Mixing Guitars | Solos

The guitar solo is the peak of the performance. The solo can catapult the song into the top spot on the charts. So let me take a moment to explain some techniques for mixing a good solo.

Solos usually come in towards the end of a song, so there is some build up to the solo. Rhythm guitars are laying the foundation for the solo to be built upon. Don't let the rhythm guitars steal any thunder from the solo guitar. Automate an EQ low pass filter to roll off some of the rhythm guitar's shimmer. This will open up space in the audio spectrum for the solo guitar to shine a bit more brightly.

Pan the solo guitar off to one side. If the vocalist is doing anything vocally over the solo, pan them to the opposite side. Try to isolate the solo guitar as much as possible to make it pop out of the mix. The panning and EQ can all be automated and this will allow a smooth transition in and out of the solo.

Adding a delay to the solo is a great way to make it sound bigger. If you've got the solo guitar panned to the right, then pan the delay to the left. A quarter note delay is personally my favorite, but use a delay setting that compliments the music. Use filters to shape the tone of the delay and make it appear to drift off into the distance. Roll off the low end up to 400Hz and pull back the highs to around 9KHz. If your delay has a feedback setting, adjust it to taste for the echo effect you desire.

These techniques should give you a good starting point to make your solos shine and get all the attention they deserve. Please leave any comments or questions and I'll get back to ASAP.

How to record guitars with a DI

There are many situations where using a DI (direct input) is the best option for recording guitars. A quality DI will give you clear tone and signal with little background noise. In the modern age of digital recording, starting with clean tracks always helps when moving to the mixing stage.  

The first place to start is by selecting the right DI for your studio. Most preamps offer an instrument input that can be toggled. This is a good idea because now you have the option of recording a mic or running a direct input from an instrument. You won't be able to use both inputs at the same time, but you can have them connected and just flip the switch. The GML 2032 is an excellent option for this very purpose. It has a preamp with lots of gain and a 4 band parametric EQ to sculpt the sound going in for recording. It also has a side-chain option to add outboard gear to the signal flow.  

If you are looking to have something a bit more portable, consider the Little Labs Red Eye. This small box can be used as a DI and a reamp box. If you haven't explored reamping, this might be a good place to start. After you record your DI signal, you can send it back out to an amp for a reamp recording. This allows you to record the guitar part in one space and then track the amp recording at another space. You just send the output of the DI guitar recording back to the Red Eye and it will deliver the sound to the amp just as if you were plugged in.  

A final note, be sure that the input signal is good when recording with a DI. If it is too low, you'll get some hiss or electrical noise when you bring up the level in post production.  

Recording | Guitars

Recently recorded a project that had some heavy guitar riffs. The guitarist wanted to get that overdriven tone, but still retain clarity. This is always a challenge for any engineer. Mic choice and placement are crucial. Amp volume rears its ugly head in your face and can create a nightmare for you in the mix. Here's how I did it without spending a lot of time trying to get just the right take in one shot.

Setup a few mics in front of the cab. I like to use a Shure SM57, Shure SM7B, Sennheiser e606, and Sennheiser 421. Put one in front of each cone slightly off-axis and pointing away from each other. Then run the guitar to a DI for tracking the clean signal and then thru to the amp head. Based on how many mics you setup + the DI, you'll have a decent amount of tracks to work with. Normally, I don't use all the tracks, plus there can be phasing issues. All I need is one good track from the take and we're golden.

The first take should be at the level of overdriven tone that the guitarist prefers. Then reamp the clean signal with the amp at a slightly lower volume. This should give you more clarity from the performance. You can keep doing this routine until you get enough layers to blend in the desired sound for the guitar tone. Pan out the different takes and adjust volume levels to widen the mix.

This is just the concept. You'll need to experiment with your setup to find out what works best.

Today's FAQ : What's a DI?

DI is short for 'direct input' and it means you take a direct signal from a source. Usually a DI will be used for recording guitar, bass, and keyboards.

"Why should I use a DI, when I have a perfectly good amp that can be mic'd?"

Good question. If you like to mic up your amp, go ahead and do it. As a secondary back up, I'd suggest splitting the signal and tracking a DI along with your amp. You'll get a nice clean track along with your amp track to work with when you mix. Think of it as a safety net in case the amp track doesn't work out. Maybe the mic didn't capture the tone you wanted, but the performance was epic. If you tracked a DI, then the performance has a chance to be relived & re-amped!

