Tips for Guitars

Tips for Guitars
(update 11/07/2000)

Thanks to Eric B. Barr, for his personal opinion on the question.

There are almost as many guitars sounds as there are guitarists. Nonetheless, we can list some general ideas and particular problems to which we are all confronted in the studio.

General Tips | Acoustic Guitar | Electric Guitar : the Amp | the Instrument | the Effects

First of all, let's talk about the part the guitar will play in the arrangements :

The first tip I'd give would be to try and anticipate the "stereo position" of each guitar part in the final mix, for each song. In most musical styles, it's better if there is a balance between the left and right stereophonic channels. In other words : if a guitar plays a part on the left side during the entire song without anything (other guitar, keyboard part, etc...) on the right side to counter balance it, then the mix will not be properly... balanced !!!

Therefore : try to anticipate all the parts (most often, the rythm guitars) that must be doubled if there is just one guitarist in the band. Then, each track can be positioned at either end of the stereo image. For the other guitar parts, little gimmicks in the verses and solos (are there still any ???) for example, a doubling isn't necessary.

If your band has two guitarists (or more !?!?!) then it isn't normally necessary to double the rythm parts, since each guitarist can take care of one side of the stereo image.

Although... For particular styles of music *where guitars play an "extremely powerful" role, it's often interesting to double each rythm guitar, ending up with 4 rythm parts, two per guitarist ! For some groups it isn't necessary to use this 'trick' to thicken the sound if the guitar sounds are already satisfying in the first place (see the Amp). The thing is : it's nice to want to double everything, but it's going to take twice as much time to record (am I just smart or what !!??). It even takes more than double the time since the second part will have to be played perfectly in sync with the first, if you don't want to see the whole advantage of doubling collapse altogether. The final sound wouldn't be bigger ! It would certainly be messier !!! Unless you're a living God of guitar, anticipate all that in pre-production.

* let's call them 'metal' to make it simpler. I don't want to argue about the differences between black-metal-trip-core-industrial-doom and death-metal-hard-core-trance-garage ! Sooner or later, I'm afraid that in wanting to over-categorize musical styles, we'll end up with more styles than there are groups in record shops !!!).

Acoustic Guitar :

I'd rather repeat myself often than forget to say that the quality of the instrument is just as important as the musician's. It could be a good idea to rent an excellent quality guitar (great brand, impeccable tuning), if your own guitar sounds like someone stretched rubber bands in front of a Campbell's Soup can, before you start the recording sessions.

Rent it several days before the recording sessions, in order to get used to playing on it.

You'll have to develop a very clean style of playing to avoid all the nasty string noises due to your fingers slipping during chord changes. Too often, the sound engineer gets as much of these 'zips' as there are useful notes with his microphones. If you use a pickup (also called piezzo or cell mic), it will 'pick-up' these parasite sounds just as well ! It's, therefore, not a solution.

Since we're into clean styles of playing, don't forget to bring several types of picks. Most of the time, a guitarist used to playing the electric guitar with a 1 mm pick will also use it for the acoustic parts, resulting in strings ringing everywhere because they are too sollicitated by that pick. A 0,4 mm pick should do the trick.

This might seem stupid, but the heavy breathing musicians go into when they're concentrated is sometimes picked-up by the microphones as loud or louder than the guitar notes ! Learn to play without breathing (just kidding... although......). That's a case where a pickup has an advantage, but to me, nothing beats a correctly positioned microphone pair.

For twelve string guitars, it could be interesting to rig two strings at the same octave (with one set much lighter than the other, if you don(t want your guitar to implode !). The sound remains rich and full, without the 'SCORPION ballad' effect most often associated with this type of guitar.

Bring a bottle-neck, you never know. Even though an empty beer bottle can make do. I'm sure you can find that in the studio !!!

For those of you who use a pickup, use a special very low impedance cable specially for guitar and bass, rather than the first jack cable you lay your hands on. You can drive the signal through long distances before it "collapses". They cost a lot more than normal cables : test both, weep for hours because you didn't know there was such a difference, and start saving (40 dollars for a 30 ft cable) !

