The Secrets of Making Great Guitar Recordings

By: George Nellas

Not every guitarist records. In fact, most guitarists will never
make a recording of themselves. However, many of the burdens
associated with the task of recording have been, in recent
years, pushed aside. In the past, it was necessary to assemble
an entire team of people to make recordings. You had to have one
or two engineers, usually a producer, several band members and
generally a few hangers-on who just wanted to get in on the
action. As technology has increased, the amount of labor
associated with recording has decreased, along with the number
of people needed to produce recordings.

For most guitarists who want to record, especially in a home
studio, the recording environment will consist of three primary
things: the guitar, the amplifier or direct device, and the
recording device. All three of these are of equal importance in
producing quality guitar recordings.

First, you must make sure that your guitar is of quality and in
good working condition. If you're not up to the challenge
yourself, take it to a quality repairperson who will be able to
make sure that your string heights are adjusted correctly, the
action is comfortable and that your electronics are in working
order and free of buzzing and other electrical noise.

Second, the amplifier or direct interface. More and more these
days, guitar recordings are made with direct recording
interfaces, such as the Line6 POD. These types of devices can be
great time-savers in the studio and, more and more, can offer
you a tone equivalent to or better than a traditional amplified
signal. If you're more of a purist, make sure that you have a
quality microphone to pick up the signal from your amplifier
(the standard is a Shure SM57) and that your signal is free from
interference. This means making sure that your amplifier,
microphone and microphone cables are free of buzzing and that
all fluorescent lights in the recording environment are turned
off. Fluorescent lights, although great energy-saving devices,
reflect up to sixty percent of their energy back into the
system. If an amplifier or loudspeaker is hooked up to the
system, a beautiful 60-cycle hum ensues, ensuring that whatever
recordings you make are utterly useless.

Third, the recording device. For most of us these days, our
primary recording device is a home computer. Macintosh has been
the industry standard for years, but most PC makers have revved
up their models enough (and made them crash-free enough, thank
you very much) so, although the majority of studios still use
Macs, the only real difference is your personal preference.
Whatever type of computer you decide to purchase, however, make
sure that you max it out with speed and memory.

Although many computer programs and direct recording devices
will have some pretty good-sounding presets, to get original
tones, make sure that you experiment and try to come up with
something that sounds original. Many presets are loaded with
gain and effects to make them sound impressive to first time
hearers. Remember, a whole lot of great guitar sounds have been
recorded with a minimal amount of distortion, and effects can
always be added later, so don't risk screwing up a great take by
committing your effects to tape right away, without being sure
of the tone that you're going for.

Good Luck!

About the author:
You can find more information about guitars, recording and
recording techniques at http://www.guitar-4u.com/.

The Theory About Guitar

By: Jerry Mathis

I'll never forget it. Several years ago I was on my way to see
KISS in concert (first time seeing them with makeup, I might
add) with a good friend of mine. She was interested in music as
I was; she had taken piano lessons for ten years or so.
Inevitably the conversation during the drive turned to
music...all different aspects of it.

We got to the subject of what exactly music instrument lessons
really teach you, and I asked her a very simple theory question:
"What is the chord spelling for a minor chord?" (in case you are
wondering, the answer is 1, flat 3, 5...more on this in later
articles).

I was shocked to find out that she had absolutlely NO idea what
I was talking about.

I tried to explain to her the basic theory behind this question,
but see seemed to get more confused as we went. I just could not
understand how someone that had taken lessons for ten years
could not have the slightest inclination as to what she was
playing. She stated "all I ever was taught was how to read music
- what notes on the page corresponds to what key on the piano".

This simple conversation had shown me how important it was to at
least have some sort of understanding of basic music theory. I
know...there are many, many guitar players and musicians out
there that are perfectly happy with their level of knowledge (
my brother-in-law has been trying to learn guitar for the past
year simply to be a chick-magnet).

I guess my point is this: going beyond the chord books and scale
charts and guitar tab and standard music notation is this
living, breathing "thing" that you can't really appreciate until
you "get into it". I have found that once you get the urge to
develop more knowledge about theory, it can be hard to stop.
Granted, everyone has a level where they are comfortable...but
you would be doing yourself and your music a dis-service by not
trying to get to that point. It kind of struck me as sad that I
would never be able to jam with my friend and be able to yell
out "follow me - play a 1-4-5 12 bar blues in 'E'".

Do I know or claim to know everything about theory? Absolulely
not...but I am comfortable with the level I am at. I can sit in
with any rock back and hold my own. Now jazz on the other
hand...I know I would have to do some work. But you know what?
That's OK!

By the way (just in case you were wondering)...the concert was
AWESOME!!!

About the author:
Jerry Mathis has 25 years of guitar experience - playing,
teaching, recording and performing live. Visit his website 1StopGuitar.com to get
your guitar tablatures, articles, reviews, accessories and more
all in one place!

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