Re-amp your performance with the DI track. You can now play back the clean DI track and feed the signal into your amp. Move the mic around until you find the tone you desire. Now you have lots of options with minimal effort and you look like a seasoned pro. There are other options like using the DI track with amp emulated software. This way you can shape your tone with digital ease. There are so many possibilities with digital software that you can try out many different sounds to hear what works best for your mix. There are so many options at the fingertips of engineers, this is a great time in musical history. Take advantage of the DI and begin to explore what your music can become.

Mixing Guitars | Wall of Guitars

Getting a solid guitar sound in your mix can be frustrating. I know it's not easy, so here are a few tips to help you along the right path to make your guitars big and loud.

First, track your guitar as you normally would. Use a little bit of EQ were some effects and you're done. That was easy.

Next, record your guitar again as a second take. This time change a few of the settings on your amp or choose a different pick up on your guitar. This will give you a new tone that will help separate the sounds of the guitar when you go to mix the tracks.

Now do a third take and this time use an EQ to pull out the bottom of the tone. Give this guitar an effect that sounds like it's on the radio by filtering out everything below 250 Hz.

Pan the first two takes slightly right and left in the mix. Adjust compression as needed and you should be getting a bigger sound out of your guitar mix.

Please leave a comment if you'd like more info on this technique.

Trade Gear for Studio Time | Get More From Your Gear

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Here's a solution that will benefit you and also help Shine On Studio & the studio's students that are trying to make the start in the music industry. I'm always looking to try new gear and add gear to the studio. Options for gear allows musicians to get the sound that's in their heads. Plus, studio interns donate lots of time to helping with sessions and doing work in the off hours. This will be a great way for me to repay them for all their hard work.

Contact the studio for further details.

Today's FAQ : What's a DI?

DI is short for 'direct input' and it means you take a direct signal from a source. Usually a DI will be used for recording guitar, bass, and keyboards.

"Why should I use a DI, when I have a perfectly good amp that can be mic'd?"

Good question. If you like to mic up your amp, go ahead and do it. As a secondary back up, I'd suggest splitting the signal and tracking a DI along with your amp. You'll get a nice clean track along with your amp track to work with when you mix. Think of it as a safety net in case the amp track doesn't work out. Maybe the mic didn't capture the tone you wanted, but the performance was epic. If you tracked a DI, then the performance has a chance to be relived & re-amped!

Re-amp your performance with the DI track. You can now play back the clean DI track and feed the signal into your amp. Move the mic around until you find the tone you desire. Now you have lots of options with minimal effort and you look like a seasoned pro. There are other options like using the DI track with amp emulated software. This way you can shape your tone with digital ease. There are so many possibilities with digital software that you can try out many different sounds to hear what works best for your mix. There are so many options at the fingertips of engineers, this is a great time in musical history. Take advantage of the DI and begin to explore what your music can become.

I use a Countryman 85S for most of my DI tracking. It does provide clean and clear tracks without coloration. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a solid DI. It is my go-to DI for nearly every direct recoding done at the studio.

Most preamps can be used as a DI. I have a GML 2032 that I regularly use as a DI for bass guitar. The built-in EQ works wonders on shaping the bass sound so that it fits beautifully within the mix. Typically all I have to do is add a little compression and the bass finds a pocket in the mix.

I also have a BBE DI-1000 w/ a Jensen transformer that works amazingly well on acoustic guitars. The BBE Sonic Maximizer allows me to add just the right amount of brightness to the DI track. That way I don't have to spend hardly any time EQing the track.

I'd love to hear more from everyone. Please share what DI boxes you use for tracking.

Recording Guitars and Guitar Amps

Recording guitars can be a bit tricky, so here are some helpful tips. First, you should always track a dry signal of the guitar. Run a DI box before the amp to make sure you get a straight tone in addition to any mic recording you capture. This will give you the option of re-amping the track. Who knows, this could be the track you wind up using.

Try tracking with different mics. Use dynamic and condenser mics on the amp in different locations until you find the tone you're looking for. Angle the mics directly at the cone and then angled off to one side. You'll get very different tones and this can help you shape the texture of each track.

Be sure to check your phase alignment if you use multiple mics for the same take. Using two mics on a single amp can help you blend a tone that is unique and works best for your mix. Just be sure that you don't choke the tone by having tracks that are out of phase with each other. If the mics sound great on their own, but sound thin when combined, this usually means there is some phase cancellation between the two tracks.

These at just some starting points to keep in mind. Leave a comment if you have questions or would like more details about my techniques. Thanks for reading my blog.