If you want killer sounding guitar and bass tracks in your home studio don’t be like old Graham.
Old Graham would simply grab his guitar, dial in a sound, hit record and go. When I was pretty confident with my take, I’d move on with my life and build out the rest of the song.
The problem with this strategy is that I would end up with flat, mediocre sounding guitar and bass tracks in the end. But I didn’t know why! Turns out there is a strategy involved in getting the sounds I hear on my favorite records.
Today I want to share that strategy with you as I walk you through more of my EP process. In today’s video I share 3 simple steps to capturing bigger, more “mix-ready” guitar and bass tracks in the home studio!
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
What about a post about recording real amps?
ABSOLUTELY!
I know many people can’t record loud, and they have to compromise, but if you REALLY CARE about getting better-than-average guitar tone (for guitar-driven music), what you need is a TUBE amp — preferably creating poweramp distortion — mic’d with at least an SM57, and hopefully through a decent mic pre. I have an amp farm of low wattage amps for this purpose so they can be cranked to get that poweramp distortion without being at ear-splitting levels. It’s still loud, but certainly manageable if you’re not in an apartment environment.
For what it’s worth I would also like to see getting tones from an amp and
mic’ing a cabinet.
Tom, Graham mics up a Combo amp in video 2 of his Rethink Guitar video course
Matt,
Graham mics up a Combo amp in video 2 of his Rethink Guitar video course
I cover this in depth in my new course Total Home Recording: http://www.TotalHomeRecording.com
ELEVEN Rack is not a bad price. I plan to buy electric and bass guitar sometime in the future, but when I am thinking about space efficiency in a 15.4×12.54×11 room (11′ high, 12.54′ (12′ 6 1/2″) long, and 15.4′ wide, when keeping it to 1:1.14:1.39 ratio) that I plan to build a new house and I don’t want my room filled with just a single bass and guitar amp, so I consider space as a premium. The electric guitars would serve as a texture for new age music or when standing out from the rest of the musical instruments. Take a listen to what I like to do:
But I my case, I like to have electric guitar blend in softly with the music — in the background.
And good tips and tricks when it comes to electric and bass guitar, along with arrangement.
And to add to my previous comment, not having big boxes of amps would leave me lots of room for acoustic guitars, flutes, maybe a saxophone, and even compact drums that can be folded when not in use.
So yeah, the room will serve as a double-duty, as a home office and recording studio. But maybe not compact drums. I don’t want my room to be a fully-fledged recording studio when it comes to building a 900-sq. ft. house. I still might have rack cabinet in the side, so I can do some processing in the analog domain and print out that processed instrument back into the mix and mute the original instrument. Sure, plugins is great and all, but I don’t want to deal with plugins that lock me into one operating system. I currently run Arch Linux and I would like to give something back to the community, even donating my money towards free software.
Graham, how crucial is it to record left and right guitars in different takes? Couldn’t one simply record a nice dry pass and process it two different ways? Or is it worth it to capture the subtle nuances of 2 different performances?
I am not Graham, but just taking one track & effecting it 2 different ways does not sound as full, OR real, as playing it 2 times. I use to duplicate my guitar tracks & offset them, then pan hard L&R for years, and it worked….
But once I started to double them, playing one after the other in one session, my guitar sound took on a REAL life of its own. And they were cleaner because I did not have to pile on effects to make them sound like 2 different guitars….
Just a IMHO, YMMV, yada yada post!
I’m with you on this one, Smurf. There are a few rare times when my rhythm guitar can be copied if it’s simply background, but I’ve largely found that double-tracking creates a much larger and real sound. Definitely agree it’s the way to go for a rich guitar sound. My engineer showed me how he pans one more to the left and the other just a bit to the right so the sounds isn’t taking up too much space and competing with other frequencies in the mix. This is just an example, of course, depending on the song, and the live track vs copying gives the left/right result and better sound…
I prefer the slight nuances of separate takes for sure. Because otherwise you’ll have to offset one guitar track from the other to get more separation – and that can just create phase issues.
Good tips Graham.
