MusicRadar

Record the back of the amp for a bit of warmth.

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Take it slow

One of the greatest things about modern digital recording is that you can coax out performances that just weren't possible before. Just as MIDI made everybody a rock-solid pianist by enabling us to record performances at slow tempo, now you can do the same thing with audio. If you're struggling to fine-tune that killer solo, or only seem to manage one or two sections at a time, don't worry. Try slowing the tempo down (if you're using a sequencer that doesn't auto-stretch audio then you'll need to mute everything else while you do this) and record the same solo at a slower tempo. You can then simply speed up the resulting solo until it fits the project tempo. And if there are any mistakes, just patch together the best bits of the different takes.

Pro Tips

If you're using a DI system with emulation plug-ins (or if your guitarist is in a different room to the amp), you can set up a mic to record the actual sound of the strings being plucked on the electric guitar and mix them with the main signal.

If the sound of your guitar is too harsh, try moving the mic towards the side of the amp.

You can get some useful variations by raising the amp off the ground and keeping the mic in the same relative position.

Electric guitars and all peripherals are incredibly noisy. To remove some unwanted hiss, try some noise reduction plug-ins. Alternatively, insert a high-cut filter very early in the chain; just enough to remove hiss without altering the tone. The sharper the filter, the better - 24dB per octave is ideal.

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