How to Record Electric Guitar at Home: A Step-by-Step Course

SUPPLEMENTAL INFO:

If you need to purchase some gear and are on a budget, I’d take a look at my guide on cheap home recording studio gear for recommendations.

I’ve also listed a few items below for all of the different pieces of gear you may need:

Audio Interface

Really anything in Behringer’s UMC line will work out great if you need a relatively inexpensive interface. In contrast to some of the cheap, crappy products Behringer has put out in the past, the UMC line of interfaces are actually pretty great. They sound good, they’re built well, and they’re some of the most affordable interfaces on the market.

I’ve personally used the Behringer UMC404HD (which is a 4-input interface) and I currently used the Behringer UMC1820 interface (which is an 8-input interface). Both have worked out very well for me, and if you need an interface, I’d recommend checking them out.

I wrote up an in-depth review on the Behringer UMC1820 that you can also check out here.

Microphone

Like I mentioned in the video, the SM57 is really the go-to mic for recording guitar cabinets. It’s an all-around great mic, an industry standard, and it’s built very well (it can be tossed around quite a bit and still function just fine). If you need your first mic for recording guitar, go with the SM57.

They go for $100 new but you can find them used for much cheaper on Reverb.com or on Guitar Center’s website.

Headphones

The headphones that I use are the CAD MH310 closed-back headphones. If you will be recording guitar in the same room as a mic’ed up guitar cabinet, you definitely want to wear headphones when doing so and you want to make sure they are closed-back.

Closed-back headphones do not allow sound to escape while open-back headphones do.

I’ve had the CAD MH310 headphones for quite some time now (maybe 4 or 5 years) and they still work just as well as they did when I first bought. The leather on the earphones has begun to crack, though. They have a flat but full sound and have the best sound compared to similar models I’ve tested like the CAD MH300 and Presonus HD7 headphones.

Microphone Cables

I wouldn’t fret too much over cables. You can get a pretty good 20 ft. XLR cable on Amazon for $7 to $8 dollars (like this one) that will suit most home recording needs. If you want a cable that’s built more solid so you can throw it around a bit more, this one on Amazon for $18 is a good choice.

Microphone Stand

Stay away from cheap stands if you can. They don’t hold up. I’ve gone through many Musician’s Gear microphone stands (or similar cheap stands) where the knob breaks, the stand turns when it shouldn’t, or simply the stand won’t tighten down.

While the lower price may seem attractive, especially when there are deals like 2 for $30, cheap stands don’t tend to stand up to a lot of tear down and set up. It is a much better decision to spend a few bucks extra for a higher quality stand that will last for much longer.

My suggestion would be this K&M boom stand for $44. I use this stand in my home studio and I can say that it is built much better than those cheap Musician’s Gear stands.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFO:

Remember these points when mic’ing your guitar cabinet:

• The closer the mic is to the center of the speaker cone, the more bite, attack, and treble the recording will have.
• As the mic is moved further away from the speaker cone, the sound will have less bite and sound darker.
• In general, the closer the mic is to the cabinet, the more bass there will be. The further the mic is pulled away from the cabinet, the more the sound will thin out (and introduce in more of the room sound).

Also, remember to try to record as far away from your cabinet as possible. Or, even place it in another room if possible. You don’t want the microphone picking up your strumming or picking in the final recording of your guitar track.

Lastly, don’t forget to experiment with the position of the speaker cabinet. A speaker cabinet elevated on a chair or stand can provide for a different sound. Experiment to find out what sound you like best.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFO:

The information in this video applies if you have a tube amp head or a solid state amp head. The process will be the same for either type of amp.

Just remember, you need a load box for this type of recording. If you try to go straight from the speaker out on the back of your head directly into your audio interface, you will damage your amp. Do not do this.

List Of Load Boxes

Below, I’ve compiled a list of load boxes that you may consider for this type of recording. Personally, I use the Weber MiniMass 50w (usable with amps of up to 50-watts) and I’d highly recommend it. But, any of the others will also work.

The prices listed are for the item purchased new.

• Any of Weber’s Attenuators – Starting at $96 (these load boxes are the best “bang for your buck” in my opinion)
• Two Notes Torpedo – $995 (a rack-mountable load box where you can load IRs directly inside the unit)
• Two Notes CAB – $495 (basically a desktop version of the Torpedo)
• Two Notes Captor – $250 (you must purchase the specific load box for your amp’s ohms)
• Mesa Cab Clone – $300 (has speaker simulation built in)
• RAT Dummy Load – ~$96 (these are made to order from in the UK)
• Rivera RockCrusher – $500
• Palmer PDI 03 – $650

SUPPLEMENTAL INFO:

Below are the links to the free software plugins I covered in this video:

• Lepou Amp Sim Plugins (find the download links on the right sidebar of the page)
• NadIR (free IR loader plugin)