9 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR GUITAR RECORDING

[@essentialmusic1007]

Henning, i love your videos! You know your shit, no bs, no selbstbeweihräucherung, a wealth of knowledge, great sense of humor and style like all germans.

[@Dperezer]

More videos like this please. While I love gear reviews I’m guilty of putting too much emphasis on gear. This kind of video will probably help me sound better than any pedal review ever could. Thanks!

[@ChrisMartinsMusician]

Beautiful video. Great explanation of why phase is your worst enemy and why most beginners have so much trouble getting good tone from more than 1 mic at a time. Great job Henning !

[@onenotesolo256]

That little mcing part where you were moving the mics around the speaker in real time was the best I’ve seen in ages. Very quick and clear. Thank you.

[@saarangnarayan123]

That last tip about cranking 5k is absolute gold. It's what made my guitars come alive in a mix in almost all situations. This, along with the Pultec trick of boosting and cutting the same frequencies are absolutely ridiculous cheatcodes when it comes to spicing up your guitar tone.

[@pierregautheret5049]

Hi there people-who-want-to-record and beware this is not a video. This is a masterclass of howto and withwhich gear record guitar. Thank you Henning and yes we all need also a colorfull shirt to avoid noises. Cheers😊

[@JakeStrange66]

Too bad it's for people who use DAWs. I don't use one, or a bunch of other crap; just a guitar & amp. Can't be too hard when you use all kinds of digital stuff & plug-ins & all that stuff.

[@zvirb]

Henning, great thanks for this great comprehensive tutorial! You're the very best!

[@paulj0557tonehead]

All of this software... I used to just put a Speaker-to- Line-Out adapter on my favorite 5-20 watt guitar tube amp in place of the speaker and run that Line-Out into a *DBX 1BX DYNAMIC RANGE EXAPANDER* [also made 2BX and 3BX] and I could make those little amps sound incredible on recordings. If you get a Car Audio STEREO RCA Speaker-to-Line-Out adapter they have a trimmer pot for level on each channels output. The DBX is stereo too. So you can run two amps at the same time into it. For recording I used a couple of Electro Voice 676 dynamic mics through a pair of good preamps. Excellent preamp is Craig Anderton's "Project 1" Preamp from Electronic Projects For Musicians. It has 10Volts of clean output.

[@ghfdt368]

Great info Henning, that EQ advice at the end was a real eye opener for me, I actually never thought or crossed my mind to think of the highs in the mix. One piece of advice i'd add too is not to use too much effects or distortion. Sometimes as guitar players we put lots of chorus, delay a massive amount of distortion or gain if you are a metal musician and it sounds great in isolation but in a mix can sound like ass. I was actually amazed how many metal bands record with the gain and distortion much lower and more subtle than you think and im sure you know this Henning, a lot of bands just double track the guitar parts and it makes the guitar tone and presence sound massive, full and punchy and that's what you really want and are after but just doing it the wrong way.

[@Madchris8828]

This is going to be great. I'm finally getting decent enough at guitar to record stuff. Excited to hear what you have to say Mr. Henning!

[@PXR5-PXR5]

How important is a colourfull shirt when you record stuff? Is any colour sounding better? 😊

[@EytschPi42]

Super important

[@MAX96MENDES]

@@EytschPi42 I agree! The more colorful the clothing, the more colorful the music will sound. It´s all about color-tone. That is the Big secret of the guitar master. The reason they say , that they see "colors" in their songs when they compose new songs.

[@whitex4652]

Most important ever!

[@DjDoggDad]

Stop giving away the industry secret of using colorful shirts 🤣

[@PXR5-PXR5]

​@@DjDoggDad Wonder what Glenn Frick has to say about this?

[@kainagami]

Thank you Henning for the tips, gonna see what I can do now on my Mooer RADAR for recording since up till now I've never been quite satisfied with how my guitar sounds

[@CorNigrum]

Even though I knew most of this, I've never seen it put together this well. Great job.

[@EytschPi42]

Thanks a lot!

[@frankjeromin5459]

Henning, thank you so much for this video and please keep it coming. You are my island in the crappy YT ocean.

[@karikaroyt2689]

Thanks for this video, Henning! Super useful and filled with great information. I'll be sure to try out the top shelf boost trick. Cheers!

[@hoboroadie4623]

I have not recorded anything, but I was wanting multiple mics on single drums for a live thing so I got a bunch of Little Labs IBP tools so I can flip phase on one mic and dial in the worst comb filtered choked tone, "null checking", then flip the phase back and voila! Sounds good. Sometimes with drum kits things are in the way of exact mic capsule placement and using a knob to simulate different time/space is an other option.

