MusicRadar

Read on to discover Rusty Cooley's studio secrets.

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Dan Le Sac

Listen, listen and listen again
I am not the man to talk to about recording guitars – there are a ton of engineers and producers who can do it better – but sampling is where I live. When sampling guitars, you must listen, listen and listen again. If a guitar line is buried amongst a wall of bass and drums, there is always a way to dig it out. Whether that's with EQ, phase cancellation, gating or a combination of all three, it can be done if you listen and know what you're trying to work with.

Slice as nice
I would have to say that you should never use a sample straight, especially guitar samples. Let's be honest, no one wants to hear you use that Led Zeppelin riff untouched, so slice, re-order and find something new from it.

www.myspace.com/lesacvspip

Mark Clayden (Pitchshifter, This Is Menace, Gunslinger Black)

Energy well
You need to get the energy right for recording, or you can easily run into problems. If you think of the energy you put into a live performance as a '10', then a studio performance should be backed off to about a '7'. If you get too carried away, you may well suffer from tuning problems, particularly if you are down tuned. It's often hard to concentrate on your timing if you're playing far too hard.

Pre-production
Even if you're recording at home, make sure you have done your pre-production beforehand. This means sitting down with the songs in a practice room and discussing which parts work within a song and which don't. This will tighten up your tracks no end and help eliminate any unnecessary elements that get in the way.

Yes gaffer, right away
We recorded our www.pitchsifter.com and PSI albums with producer Machine Freeman, who also produced White Zombie, Hed PE and Lost Prophets. When we came to record heavy riffs that only used the lowest strings, he would gaffer the unused strings to the neck to stop any unwanted noise.

www.pitchshifter.com

Stephen Lawson (Editor, Total Guitar)

Phrasing, intonation and timing
There are three areas of your playing that ought to be water-tight: phrasing, intonation and timing. You can improve the latter simply by practising with a click track in the background. Intonation, in this sense, relates to string bends: make sure you bend in tune! As for phrasing, try to fill any solos with great-sounding and succinct musical phrases. Save the noodling for practice sessions!

www.totalguitar.co.uk

Duncan Jordan (mastering engineer)

Solo compilation
Whenever I write a solo, I jam over the track. Once I have ten takes down, I listen back and pick the parts I like. Rather than cutting and pasting them, I learn them as a single solo. This way, having to link the phrases together means that you know it's playable, with the sections flowing into each other. A cut and pasted composite may have huge, unplayable leaps around the guitar's neck.

Play for the song
Beware of being 'allocated' a section of a song for a solo that doesn't suit lead playing. A verse or bridge might be great for vocals, but it might be too pedestrian for a screaming lead that's supposed to take the song to a new level. If this is the case, pick a better section from the song or write a new section for the solo.