I’d like to add two things,
One, go easy on the doubling. Kind of gets overdone when everyone is doing it on every track……
Second, we frequently hear the cautions about phase issues and so on, but what does that mean? “the tracks sound good.”
I still get tracks where someone has followed the “sage” internet advice of duplicating/time shifting to double tracks.
Here’s what often happens: The tracks will often sound ok alone, (say two acoustic guitar tracks for example.) But as the mix gets more complicated, something just seems to muddy things up. Solo the guitar tracks, they sound fine. Un-solo, something wrong. Mute one of the doubled tracks and the mix sounds cleaner. It has driven me nuts because its hard to pinpoint at first, (until you have run into this a few times anyway.)
It can work, but it can be the cause of some difficult to find problems too.
Graham have you tried out the Tech 21 FlyRig 5 and RK5 and now the one they made for Bass the Bass flyrig? I remember in a video a while back you used a sans amp so thought maybe you had tried these
No I haven’t.
It definitely is crucial to record several guitar tracks. Sometimes I even track 2 separate tracks for each channel for metal music. Micro-differences in performance causes guitar to sound more “dense”.
Always great to listen to your tips and then apply them to my tracks. Thanks always!
I really like the suggestion for creating a slightly different guitar sound for left/right tracks. Also I’ve just discovered through my own recordings who the arrangement and parts really require some thought for songs largely written on just the acoustic guitar, so your thoughts on arranging and keeping the song interesting resonated with me.
I’m using Logic Pro and know you’re running Pro Tools, but I’d like to know the name of the guitar effect you’re using at around the 12 minute mark. You mentioned in the video it’s an ethereal/delay and it sounds terrific. I’d like to find something similar in my effects or to know if you’ve simply assigned some stock delay and other effect to create that sound.
Thanks again for a great video!
Graham you are a great guy. So generous with your considerable knowledge. I just wanted to let you know that you are appreciated. Thank you!
Thanks Craig!
Great video Graham!
I’m under the impression that you tune your instruments at 432hz, is that right?
I’ve gotten some really good results combining amped guitars with re-amped guitars through Amplitude 3, panned left and right. Obviously, doesn’t work for everything, but there’s a nice balance between the two that cleans up the noise of amped guitars to the overly clean sound of re-amped guitars. Same goes for bass.
Very Cool can’t wait to hear your final project
Thanks again Graham
I feel silly asking, but that’s a really good tambourine sound (without any plugins even)! How did you filter out so much low end? I’m guessing you either had an EQ (HPF) on the way in, or you stood a good distance from the mic.
Wow – never been complimented on my tambo sounds before! Yeah, just stood back a couple of feet and hipassed on the way in. That’s it.
I am also in the middle of recording an EP, live drums with great drummer and myself on bass is already recorded I did not use a bass amp but excellent DI called Aguilar Tone Hammer, I should state this was in colleagues studio, however I have session guitarist coming into my own home studio which is pretty small, I have a bass breaker fender 7 watt amp, which I have built a box for and sound isolated with some spare acoustic panels and blankets I have and will record with a SM57, I will run a Di as well for clean tone which I can reamp in Logic Pro, preamp is ISA 2 and Safire pro 40 interface, this will be the first time with the 7 watt fender amp as I would typically use Scuffham amps plugin, but will try and blend both. In terms of guitars well I think you want to try and get the best you can afford I have collected some good ones over my time fender telecaster, musicman stingray 3 eq etc. But was trying out a Fretless bass recently a squire jazz 2-£300 which was really great. I think software amps are great, Scuffham amps is good but I am hoping with the sound from my little fender and through the pedals my guitarist will bring and his guitars, a blend of software and hardware can get some great results. Just as a thank you Graham really inspirational stuff from your videos has got me back recording again after a long time off.
Glad to help Terry!
Hey Graham, great video as always. Just curious… did you do away with your Eureka? I can’t help but look in the background because I’m curious about what’s on your rack and it looks like it isn’t there anymore.
Yep – wasn’t using it anymore. So I sold it.
I love you blog and your tips are really useful, but this video must be some kind of joke.