[@JeeWeeDonkers]

Brilliant video, thank you for this just all essential info together. And thank you for Nudl at the end. Our poodle died almost a year ago and I still miss her every day.

[@lavalizard1]

Killer. Video of the year. We all need to hear this perspective and advice. Cheers.

[@where_is_christophe]

Great explanation, thanks !

[@mediamogul6643]

Great stuff useful for everyone but invaluable for less experienced guitarists looking to get into recording cheers

[@lameguitarist7264]

Great you got into QC. I would love to see your take on Fractal. I dont think you can get them to sponsor a vid but surely you have a friend with at least FM3/FM9 to borrow from and hope you would get covered by views. This video is gold. Thank you Henning.

[@philippgrunert8776]

Thanks so much for the effort and taking the time out into this very elaborate video. Will now go try the topend boost out...

[@raisedrichnot512]

This was a very informative video. Some I knew, and some things I didn't. Thanks.

[@PedalPlayhouse]

Best advice, chasing your idols tone. Ya agreed don’t do that. Even having everything you will never sound like them no matter what. Yuuuppp Just find what you love and what makes you happy and then leave it alone!! This is great Henning, I’m watching this in parts but appreciate these video focused approaches.

[@void_snw]

My favorite recorded guitar tone is a Komet Concorde, mixed with a Diezel VH4 channel 2, a custom Stephenson amp (Marshall style), and a mix of Plexis, with very little information as to what was used where. I have not been able to find any information on cabs or mics, I just know roughly what the guy owns cab wise. Drove me nuts for ages. I no longer worry about those specifics, but it's cool to know for me. Finding ways to get that kind of tone that I like so much is a journey, no matter what gear is used. A fun journey. Now I build guitar pedals for myself. It's fun :)

[@StephaneGBetameche]

Thanks a lot Henning for all the good advices

[@MoonshineDelight]

Informative video.. thanks. btw the Sennheiser MD-421 is a dynamic microphone, not a condenser.

[@EytschPi42]

thanks! I had no clue

[@maxthomas78]

Thanks for this Henning. Perfectly timed video I’ve just started home recording and this is really useful. Thank you.

[@fantomas9240]

Danke for this excellent vidéo ! I've learned a lot of things and now not guilty anymore about "Oh my God, I don't have tried this IR X or this Y etc...." I've found one that a like very much and use it all the time

[@StratsRUs]

Randy Rhoads on the Tribute album is something else though.The only Ozzy album I listen to, too.Sounds fantastic. He hated the studio stuff and said he was always rushed.

[@kxmrock]

Henning i know you have a lot of experience as you run this channel and have done many gear demos for years. Buying Amp maker Speaker cabs isn't necessarily the answer for good tone. that cab/speaker is just the amp brands idea of what they think should pair with their amp. i strongly suggest you experience a speaker brand "Scumback Speakers" recently interviewed on "Tone-Talk" with a Part-2 interview in the works. Their VH-BM75-65wts-16ohms kicked my EVH & Lynch back Celestions to the curb. I actually gave away my legit EVH 20wt but the discontinued Lynchback has tripled in priced on Reverb.I will sell that or hang on to it for now.

[@blenderuser6728]

The bit about finding your own sound as related to your musical ability is so important and probably initially leads to the "shitty" tone and music you referred to earlier in the video but "If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise." I'm just getting there, I think.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Great video! A favorite topic of mine is the different and unique tones you can get with small amounts of gear. The 421 is a dynamic mic BTW.

[@EytschPi42]

yeah.. I clearly don't know things... thanks... had no idea.

[@djpgreek]

Great video! Best yuve ever done IMO. Im looking for a 1x12 cab and really like the sound of g-12m creambacks. Can you recommend a few good cabs you consider balanced as you said?

[@jayboy6895]

This is absolutely Bad Ass. Just what I was looking for. You are incredible. Thank you 🙏

[@landonbailey]

I just spent 2 hours on the toilet getting the best tones

[@EytschPi42]

Did you mic them?

[@landonbailey]

@@EytschPi42 my toilet has a #2 Two notes built in

[@Rikamortis6stringer]

Totally awesome information Henning! Phase alining makes so much sense. And all the other tidbits that you have given makes it seem pretty simple. I myself have not done a lot of modern guitar recording. Mostly just used my cellular phone of course they have pretty good stuff but not as good as using a mic through a computer. The drummer in my band works at UA. And he knows a few things about sound! I did not see him doing The stuff you're doing when he was recording our band. But he may have software hooked up I'm not sure. This is one of your best videos for a guy like me who doesn't do a lot of recording. I play a lot of guitar but I don't do a lot of recording when we record we either go to a studio or we have a friend that records. Thanks buddy You're a wealth of knowledge😊

[@EytschPi42]

There is NO need to go to a studio for guitars anymore... that is, sadly, just a waste of money... unless the producer works with you on the music.

