Forpredictableguitarorbass
amplifierrecordings,useonedynamic
orcondensermic.Popularoptionsfor
guitararedynamicssuchastheShure
SM57,whichdeliversanedgy,upfront
sound.Popularforbassarelargecapsule
condensersandbass-boostingdynamics
suchastheAKGD12.First,decidewhethertheinstrument
concernedwarrantsmonoorstereo
recording.Thisdecisionwillbebasedon
thesizeoftheinstrument,howmuchit
interactswiththespaceit’sinandwhether
thatspacesoundsanygood,andwhether
youactuallywanta stereoormonosound.1
Recordinga DIsignalatthesametime
astheampgivesyoutheoptionto
reprocesstheguitarsoundfrom
scratchusinga pluginordifferentamp.In
ordertodoit,you’llneedtosplittheguitar
soundatsource,andforthatyou’llneeda
separateDIbox.1
1
Choosea singlespeakerconetomic
up,andpositionthemicabout10cm
fromitsfrontplane,pointingdirectlyat
thecentrecap.Visualisea horizontalline
acrossthecone.Movethemicfromthe
centrecaptotheedgeoftheconetogo
fromverybrightandupfronttoa
mellowersound.PlugtheguitarintotheDIinput,then
plugtheDI‘through’jackintoyour
guitarorbassamp.Usea regularmic
cabletoplugtheXLRoutputintoyour
audiointerface’smicinput.RecordthisDI
inputona separatetrackalongsidethe
micinput.Next,workoutwheretheinstrument’s
soundcomesfrombylisteningtoit
fromdifferentsides.Sometimesyoumay
needtousemorethanonemictocapture
allaspectsofthesound,or,alternatively,
recordit fromfurtherawaytoachievea
betteroverallpicture.2
2
2
Nowfindtherightbalancebetween
thedirectsoundandtheroomsound
bygraduallymovingthemicbackaway
fromthecone.Asyoudothis,the
horizontalmicpositionbecomesless
significant,butyou’lleventuallyhitthe
sweetspotthatdeliversjusttheright
amountofroom.YoucanusetheDIonitsown(finefor
bass),reampit usingpluginsora real
amp,orcombinetheDIandamp.If you
choosetocombinethem,youmayhaveto
nudgethetimingorphaseinvertthemic
signal.Here,youcanseethemisaligned
waveformsofourbassmicandamp.Selecta suitablemicforthejob.For
quietsourcesorinstrumentswith
complexhighfrequencies,likepercussion,
stringsandbrass,usea condenser.For
boldersounds(likedrums),usea
dynamic.Andforstereo,usea matched
pairofcondensers,largeorsmallcapsule.3
3
3
> Stepbystep
8.Recordingelectricguitarandbass> Stepbystep
9.DI:onitsownandinaddition
Step by step 10. General miking tips for any instrument
July 2019 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 31the fast guide to recording / make music now <