Electric Guitar

The Amp :

If you don't have a 'combo', then the amp is a seperate item from the cabinet (which contains the speakers)

I'm not here to debate on the individual merits of Mesa Boogie, Marshall or Peavey. They each have a particular sound, which is always interesting. What I do hate is these little 'clicks' * that some combinations of Amps/Speakers can produce on distorted sounds. Check your sound very closely, while someone else plays your guitar, to see if your distorted sound is 'clean'. I know that it may seem weird to speak of a 'clean' distorted sound, but these parasites may give a wimpy aspect to your global sound. If your style of music is based on a lot of brutally muffled power chords (MESHUGGA style), these parasites won't be very pleasing to the listener, since they'll always hang over the silences, and the sound engineer won't be able to get rid of them.

* They sound like someone stepping on plastic cups during a concert. Now you surely know what I mean.

Also check that your cabinet (box where the speakers are mounted) is free of any parasite vibrations, due to loose screws or a any other loose object.

You might as well identify the speaker that suits your taste best. You could put your ears in front of every speaker in turn, but if you play at extremely loud levels, I wouldn't consider this method ! In that case, stick a microphone (SM 57 Shure, or similar) 2" from a speaker, dead center and perpendicular, and listen to the result carefully. Then ask someone else to place it alternatively on the other speakers until you've identified the one which best represents what you'd like to hear. Of course, this will be the same speaker you'd advise a monitor engineer to stick his mic on for a concert !

Concerning the tuning of the amplifier : Don't forget that the microphone will only be inches away from one of the speakers (see above). A sound that seems correctly balanced in bass and treble 10 feet away will inevitably sound diffenrent once picked-up by the microphone. Don't be surprised if the sound engineer asks you to alter that balance, he's only trying to get the same sound you find right 10 feet away, event though he's picking it up from a couple of inches away !

If you have a remote footswitch system (maybe even MIDI) from which you can change the sounds of your amp, try to maintain a consistent level throughout the different sounds. That's another thing that will make a Front Of House engineer happy during a concert !

The "line out" 1/4" Jacks at the back of an amp section carry an incredibly lousy sounding signal, which can sometimes be interesting. You'll have to go through a DI Box if you wish to bring that signal into a mixer in the best possible way.

(I'd like to know more about DIs)

Concerning cables, even though it's tempting to use the first jack cable you laid your hands on, you'd better use special very low impedance cables designed specifically for guitars and bass. The signal can run fairly long distances without "collapsing" (a must for live work !). I know, they cost a lot ($40 for a 30 ft cable) : test both, then cry your heart out because you didn't know, and start saving !

Electric Guitar

The Instrument :

Tuning : the best thing would be to have just one tuner for the whole band, on which each member will plug-in when he has the slightest doubt on his instrument. Therefore, you avoid minute errors due to several tuners which aren't even tuned together in the first place !

Bring TWO sets of new strings. You'll never be too precautious. For rhythm guitar parts, a brand new string set will give you a firm and clean edge, even on low chords.

For these same rhythm parts, it's better to use a heavy string set, like a 53, especially if you're in a 'drop' tuning. A heavy string won't fringe on the frets, and will respect tuning, since it'll bend less.

If you are not used to playing on such strings, you should practice long before going to the studio, in order to feel confident once you're there.

For the other parts, including solos, a lighter string set is better (a 42 for example).

Electric Guitar

The Effects :

Since there are no rules concerning the chaining of effects, I wouldn't dare give any advice on that matter. Some guitarists even found a distinctive sound by breaking some of the rules we'd thought were granted !

However, many guitarists wonder how to set the input and output levels of their effects. Even though there are no definitive rules, if your goal is to have the cleanest possible signal...

Start by setting all the output levels to "max", so that the next effect in the chain gets the most level possible (except if the next effect clips, even if its input level is set very low : in that case, lower the output level of the previous effect a bit). Then, for the input levels, you must look for the maximum level before clipping : you generally have at least one LED for that purpose, which should never go red. Needless to say that these rules go for digital as well as analogue effects. Both output a lot of hiss when the input is not driven properly (low input signal).

You'd better use effects that are specifically designed for guitar and bass (which have a very high output impedance) rather than effects designed for studio work (plugged into a mixer). If you plug a guitar in a studio effect that isn't equipped with a special "instrument input jack", you'll get a lot of hiss and a very thin sound (no bass or trebble) !!!!