[@Rikamortis6stringer]

@@EytschPi42 If you can go to the studio and get it done for free then you might want to go! Of course the engineer needs to help you dial it in because he will know stuff you don't. But I agree with you 100%. Thank you sir....

[@vasotoe]

Great stuff in this video! Thank you Henning! 🤘

[@RulgertGhostalker]

mics are expensive. I got a Bata57A and an Aston Origin... and I will use them for all my mic-ing, vocals, and guitar, and they sounds fine.

[@pedalscapes]

Great stuff as ever, you had me at "you probably don't need this video" 😎

[@kristianmarschewski1590]

i love my OD5, i use some for guitars and for snaredrum. but it took me a while to notice, thate the membrane is much closer to the grill as it is in a sm57 :D

[@Studio22mix]

Actually the mixing of two different sounds works perfectly, I use it when mixing bass, snare and kick. Stuff you need to try, makes it so much easier. Cab sims are great for practice while keeping the energy bill low, recording however, use an amp 😊

[@metalpuppet5798]

As Henning said theres no difference between a well dialed in sim and a real cab. Its the same sound. You're not going to hear a difference in a mix. Its all in your imagination. Do a blind test and your "preference" is all going to fall apart

[@kreiscrafter9805]

In my opinion the thing with the treble (5k and upwards) is a double bladed sword. I am a young guitarist from Ulm, Germany (21) and I always kept care of my hearing. On almost every big live concert (e.g. Toto) I can’t stand the mix because there is so much fizzely high end (5k and above). It isn’t a rare occasion that the smaller bands who play before the big names have a punchier and more balanced live sound. The only explanation I can think of is that the experienced “legendary” sound engineers go (at least a slight bit) deaf over time and loose their upper frequencies. And this is no wonder - having an everyday job in a very loud environment unavoidably leads to hearing loss (starting in the upper frequencies). So in my opinion yes, the guitar has to have enough “bite” (frequencies > 5kHz) to cut through the mix. But if I am again listening to a guitar sound that is just sizzling around (and I guarantee, if you apply a 15dB boost to the highs that will be the case), I just have no alternative but to question the hearing abilities of the pros who are doing the job maybe a bit too long. In my practice I can apply a low pass filter at around 7kHz and still have a good cut through the mix while simultaneously not being painful in the ears. Of course that also depends on the mic and cab setup as the video states. Edit: Chris Lorde Alge is a pro, I take everything back 😂

[@ithemba]

pretty on the money, hearing ability definetly first goes in the very high highs. that is true even without being exposed to hundreds and hundreds of full blown live productions over decades, but probably those don't help either. Something I experienced as well, working as in-house live engeneer in a small venue: when bands bring their own foh guy, they tend to mix sharper because they mix on the side of safe, applying cuts at upper mids at around 2.1 kHz because those tend to feedback, and then overcompensate with treble. When you know the room and the PA, you have a level of confidence on the response of feedback in the room that allows for a far mid-heavier sound. I tend to say that in-house foh guys sound better for that reason. In the case that you described, probably the opening gig was checked by the in-house guy, while the main act had their own guy (a common deal with us as well).

[@cmath8577]

Usually it's the opposite experience for me. Opening band gets bad sound/monitors

[@ithemba]

@@cmath8577that is what's to be expected since usually the main act gets a full soundcheck for one to two hours while the opening act often only gets a 20 minute line-check. however, sometimes the effect i described applies: audio engeneer in the travel party doing sharp mixes, in-house doing more mid-heavy.

[@valentinzwick5408]

It's also worth mentioning that cla also does add quite some low end to his guitars so essentially he seems to be scooping the mids not by turning them down but by upping highs & lows 😅 - I gotta say I am not the biggest fan of cla mixes but I do love the ones from guys like Colin Richardson or Andy sneap. Colin ain't high-shelving his guitars but using additive eq in some frequency areas. 8-10k for air, 4-6k for bite, 400hz for note and 70-100 for weight. That's what I do lately too Andy I am pretty happy with how it turns out

[@kreiscrafter9805]

@@valentinzwick5408 I totally agree with you

[@wilfriedcwik3475]

The truth is hard to swallow 🤣 Thank you!

[@CarstenGoeke]

Gefällt mir schon nach 7 Minuten. ✌🏼

[@theprisonier]

For mics, 906 from sennheiser and M160 beyerdinamics

[@Mateplaysguitar]

Great video, thank you!

