Here's a Method for a More Efficient Guitar Recording

There is definitely more to a great guitar recording than only plugging in and fiddling with the amplifier and effects.

Huh? You say, what are you talking about?

You are not going to get a great guitar sound if you expect the amplifier, equalizer and effects to do all the work. The actual instrument has to be in good condition. And I'm not saying that it has to be an incredible expensive guitar.

You see, you can get away with playing cheap guitars and getting a fairly good guitar sound as long as you take care of it from the ground up. 

Taking a crappy sounding guitar and expecting it to sound great after amplification is a desperate endeavor and not something I would recommend. 

But sometimes the guitar doesn't sound crappy because of it's brand or cost. Sometimes it just sounds bad because it needs to be taken care of.

I'm amazed at how many mistakes guitarist make when they plug their guitar in and expect everything to be fixed from there on. 

a few things before your guitar recording session.

• Please remember to tune your instrument before recording, and preferably change strings on if they are old and worn.
  
  There is nothing worse than needing to re-record a guitar track because you forgot to tune your guitar. 

• Also, keep in mind that the older the strings are, the worse they sound. I change my strings every three months or so and it makes such a difference having an instrument that consistently sounds amazing, just because of a little maintenance.

• Dust in the pots can make your guitar crackle when you're switching pickup positions and you can do worse than taking care of your electronics by making sure dust doesn't settle and crackle your pots and pickup switch. You don't want crackles in the middle of your guitar recording, ruining your perfect take.

• Check the intonation and setup of the guitar. If the intonation is off - no matter how well you tune your guitar - it's still going to go out of tune on the higher frets. Make a professional look over it if you are worried about it.

Please keep this in mind the next time you’re going to the studio you paid good money for. Tune, clean and restring your instrument, it will make all the difference.

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