For effects based on delays (especially echo effects) or reverb, don't forget that studios generally have far better effect processors than the ones found in an ordinary guitarist's effect rack. Try to jot down the values of the delays you use in milliseconds (when possible, most effect pedals have pots that are labeled in 'zblixs'), for each song or part, in order to give the information rapidly to the engineer, if he thinks he can do better with one of his processors.

Now, what's worse than a cool sound... with buzzes, hum and hiss all over the place ! The best way to get that is to use a truck load of effect pedals, all powered by their own little wall wart !!!
Please please, pretty please : one mains adapter only.

Check the current required by each pedal : about 100 mA for an analog pedal (distorsion, EQ, etc...) and 200 mA for a digital one pedal (Delay with sampling, for ex.).
Add all these values, and get a 110 AC - 9 DC voltage converter, with one extra Amperage at the output, you never know, your army of effect pedals could still expand !

Or better yet (perhaps a larger budget, but your sound will never have been so free of parasite noises), work exclusively with batteries.

	I'd rather repeat myself often than forget to say that the quality of the instrument is just as important as the musician's. It could be a good idea to rent an excellent quality guitar (great brand, impeccable tuning), if your own guitar sounds like someone stretched rubber bands in front of a Campbell's Soup can, before you start the recording sessions. Rent it several days before the recording sessions, in order to get used to playing on it.
	You'll have to develop a very clean style of playing to avoid all the nasty string noises due to your fingers slipping during chord changes. Too often, the sound engineer gets as much of these 'zips' as there are useful notes with his microphones. If you use a pickup (also called piezzo or cell mic), it will 'pick-up' these parasite sounds just as well ! It's, therefore, not a solution.
	Since we're into clean styles of playing, don't forget to bring several types of picks. Most of the time, a guitarist used to playing the electric guitar with a 1 mm pick will also use it for the acoustic parts, resulting in strings ringing everywhere because they are too sollicitated by that pick. A 0,4 mm pick should do the trick.
	This might seem stupid, but the heavy breathing musicians go into when they're concentrated is sometimes picked-up by the microphones as loud or louder than the guitar notes ! Learn to play without breathing (just kidding... although......). That's a case where a pickup has an advantage, but to me, nothing beats a correctly positioned microphone pair.
	For twelve string guitars, it could be interesting to rig two strings at the same octave (with one set much lighter than the other, if you don(t want your guitar to implode !). The sound remains rich and full, without the 'SCORPION ballad' effect most often associated with this type of guitar.
	Bring a bottle-neck, you never know. Even though an empty beer bottle can make do. I'm sure you can find that in the studio !!!
	For those of you who use a pickup, use a special very low impedance cable specially for guitar and bass, rather than the first jack cable you lay your hands on. You can drive the signal through long distances before it "collapses". They cost a lot more than normal cables : test both, weep for hours because you didn't know there was such a difference, and start saving (40 dollars for a 30 ft cable) !