The tones are terrible and the only thing it teaches is not to use fake drums, a cheap bass and a guitar amp emulator on your recordings. It all sounds really bad, dull and lifeless. I may understand your point, but everyone should only start recording guitars in a more serious way after having at least a decent guitar, bass, amp and microphone. If not, you better learn doing other things while saving money. I have demos that sound better than the song in this video. It’s really, really bad.
You’re a great teacher and you’ve proved to be a good recording engineer and producer, so please take you students and your tutorials/classes in a more serious and professional way.
YES, it is possible to record at home with great quality and YES it does not depend on the gear you have. But it depends, at least, on real and acoustic sounds (for this kind of music, obviously). So teach us how to do it! Don’t teach who to get less-than-okay sounds on the easiest way possible.
(Tipling Rock was a great, great example. Awesome sounds with awesome taste in choosing the right tones, and they used cheap gear and did at home. But there’s a bare minimum. Please find that threshold.)
Isn’t it all about the song not the gear?
Hi Will – appreciate your comment. Gonna have to disagree though.
I do DO take this seriously. And spend a LOT of time making this content for my audience (you included). And I DO teach how to record real drums and real guitar amps (just go back and watch more of my videos). This is a different method that I’m personally using on my EP and so I’m documenting it for everyone here. It’s not just for fun – this is really a project I’m working on, and I’m busting my butt to make it sound killer (it is my own music after all).
So before you judge my mid project raw recordings, I would just sit back, relax and enjoy the content 🙂
Cheers,
Hi, Graham!
I’ve watched your videos about recording real drums and real guitar amps. They’re really useful and they taught me a lot of what I currently know about recording those instruments. I’m grateful to you because of that.
You also inspired me to record my music despite of the gear I own, and to not overlook the its importance in a recording. My comment was not about that!
I just think that being a music producer also means developing a personal taste on how instruments should sound like, and on how to get professional, inspiring and creative tones. You teach us that we can do it despite of the gear we have, and that’s awesome!
So I really don’t understand why you’re now teaching us a method that will never sound good or professional! Because you can’t record an entire song using fake amps and drums and expect it to sound like a real recording. No professional studio has ever done that!
If you can get great quality recordings with “no-matter-the-price gear” (and I know that because you taught me it!), we shouldn’t need to fake it with amp emulators and midi drums — because that will never work.
That being said, hope to see you doing more useful videos in the future, because I want to continue learning with you.
This comment is in response to Will. You said Graham inspired you to make music regardless of your gear limitations, and agreed that you can get great quality recordings regardless of the cost of the gear. Well that should hold true of software “gear” as well. There may be some limitations, but there should absolutely no reason why you couldn’t get great sounds out of the emulation. Furthermore, this is a great tutorial for someone who has a guitar, a lap top and a simple interface, but can’t afford a $500+ tube amp and $100+ mic. It serves the same purpose as Graham’s older video and gives an example of how to get perfectly usable tones with a minimal setup. Also, from what I’ve read Vampire Weekend recorded all of the guitars on their last album DI into an amp emulation, and they sound great, so professional studios do use these techniques. Sounds like these tones just aren’t your style, but that doesn’t make them inherently bad, and it definitely doesn’t make the techniques useless.
Hi, Diego!
As you should be able tell by my comment, I never said professional studios don’t use software emulations. I said no recording studio has ever recorded a (not electronic) song using ONLY software. No problem in throwing a guitar track which used an emulating software into a mix of other sounds and tones. And no problem with using drum samples, drum machines, etc., if it will fit the context. But you have to agree with me that using only fake sounds is not a solution.
And the last Vampire Weekend’s album is really creative and not a guitar-driven album. So it’s not the best example.
And cmon, this tips are not even creative and are boring and lazy as hell! Wanna get a bigger sound? Why not trying to do what James Ford did with Jamie Cook’s guitars on Suck It And See (by Arctic Monkeys)? He recorded his leads using close micing techniques, and then doubled them with the amp in the room where they tracked the drums and the live band and recorded the same riffs with the microphone really far from the amp. That’s just one ideia which is probably a new thing for Graham’s followers and will add much more than “open a standard preset, record a lazy riff and then open another boring preset and record the same riff. Hard pan those guitars”.
