How To Record Perfect Guitar Every Time | Make Pop Music

About this Video

• Video Title: How To Record Perfect Guitar Every Time | Make Pop Music
• Channel: Make Pop Music
• Speakers: Austin
• Duration: 00:21:35

Introduction

This video tutorial focuses on recording perfect electric guitar direct input (DI) tracks. Austin addresses common issues encountered during DI recording, such as noise, improper levels, and unsuitable guitar/pickup selection, offering solutions and demonstrating the impact of these factors on the final sound.

Key Takeaways

1. Tuning: Regularly tune your guitar (at least every few takes or couple of minutes) to prevent out-of-tune recordings. DAWs often include built-in tuners.
2. Strings: Regularly changing guitar strings (every few months) significantly improves tone. New strings offer more transient response, brightness, and consistent low-end compared to old strings.
3. Noise Reduction: Address noise issues at the source (e.g., distance from computer, cable quality, grounding). Use a gate plugin to reduce background noise, but be mindful that it might affect sustained notes.
4. Gain Staging: Avoid clipping by setting appropriate input levels. Recording too quietly necessitates excessive volume boosts, amplifying background noise. Gain staging also affects how amp sims respond, influencing overdrive and compression.
5. Guitar & Pickup Selection: Choose guitars and pickups suitable for the song's style. Humbuckers are suitable for rock and high-gain tones, while single coils work better for cleaner, brighter sounds common in pop music. Experiment with different pickup positions (bridge, middle, neck) for varied tonal characteristics.
6. Playing Technique: Playing style dramatically influences tone. Consider using a pick, fingerpicking, strumming, and adjust playing intensity (hard or soft) to achieve the desired sound.