[@f4tb0b]

Thanks, much appreciated.

[@hdaniels666]

Great video Henning. Can you please get that roswell six album back up on spotify. My father's son is absolutely awesome 💪

[@EytschPi42]

I don’t want you I support Spotify in any way. It is on the other streaming services that pay more fairly.

[@ThePaivarinne]

Henning is great!

[@arnaudstegle5034]

Great content !

[@remiobox]

thank you

[@fraenkiboii]

Didn’t think I need new IRs. But you had me with the ToolPot IR. Question: Which pack contains the ToolPot IR and are there more tool specific IRs by FA??? Otherwise I would probably try the mox ready MESA… thanks for all the helpful tips Henning 🙏

[@EytschPi42]

I think the Tool was in the modern Rock pack

[@fraenkiboii]

@@EytschPi42 yep found it! Thank you, Sir!

[@darylm.stephens9603]

I need help I have 2 albums worth of music and no idea how to record it and copywrite it.

[@PXR5-PXR5]

Nice little hedgehogs, are you having them at home. Henning?

[@EytschPi42]

My wife raises them if they lost their mother and when they are strong enough releases them back in the wild.

[@PXR5-PXR5]

@@EytschPi42 Ooh nice, good wife that saves animals. Mm we have hedgehogs here too and sadly they have a tendency to be runned over by cars. Thank her from a veiwer that also loves them.

[@Mayamibera]

Thank you Sir 🙏🙏

[@marekgitarzysta5193]

Good video. The biggest problem I have is when someone is trying to chase this "magical" tone Page or Clapton had in the 60s/70s - and they MUST have the the same mics, speakers, cabinets, amps, pickups, wood, paint, humidity, wallpapers, shoes, pair of jeans and the same coffee mug as their idol. Just to emulate someone's sound? (and it will never sound the same no matter what). Why not come up with your own thing, be creative, surprise the listener (and yourself). I learned to work with what I have, I learned there's EQ that is the most useful effect one can think off. I learned I need to learn how to play my sh*t first, before complaining my 300 Euro audio interface sucks and I need a 1000 Euro one. Thank you for attention, follow me for more recipes ;)

[@Ralph-f8u]

watch a lot but really like this

[@umbertoyltp]

"If you're looking for treble, you came to the right place"

[@menschlicheswesen84]

Würdest du das hesu 1'12 demon speaker cab als "balanced" bezeichnen...?😂 Es geht um metal home recording...

[@EytschPi42]

Kann ich null sagen, hab ich nie gehört

[@oishikplays]

I feel very called out. I dont know how to feel about this video after buying a two rock traditional clean AND a silver sterling signature to chase "that John Mayer" tone 💀

[@lntl808]

md-421 is dynamic mate.

[@EytschPi42]

Now I know

[@lntl808]

@@EytschPi42 it has a large capsule, which makes it sound somewhat similar to a condenser, But MD means Mikrofon Dynamisch 😃

[@g.m.1672]

This was extremely on time posting while i’ve just started recording and drowning in profiles, cabs & mics. You made me realise “Simplify and be productive” Duly noted sir! Thanks.

[@ALIASZARDOZ]

In my side and point of view : To fix one's admiring attention on a guitar player model is to recognize him or give him a prestige that one does not possess. So, imitation brings some desire to do something, like a starter. But a perfect imitation is awful and completely bullshit ! Anyone has to find their own way, their own path.

[@alphanumeric1529]

The tools are so damn good these days, but they're also so damn expensive. The split between the worlds is increasing. Yes you can easily get great guitar tone with a $1,500 guitar, maybe $500 worth of extra special pickups, an amp head worth $2,000, a $1,200 cabinet, a $100 mic stand or two, $800 in mics, $500 for a cheap preamp, $200 cabling, $750 for an audio interface, a $2,000 PC, with $1,000 for daw and some software. And all of this may double in cost over the next year... Recording great guitar tone is easy, all you need is $11,650 in cash in a time when rent or mortgage takes 50% of your income, utilities take 25%, food takes 50%, car, insurance and gas takes 50% of your income. Challenging to say the least. So, we're left with the other world, the ugly world full of bad guitar tone, a $350 16 year old Mexi Fender with bridge saddles that alternately rattle, buzz, zing and sitar, a $200 Bugera head also 16 years old, still with original tubes that can only do an extremely bass heavy clean tone, the crunch channel at lowest gain that will pass sound is a completely flat bee storm of atonality, a Peavey 4x12 with infamous Shefield Equipped speakers from the literal 80's, yeah, 40 years of wear, at $100, an AT4047, something like $500, that was a splurge from a different time, and an Audix i5 at $90, or a Pyle 57 knock off at $11. An Art Pro Pre 2, for $250 from back in the day, an Emu 1616m interface that was $300 back in the day, and some cables and mic stands that I've owned for 30 years, but were maybe $300 ($500-600 in today's dollars), a $60 DAW, and a few hundred in plugins. SO, for the low, low, price of $2461 you too can achieve halfway shitie guitar tone! I don't do IR stuff, honestly I'd rather do my taxes, but each to their own. I guess I could plug my guitar directly into the 1/8th inch mic input on my computer and get amazing blazing guitar tones from IR's...