I’m just saying. For someone who has been following him for a long time, I feel like I’m getting the same tips over and over again and that I deserve much more. I’m stopped learning with Graham since I jumped out of a super-beginning level.
Hey Will,
True, but you also said that its a method that “will never sound good or professional” and I think that’s the other extreme. Personally this track isn’t really my style either, but I think to say it could never sound good is a bit of a blanket statement. Also you’re right, that vampire weekend album is not guitar heavy at all, and honestly I’m not into amp emulation at all and have never used one on any of my recordings. But I have also been pleasantly surprised in the past about some guitar tracks that have been recorded in that manner. Bottom line I think the tone is in the hands (and ears) of the beholder. I’ve heard people sound amazing on the worst little solid state amp just because they’re such good players, and I think same goes for engineers and the quality of their recordings. If you use good technique and have good instincts, then gear is just candy, not necessity. And I have heard these tips on Graham’s blog before, but I think he just likes to emphasize the simplicity in his recording philosophy and show how subtle changes can have a big impact on the sound. That’s a really cool idea you mentioned about the arctic monkeys album, I might just try that some time!
To Will’s comment that no professional recording studio has ever done that. .. That is absolutely not true. Check this video for one of the most successful producer’s comments on how he does just that all the time. https://youtu.be/32kBaZFPzHs
Amp profilers, modelers, drum samples, etc. are all used extensively in today’s recordings. Obviously amplifiers and acoustic instruments are used all the time as well but I don’t think you can discount the use of the other as being not legitimate in the use of making quality music.
I agree, most guitars should be doubled as long as it is for the rhythm frame. Once you have that, for transparency’s sake I would stop doubling every guitar in the mix. If you need fatter melodic guitars within the frame of rythm guits try this: Track your guitar, duplicate that track, pan one left and the other one right and then insert on one of the two tracks a single voice chorus, completely wet. That’ll simulate what doubling actually is. I highly recommend the free plugin “Multiply” as it also modulates the amplitude. Besides, it lets you choose the number of voices. Try that and be amazed.
Oh, I forgot to mention, that you will need to offset the processed track a bit ahead so that the chorus modulates AROUND the original transients of the unprocessed track. Otherwise you will be a victim of Haas.
Great food for thought ! Thanx Graham !
Hey Graham!
I love all your video tips and selfless knowledge you’re kicking down. Appreciate that! The song is coming along nicely. I’m not sure if I agree with “Will” saying your tones here are lifeless and dull. That’s a bit harsh. I’m lucky in the fact that I have a sound-treated studio in my home where I can crank up amps and play acoustic drums at full volume any time of the day (so sweet!). So, recording real amps, moving air would always be preferable when possible. But for most folks at home, that’s probably not feasible. Your solution here in this video is an awesome close second!
All that being said, in my opinion I would change your snare drum sound for this song. It sounds cool when the drums were solo’d but in the context of the song… something is clashing. One other nit-picky thing… it sounds like your aux guitar (the delayed, ethereal track) might be slightly out of tune? Or is just me? Maybe I’m out of whack, ha ha.
Either way, great job, sir! Keep on rocking. Thanks for all the help, tips & tricks!
Yep – haven’t settled on a snare sound yet 🙂
Nice video Graham. When you were talking about maintaining interest through sound variation in regard to repetitive musical material, it immediately made me think of Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro”. It is the quintessential original example of that approach in action. If you have never listened to it, check it out. The other interesting aspect of that piece, is that the entire piece is one large crescendo. But main thing is, it is an excellent example of old-school sonic variation to move the piece forward when the musical material itself simply repeats over-and-over.
Thanks for your work.
You’re welcome!
Nice Graham.
I have incorporated some of your ideas into my mixes. One idea you put out a few years ago is a sub master aux track, set up for master bus plugins. I like this, but now soloing tracks is a two-step process, which is a hassle [have to solo the sub master to hear any solo track]. Do you have a work around that would return soloing to a one-step process? Thanks. I like what you’ve done here.
