Page 34 - The score

How to Record

ELECTRIC AND BASS

GUITAR at home?

Recording electric guitar or bass guitar is a similar process as EQ Tips on your Electric guitar
far as recording in a home studio setup is concerned. Most audio 1. First, we use a High Pass Filter to remove any low rumble in
interfaces come with a built-in direct input interface or a direct your room noise, about 90-120Hz is usually the sweet spot
injection which allows us to use an unbalanced cable TS (Tip-
sleeve) cable in which the tip and sleeve connectors carry -10db 2. Next, we can cut out muddy frequencies around 250Hz to 800
of the signal. Since the D.I is built internally into most interfaces, KHz by setting the Q value like a notch filter and dipping it down
we won’t have to invest in an external D.I. about -2db to -4db depending upon how much it requires.
Here are my few tips to get great recordings of your Electric Or 3. Now shelf up the frequencies above 6Khz by around 3-4db
Bass guitar. (using D.I Connection) depending upon how it sounds in the context of your track. This
should help your guitar to sit well in your mix.
1. Connect the TS cable from your Electric Guitar or Bass Guitar
into the Audio Interface and set it to instrument input or HI-Z EQ Tips on your Bass guitar
level. This way you are feeding the impedance from the pickup of 1. Removing the low rumble in your recording by using a high
your guitar to the audio interface so your guitar tone is captured pass filter and setting it to around 70-80Hz.
efficiently by the AD/DA converter. A common mistake is that a
lot of people switch the input to line level. 2. Next, find the muddy frequencies between 250-400 KHz by
setting the Q value like a notch filter and dipping it down about
3. Set the gain or trim on your interface so that the signal peaks -2 to -4db.
around -10db to -15db in your audio meter on your DAW. This
leaves you with plenty headroom to mixing with. 3. You can also use a Low Pass Filter to cut out some of the top
end frequencies were the Bass has too much of the string ringing
4. Make sure that you record your input into a mono audio track sound. This will help your Bass sit well in your mix.
in your DAW, arm your track and begin recording.
Compression and mixing tip on your Electric or Bass guitar:
Amping your Electric or Bass Guitar A compressor will reduce the dynamic range and make your
This requires a little bit of acoustic panel treatment in the space recording sounding equally loud throughout. Therefore, heavily
that you’re recording in as you’ll need to mic the Guitar cabinet compressing your signal will make you lose the natural dynamics
and record. The acoustic panels will reduce the sound reflections of the instrument.
and the bass build up in your room in order to get the best result
into your recordings. Here are few tips:
1. My go-to mic for recording an electric guitar is the Shure SM 57 1. Set the Ratio around 2:1 or 4:1 so that we don't squash the
as it captures the amp character accurately. dynamics of your Electric or Bass Guitar.
2. Position the mic off-center and very close to the cone of your . 2. Now set the threshold so that the Gain Reduction meter reads
around -3db to -5db. Again the amount of compression that you
3. You can also place a condensor mic around 1-1.5 feet away from need in your guitars depends on the genre and the kind of sound
the cabinet to capture the body of the Amp if your interface has that you’re going for.
two mic pre inputs.
3. If you want your guitars to be loud and powerful, then I would
4.Now record with both mics onto two separate MONO tracks. suggest compressor plug-ins like the Waves CLA 1176 which is
You can also choose to record one signal through D.I and the very aggressive and heavy.
other by miking an amp. You should also keep in mind that 4. By recording two tracks (one by miking the amp and the other
the dry signal through the D.I Connection will reach the DAW D.I) you can blend both with different levels of compression and
a milliseconds earlier than the Mic track. This latency between pan each of them to either the left or right to give you a natural
the two tracks can also give you a great result in your recording. stereo effect.

Author: Baba.L.Prasad. He is the owner and chief Sound/Mix and Mastering Engineer at Digi Sound Studio. He also teaches
Sound Engineering and Music Production courses. For more details, visit www.digisoundacademy.com
32 The Score Magazine
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