How to Record Electric Guitars (with one mic)

We are talking about Rock Guitars right? I bet we do ^^


The rule that takes place here is:
Good sound in, good sound out.

90% of your final sound comes from your source. The amp.
80% of the tone of the amp is at player's hands.

So for a nice sound we will need a nice amp head and amp cabinet.
Engl, Mesa Boogie, Bogner (...) usually with a 2x12 or 4x12 cabinet are the best choice.

Unfortunately, we do not have money for this crazy stuff so just set up what you've got that sounds the best !



Then connect your mic to your audio interface/sounscard or mixer with an xlr connector.

xlr connector



Put the mic (top choice mic for recording guitars: Shure sm57) at the center of the cone a little off-axis just like this picture.

Photo taken by kevinkemp.com





You get a treblier/brighter sound when the mic is at the center of the cone and a more bassy/muddy sound when you move it at the edge of the cone. Move the mic in the cone to find the sweet spot.

We all love high gain, but gain more than 7 is useless and can make our mix difficult. Less gain usually does the trick trust me. You don't have to crank it up!


- The guitar player makes a HUGE difference to the sound that he will produce. If one take is "almost good" erase it and make him play "perfect". It's not your fault if he doesn't know how to play.
You are a sound engineer you want the best sound, you want to do your job right. If he wants his song to have a nice sound, make him give it to you ^^

- Open your daw. Adjust the signal level so that you have the loudest one, but be careful of clipping.

- Press "Record" and... let me know what you have

Have fun recording!