In Pro Tools you can “Solo Safe” the bus, by holding Command and clicking solo. That way it’s ALWAYS soloed and you can now go back to one click solo like normal 🙂
Cool. Thanks so much for the info!
Graham, what was a take-away for me was the tip to start applying processing as you build-up the tracking – I suspected that this was a good way to go – i.e. start to ‘ mix ‘ as you progress thru the production – as it will gel the takes early on and get the ‘vibe’ on – I recently did a production where I tracked then mixed as (applying processing) as separate step and the process of getting separation, un-masking etc) actually took something away from the overall ‘static-mix’ – i think i will start to apply processing as I go along in the production rather than as a separate step once all completed – i think that could enhance the production .
Hey, Graham, wanted to say that I appreciate your straightforwardness, candidness and frankness. „The noise was killing me” – that’s not something you hear from people on many sound blogs, with regard to their OWN recordings. Although I’m sure hum is an issue even in big studios, as you find out from various interviews. Just that most people in a position of teaching „authority” conceal the `shameful` stuff – and are intentional and contrived. So, I appreciate the freshness – makes it all more real and down to Earth – and even more helpful to know these things, for us, in real life bedrooms. 🙂
Take care, all the best! Good luck with the EP.
Good tips, except for the “Always choose two different sounding tones for your L and R”. Come on!!! IMHO, there’s no ‘always’ in music. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Not at all. It doesn’t sound bad either. Just remember that, when it comes to music, there are no rules. Always is a very strong word. Cheers!
Will:
Absolutist statements in time/space tend to be absolutely errant. Truth is where you find it and beauty where it is beheld. Inability to see beauty or comprehend truth does not mean it is not present. Mono/stereo synths, DI re-amps, Eventide Harmonizers, Melodyne pitch correction, Line 6 pods/amps, etc. are ALL used in modern sound recording/song production, are all synthetic emulators of instruments, spaces, timbres, pitches, amps, and are all piped through vibrational transducers that receptively or transmitably emulate “sound”. The trick is in knowing how to get the sound in your head implemented and out to the world, and there are many ways to do it. Arguing that a sound wasn’t made by a specific set of tools is moot if the sound works for the song or context. Personally, I love an amp cranked, but I know how to make a SansAmp sound just as good at a much lower volume with much greater control and much less effort than mic-ing a cranked amp with an SM57, Sennheiser 421, Royer 121, and a room mic or two for the same result. Knowledge is power, and the Stones used a Pignose battery powered amp for the lead on Gimme Shelter…whatever works, you know?
Graham:
You are a beautiful, wonderful human and pass on mega-useful insight and knowledge, as far as I discern, with great selflessness, truth/accuracy, and with frequent revelatory, insirational effect, especially for those of us who still don’t quite “know it all”. Keep it up! (ps…63 and been learning since piano lessons in ’58, fyi)
Correct me if I’m wrong but this is a DEMO and Graham is playing (or programming) all the instruments. So why should he start hauling 30 kg (yes, metric) tube amps and so on?? Yes, I’ve been in a band and it’s ever so “nice” to practice with a bass player for a week and a half and then at the gig this showman of bass player fucks up all his parts. What about a timed out drummer, who can’t even count to four? An endlessly soloing guitar hero wanking his “sweet, sweet sweep picking” and refusing to put away his useless 8 bit multi-effect pedal – with modelled amps and all ??? .. aarghh… For demo purposes?
It’s much nicer that a band has a well played, ON TEMPO demo to f-k up at rehearsals. Or even better, in the studio, so they have more time to dick around with their parts and comment on the engineers “lack of skill” 🙂
BTW, Graham. Nice soundgarden-y blues rock song, I like it. I like the way you emphasize the arrangement too in your videos. It’s a lot more important than the type and model of microphone or amp you use – for demo purposes!
Hi Graham ! I am a high school student and I have learned a lot watching your videos !
Cheers!
Thanks for watching!