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This month we tackle recording electric guitar. I’ve been fortunate enough to record guitars in many different studios with many different engineers. Each engineer or producer has a certain way they like to mic an amplifier (or speaker cabinet). Let’s discuss some of the most common ways.

This month’s article is interactive! That’s right, you have an opportunity to voice your opinion and I’ll publish the collective feedback next month. The topic is: branding.

Recording vocals for me personally is always hit or miss. Some days you sing great and some days you feeling like a first day reject for American Idol. You want to try to be consistent and prepared so I’ve got my own routine for practicing my vocals so that when the day comes I’ll be ready to go!

So you’re finally ready to record your songs in a “real” studio. What kind of preparations do you need to make? Let’s start off with basic guidelines that get us up to the point of pushing the red record button!

Tradition is a powerful thing and change is hard to make. But, if you consider how tone controls affect an amp’s signal chain, investigate what a guitar and amp sound like with minimal tone controls (or none!) and then decide if you really need them, you might be surprised at your conclusion.

You’ve finally made your decision to slap down some of your scarce cash on a reissue or new model tube amp built in the Far East for a BIG name manufacturer. It seems like a great deal: the vintage amps of this model sell for thousands of dollars more, it looks like the real thing and the specs appear to be the same (same tubes, same power, same controls, etc.). And, it sounded pretty darn good in the store too.

My first home recording set up was an Akai ¼ inch 2 track and a Harmon Kardon cassette deck, no EQ, the only effects I had were a few effects pedals. I would program one of my primitive drum machines or use a factory preset non-programmable rhythm machine while I was recording that I would usually add my bass or rhythm guitar. And after a suitable take I would ping pong the tracks back and forth from the 2 track to the cassette, adding effects on the fly.

Class A tube guitar amps. Everyone’s heard the term. It’s generally associated with higher-end amps in support of an amp maker’s claim that their product sounds “better”. I’ll leave the debate as to which is better to others. What I want to discuss is what Class A really means and, from the pet peeve perspective, to debunk many amp manufacturers’ claims that their products are Class A when clearly they’re not! You may be surprised at how many amp makers falsely claim Class A operation. So, let’s review, in practical terms, what Class A really is and learn a simple rule of thumb you can use to spot operating class BS!

This month I will be discussing a much overlooked aspect of guitar playing and appreciation, the professional setup. As I always say – this is not MY Guitar until it is setup to my specifications. I think perhaps 90% of today’s guitar players do NOT have a personal guitar repair technician that they work with. People have a favorite video / music store with a favorite clerk that helps them with selections, a tailor, a banker, a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer… yet they don’t have a favorite guitar tech. Why? Here are three scenarios that will exemplify this point.

Myths and misinformation (Mythinformation?) abound in the vintage guitar and amp world. Want to start a fight on line? Go to some gear forum and say, “This, without a doubt, is the amp Jimmy Page played on the first two Zep albums.” The amp you use for this example could be a small single 6V6 Supro, a Supro Thunderbolt, a Fender Champ, or any number of others. No matter what, you are guaranteed to get a bunch of folks agreeing with you, and another bunch so angry they start banging their shoes on their desks al-la Krustef while hacking frustrated spittle onto their screen while they post about what an idiot you are.