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Intro

Hey there! My name is Matt Clark and I mix primarily Rock and Metal. I’ve made this
guide to help Musicians and Engineers record heavy guitars that will work in the context
of a mix. If anything doesn’t make sense to you in this guide, please email me and I can
help. You can reach me at mattclarkmixer@gmail.com

Been There, Done That


I’ve recorded guitars for years in both large studios and small, but the same basic
principles are the same. I won’t attempt to tell you every thing there is about recording
guitars, just some of the biggest and best techniques that I use on a regular basis. These
are methods I use on a regular basis to achieve the results I want.

I will explain everything first in detail. At the end of this tutorial you’ll find a quick
reminder checklist that you can use as you record tracks. Once you get used to doing this,
you will find that you do a lot of this stuff automatically in the future. So crack a cold one
(or two) and let’s roll.

Great Tone to DI For


Always record a DI track simultaneously when recording through an amp. An ABY, DI box
or active splitter works great for this. This is your failsafe. It will allow your mixing
engineer to reamp your tracks later if necessary. If you are using a virtual amp plugin
you’ll be recording a DI track for sure. Make sure your DI is not overloading your digital
input in your DAW. Stating the obvious, but this track should be clean. At most you just
want an overdrive pedal on the DI track itself. Otherwise you are defeating the purpose.
Solo the DI track and make sure you have a clean signal without any snap, crackle, or pop.
No hum either. Sometimes soloing this track can be eye opening.

Bedroom Tone Doesn’t Cut


Dial in your guitar sound in context of the full band. This is not just a tip for recording, it
also applies to playing with a live band. The tone that sounds great in your bedroom isn’t

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always going to be the optimal sound for cutting through with other players. When bass,
drums, and possibly a second guitarist are playing, what works as a usable guitar sound
can change. If you’ll be recording drums and bass first and then overdubbing guitars, you
will have a better idea of what will work with your guitar tone. This is a good time to ex-
periment a bit and dial in a tone that works with the other instruments. Record a bit and
step away for a little while if possible. Come back and take a listen. Your ears can get used
to a tone that isn’t what is ultimately best. You want to come back and love your guitar
sound. Don’t judge your tone while soloed. Listen in the full band context.

Don’t Neglect the Midrange


Remember guitar is primarily about the midrange. A scooped tone can get lost in a full
mix. Tread lightly. Again, a scooped tone can sound great by itself but not necessarily in a
mix.

Easy on the Distortion


Make sure you are not using distortion as a crutch. Too much distortion will make your
guitar disappear in a mix. Backing off the gain a bit can clear up things and bring out
clarity in the rest of the band too. Remember, distortion masks other sounds. In lots of
mixes what you think is the bottom, heavy part of the guitar tone is actually the bass.
Once your guitar is lost in too much distortion it can make a good mix hard to achieve, if
not impossible. I consider a good mix one where I can hear what the guitar is playing!

Heavy on the Distortion


Leads, on the other hand, can benefit from more distortion. A tube screamer or some
type of overdrive can help sustain and midrange cut. If you use the bridge pickup by
default for leads, try the neck pickup. It can have a more vocal quality that can cut
through a mix in a unique way and differentiates it from the main guitars.

Put it in Overdrive
A great rhythm tone trick is to dial in a tube screamer or similar overdrive pedal with the
level cranked but the drive very low. Maybe no drive at all. This will give you sustain and a
feel that must be felt to be believed. Highly recommended. You can get away with much
less distortion using this method. This is great for a cutting tone that still has power.

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This help leads sustain as well, although you may want to turn up the distortion a bit on
your amp for solos.

Tie One On
When cutting leads that don’t use open strings , tie a sock or hair tie around the first fret
to deaden open strings. Your tracks will be cleaner.

Capture a Complete Picture of Tone


If possible, record 2 mics on your speaker cabinet. One pointed toward the cone and
another toward the edge of the speaker. This gives you 2 different perspectives of your
tone. Record on separate tracks. Blend to taste. This blend can be better than eq’ing. The
Shure 57 and Sennheiser 421 are classic choices for this task. Experiment with placement.
This is a two person job. One to move the mic and another to monitor and yell “Stop!”
when just the right placement is found. I prefer close mic placement rather than room
mics for guitar cabs.

Level Up
If you are recording to a DAW, keep your levels peaking at approx -15 dB. Don’t overload
your preamp either. We are not looking for digital distortion. Not what you want in a
guitar tone.

String Theory
Use new strings and have your guitar setup so it’s properly intonated. Check your tuning
after each take. For the ultimate in tuning stability I recommend an Evertune bridge. Sim-
ply incredible. Makes recording guitar a pleasure because tuning is no longer an issue.

Learn to Burn
Know your parts inside and out so you can concentrate on your performance and tonality.
If you’re paying someone else to record, this will save you some money as well.

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Bad Ground
If you have s grounding issue, distortion will just make it that much worse. If you’ve got
low end hum going on, you have a bad ground. Try to find another outlet that is on a dif-
ferent circuit. You don’t want this on your recording! Trying to correct this after the fact
can be hard if not impossible. Don’t fool yourself and think it can be “fixed in the mix”.

Kill the Noise


Use a high quality noise gate. Something like a Decimator. Turn it up just enough to get
rid of the noise floor when you aren’t playing.

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Got musician or engineer friends who would find this How-To Guide useful? Please feel
free to pass it along to them. If you are interested in me mixing your record or
individual songs please visit mattclarkmixer.com and submit a quote request form.
For general questions you can email me at mattclarkmixer@gmail.com

Thanks for reading and here’s to your success!

Matt Clark
Los Angeles, California

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Guitar Recording Quick Summary
• Record a DI track

• Check Your Tone in Full Band Context

• Don’t Forget the Mids

• Main Rhythm Tracks Don’t Need Tons of Distortion

• Leads Can Benefit From Distortion

• Overdrive Pedal to the Rescue

• Dampen Open Strings For Leads

• Record 2 Mics on Your Guitar Cab if Possible

• Watch Your Levels

• New Strings, Check Tuning After Every Take

• Know Your Parts

• Avoid Ground Hum

• Use a Noise Gate

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