I would say that the guitar is the instrument most used by songwriters around the world, especially the acoustic guitar, the classical guitar and, lately it has become very popular, the ukulele. If you want to record your guitar at home or are going to do it in a studio, I leave you some aspects to keep in mind.
1. THE RECORDING PLACE
- If you are going to record in a studio you don’t have to worry.
- If you record at home, look for a completely quiet place that is as empty as possible to prevent the sound from bouncing off the walls.
- If you notice that there are a lot of reflections, a good idea is to play in front of an open closet, a sofa, a shelf full of books, whatever…
2. THE SOUND DESIGN OF YOUR SONG
- If your production is going to be full of instruments and the guitar is just another element that will go unnoticed, you can record a single MONO track.
- If you want to get the best result in the mix, record in STEREO.
- I recommend that you take two identical shots. The small differences between one track and another will make it sound spectacular.
- If the song is very difficult, record a take with two microphones.
- If you have multiple guitars in your song, use both techniques. For example, record rhythm guitar in STEREO and guitar solos in MONO.
- The important thing is that you are clear about what you want the final result to be and transmit your vision of this result to the person in charge of mixing your song.
3. MICROPHONE PLACEMENT
- Depending on where you place the microphone(s), it will totally change the sound of your guitar.
- In my opinion, to get a clean, bright and full sound, it is best to place the microphone at 15-20 cm and pointing at the 12th fret.
- The closer you bring the microphone to the hole in the body, the deeper the sound will be. Try until you find the result you like.
- When using two microphones, you can place them in different positions to get different nuances from your guitar.
4. THE TYPE OF MICROPHONE
- Even if your guitar has a jack input, I DON’T recommend that you use it, unless that’s the sound you’re looking for or you have no other option.
- I usually use a small membrane condenser microphone, although I often also use a large membrane microphone.
- When I’m looking for a “dirtier” sound I use the dynamic microphone.
- Take a look at the post in which I explain each type of microphone HERE.
