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Recording Guitar


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I am new to using Logic. Only been using it for about 2 months. And I love it.

 

I wanted to see how most of you handle recording guitar. Or any other mono insturment for that matter.

 

When I was using DP in the past. I always recorded the guitar to a stereo track. On DP you have the option to take a mono signal and place it in a stereo track. When I do this in Logic. And I chose a stero track. It will still be panned to the left or right. I have better luck tracking to a mono track. But, I want to know what you all do.

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I'm not too sure what you mean about DP, don't have much experience with it. But in Logic, you definitely want to record a mono signal (such as an electric guitar) on a mono track. Otherwise you'd be recording only on one side of a stereo signal, and your guitar would be panned to that side (plus you'd be wasting half of a stereo audio file writing a bunch of zeros to your hard drive).
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I think it depends on what and how you record. Personally my guitar goes into the MOTU Sound/MIDI interface and the processing is either done through a Line6 Pod (making it stereo) or in Logic with Native Instruments Guitar Rig (again resulting in stereo). Acoustics either go through TC Electronic G-Natural or once again Guitar Rig. I use Guitar Rig if I am not too sure about what sound I want, but in the end I always use stereo channels for guitars.
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i track the guitar 4 times or more rather then recording it stereo, it gives much more space that way.

oh , and always on mono tracks. i actually record EVERYTHING on mono tracks. i see stereo recordings as DUAL MONO, stereo being the case of 2 monos being panned hard to the sides.

even if i have a stereo keyboard, i create 2 mono tracks and record 2xmono.

it just makes more sense...

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even if i have a stereo keyboard, i create 2 mono tracks and record 2xmono.

it just makes more sense...

 

So when you want to apply an effect you either have to:

- put the same effect on two channels

or

- bus the two out to a group, then put the effect on the group.

 

Seems like more work to me....

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I think it is better to record a guitar in mono. if you want to make the sound fatter/better you have different options in my opinion :

 

- duplicate the track and apply some effects (delay,panning ...) You can do the same using a bus in Logic

 

- When recording the guitar, use the stereo inputs (or even more if you have more inputs available) and record 2 mono tracks. Doing so you can have a close mic close to the speaker (as usual) and a second one far away from the speaker (this require to play with a quite good amount of volume... :D ): this will really helps to fatten the sound. Mics placement is very important... just listen/read about Jimmy Page production technic... That's THE sound !

 

For acoustic guitar, using 2 mics, one over the bridge, another one somewhere around the neck and soundhole will be helpfull to create the right balance between warm and edge in the final mix

 

Finally don't hesitate to record several rythm tracks and layer them in the mix to make the sound fatter and had slighter variations or dynamics !

 

Last rule : experiment ! Don't block any ideas ! (For example, one time I recorded a unplugged holowbody electric lapsteel with a large condenser mic over the 12th fret : I was very impressed by the recorded sound which was very acoustic sounding while the original instrument sounds was more like a unplugged electric guitar...just a bit louder...)

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only brushed through this thread tbh but..

 

appropriate guitar through an appropriate amp.

 

sm57 in the appropriate sweet spot of the cone.

 

as a fellow logic pro user said "nothing else sounds like moving air".

 

peace x

 

http://cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/boese/n050.gif

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here are my 2 cents,

when recording one guitar- record using the m/s method, this requires two mono tracks and a third with reverse phase of second panned opposite

two guitars- record mono unless stereo effects are require, in which case pan the guitar one on left with the right channel at 25% pan and one on the right with the left channel at 25%.(vary as needed)

 

if you're recording a single guitar and dont have anything but computer effects then record mono and add the effects to the track and VUALA! its stereo even though the track is mono. The plugin should take the signal and split accordingly with effect.

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here are my 2 cents,

when recording one guitar- record using the m/s method, this requires two mono tracks and a third with reverse phase of second panned opposite

 

and more importantly it requires two condensers, one with a figure 8 polar pattern and one with a cardioid. The cardioid faces at the sound source and gets panned center. The fig 8 faces to the left/right of the sound source, and this is the track that you duplicate. As far as panning if you are doing it correctly you will have:

 

Panned to the left speaker - the fig 8

Panned center - the cardioid

Panned to the right speaker - the fig 8 phase inverted

 

However I really do not care for M/S on electric guitars...

 

My favorite combo that I have found is an SM57 on the grill and a Royer 121 a few feet back (or sometimes behind the cab)

 

Acoustic guitars are a different story, I'll go to town with an MS config all day long...

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:roll: most people should know how m/s works or how google works to look it up...

my bad for not explaining it and wasting my time (jk)

at any rate an sm57 will always kick butt and is less expensive and so on :lol:

 

but for people who want to use more advanced methods m/s has its pros, but hey its all preference, and to be honest i use the sm57 route, but the m/s is great for full sounding guitar tracks

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:

my bad for not explaining it and wasting my time (jk)

 

I could just see a bunch of people grabbing 57s and trying it...

 

I see what you mean about getting a nice stereo effect but with electric guitars I usually spread it out with some FX.

 

Like you said, its preference.

 

While I'm here another great mic on guitar cabs is an AKG 414 in fig 8.

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even if i have a stereo keyboard, i create 2 mono tracks and record 2xmono.

it just makes more sense...

 

So when you want to apply an effect you either have to:

- put the same effect on two channels

or

- bus the two out to a group, then put the effect on the group.

 

Seems like more work to me....

 

yeah it is. but then again, i usually sample synthesizers, and ask the bands to give me a midi. else if i get a leslie to mike...

i hate the way logic displays stereo files :S

 

anyway, double track people! forget M/S for guitar cabinets, ive tried it, it gives you wierd phasing. double tracking gives you sparkle.

and DONT record with too much bass, guitar in the mix =! guitar live

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