable for both strumming and fingerpicking playing styles.
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But in audio we still rely primarily on our ears so feel inspired to move the mic around a bit and experiment with the positioning. Depending on the guitar, the guitarist and the room, you may find the 12th fret position needs improvement. That’s what recording audio is all about – finding the perfect microphone position by using your ears.
A properly mic’d acoustic guitar recording in stereo can form a solid foundation for any folk or singer-songwriter recording. With the majority of listeners consuming music on their headphones these days, the importance of good stereo recordings is immense. So once again, we have to get it right at the source.
In order to achieve a great stereo acoustic guitar recording, make sure you get yourself a stereo bar. By screwing the mic clips
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