	I'm not here to debate on the individual merits of Mesa Boogie, Marshall or Peavey. They each have a particular sound, which is always interesting. What I do hate is these little 'clicks' * that some combinations of Amps/Speakers can produce on distorted sounds. Check your sound very closely, while someone else plays your guitar, to see if your distorted sound is 'clean'. I know that it may seem weird to speak of a 'clean' distorted sound, but these parasites may give a wimpy aspect to your global sound. If your style of music is based on a lot of brutally muffled power chords (MESHUGGA style), these parasites won't be very pleasing to the listener, since they'll always hang over the silences, and the sound engineer won't be able to get rid of them. * They sound like someone stepping on plastic cups during a concert. Now you surely know what I mean.
	Also check that your cabinet (box where the speakers are mounted) is free of any parasite vibrations, due to loose screws or a any other loose object.
	You might as well identify the speaker that suits your taste best. You could put your ears in front of every speaker in turn, but if you play at extremely loud levels, I wouldn't consider this method ! In that case, stick a microphone (SM 57 Shure, or similar) 2" from a speaker, dead center and perpendicular, and listen to the result carefully. Then ask someone else to place it alternatively on the other speakers until you've identified the one which best represents what you'd like to hear. Of course, this will be the same speaker you'd advise a monitor engineer to stick his mic on for a concert !
	Concerning the tuning of the amplifier : Don't forget that the microphone will only be inches away from one of the speakers (see above). A sound that seems correctly balanced in bass and treble 10 feet away will inevitably sound diffenrent once picked-up by the microphone. Don't be surprised if the sound engineer asks you to alter that balance, he's only trying to get the same sound you find right 10 feet away, event though he's picking it up from a couple of inches away !
	If you have a remote footswitch system (maybe even MIDI) from which you can change the sounds of your amp, try to maintain a consistent level throughout the different sounds. That's another thing that will make a Front Of House engineer happy during a concert !
	The "line out" 1/4" Jacks at the back of an amp section carry an incredibly lousy sounding signal, which can sometimes be interesting. You'll have to go through a DI Box if you wish to bring that signal into a mixer in the best possible way. (I'd like to know more about DIs)
	Concerning cables, even though it's tempting to use the first jack cable you laid your hands on, you'd better use special very low impedance cables designed specifically for guitars and bass. The signal can run fairly long distances without "collapsing" (a must for live work !). I know, they cost a lot ($40 for a 30 ft cable) : test both, then cry your heart out because you didn't know, and start saving !

	Tuning : the best thing would be to have just one tuner for the whole band, on which each member will plug-in when he has the slightest doubt on his instrument. Therefore, you avoid minute errors due to several tuners which aren't even tuned together in the first place !
	Bring TWO sets of new strings. You'll never be too precautious. For rhythm guitar parts, a brand new string set will give you a firm and clean edge, even on low chords.
	For these same rhythm parts, it's better to use a heavy string set, like a 53, especially if you're in a 'drop' tuning. A heavy string won't fringe on the frets, and will respect tuning, since it'll bend less. If you are not used to playing on such strings, you should practice long before going to the studio, in order to feel confident once you're there. For the other parts, including solos, a lighter string set is better (a 42 for example).

	Since there are no rules concerning the chaining of effects, I wouldn't dare give any advice on that matter. Some guitarists even found a distinctive sound by breaking some of the rules we'd thought were granted !
	However, many guitarists wonder how to set the input and output levels of their effects. Even though there are no definitive rules, if your goal is to have the cleanest possible signal... Start by setting all the output levels to "max", so that the next effect in the chain gets the most level possible (except if the next effect clips, even if its input level is set very low : in that case, lower the output level of the previous effect a bit). Then, for the input levels, you must look for the maximum level before clipping : you generally have at least one LED for that purpose, which should never go red. Needless to say that these rules go for digital as well as analogue effects. Both output a lot of hiss when the input is not driven properly (low input signal).
	You'd better use effects that are specifically designed for guitar and bass (which have a very high output impedance) rather than effects designed for studio work (plugged into a mixer). If you plug a guitar in a studio effect that isn't equipped with a special "instrument input jack", you'll get a lot of hiss and a very thin sound (no bass or trebble) !!!!
	For effects based on delays (especially echo effects) or reverb, don't forget that studios generally have far better effect processors than the ones found in an ordinary guitarist's effect rack. Try to jot down the values of the delays you use in milliseconds (when possible, most effect pedals have pots that are labeled in 'zblixs'), for each song or part, in order to give the information rapidly to the engineer, if he thinks he can do better with one of his processors.
	Now, what's worse than a cool sound... with buzzes, hum and hiss all over the place ! The best way to get that is to use a truck load of effect pedals, all powered by their own little wall wart !!! Please please, pretty please : one mains adapter only. Check the current required by each pedal : about 100 mA for an analog pedal (distorsion, EQ, etc...) and 200 mA for a digital one pedal (Delay with sampling, for ex.). Add all these values, and get a 110 AC - 9 DC voltage converter, with one extra Amperage at the output, you never know, your army of effect pedals could still expand ! Or better yet (perhaps a larger budget, but your sound will never have been so free of parasite noises), work exclusively with batteries.

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Tips for Guitars (update 11/07/2000)

Tips for Guitars
(update 11/07/2000)