[@wilfriedcwik3475]

Wow, I've never commented twice on a video before... To all af you... Listen well, it will save you money and time, this is exactly what I have experienced in 40 years!!!

[@EytschPi42]

Thaaaank you!

[@Sagerydian]

99% of guitarists do not know how a raw recorded guitar should sound like. That is the main problem. They either try to get the sound of a fully compressed, eq-ed and mixed guitar or they try to replicate a sound they're used to in the rehearsal room - which in 99% of the case is too roomy or has to much reverb on it if used in the final mix. Another point: guys. I am sorry, but amps in a box do not work. I wished they did, because it would save us so much time, but they do not. No UAFX pedal can give you a Fender Silverface sound. It is the sad truth. And I know there will be so many people claiming the opposite. Those are the same people who say that the Bahlsen cookies taste exactly the same like the quarter priced knock offs from Aldi. THEY DON'T!

[@kennethdarlington]

Do you really think that it would be possible to distinguish uafx pedal from the real amp in the properly mastered mix? I mean... Glenn! GLENN WHERE ARE YOU WHEN YOU ARE NEEDED?Ñ

[@Sagerydian]

@@kennethdarlington Yes. And Glenn is also only recording real amps with real cabs for a reason. He re-amps direct guitar signals.

[@wolfgangdevries127]

Thanks, but how did you know I planned to record guitars etc? Thought I was a mystic.

[@bolotskih675]

I really like an antelope audio edge mic. Its a modeling mic so it lets you to choose how it will sound. You can choose it to be a sm57 or a sm7b or many more others. Its so much fun to use it with gainy guitars.

[@KreativeDevices]

🔥

[@gaetanclybouw]

Great tip right here: Buy the T.bone Rb100 with a Shure sm57. The Tbone sounds really close the Royer r121. So u will have your dark vs bright mic and a lot of cash in the pocket. Thank me later 👋

[@SkyAvila983]

The only reason for CLA to boost the highs that much is that the guitar recordings are very neutral in character.

[@onlyguitar6521]

Glenn also says that all humbucker guitars sound the same, so you agree?

[@JoeBaermann]

No he does not say that they sound the same, he says that there isn’t a lot of difference in the frequencies when it is recorded as soon gain is introduced, which is partly correct when those pups don’t have a huge difference in output level and are used with the same volume/tone circuit, which in certain cases isn’t what they where created for. He also said that there is a difference in responce between them, he might not notice it himself, but at least he listens to the players helping him making those tests. Keep one thing in mind, Glenn talks recording engineer perspective and not how they may react differently upon techniques not to forget when actually using the guitars volume pot and maybe even the tone pot, hence why it make sense to have the same pups in the main and their backup guitars, even in the studio, consistency is key. Also for live use, if there are no solo boosts used, which means the rigg is set to rythm gain at lower guitar volume knob level and solo at full output frequency differences between pups matter even with gain, as does the max. output, even with a witeless system.

[@Parcolai]

24:14 Improvise. Get some books under that cab.

[@rockinvegan1765]

So true about good sound and modelers. I bought years ago the Helix and I hated it. Never got any good sound out of it. I sold it and bought a tube amp. Now I play a Neural DSP PlugIn and I really like the sound. Much more realistic than the Helix.

[@Nasa25348]

Note that-Helix was created for people who have completed at least primary school, not for idiots...

[@OfficialPerfectoDeCastro]

But I want magik

[@EytschPi42]

YOU are the magic my fiend, YOU ARE!

[@SamiKankaristo]

Apparently, the silver e609 is not as good as the black e609 (original e609) that you have. But this is complete hearsay, I have no personal experience. Quite often, the "new" version is said to be worse than the original, which is no longer available. Sometimes it's not true, and it's just people trying to find mojo from difficult-to-find/vintage gear. But sometimes it's true, and the new thing actually is worse because of cost-cutting by the manufacturer.

[@Ralph-f8u]

Learn and be your owe person. and make your own sound, like what he 's saying

[@Gintelligence]

Listening to this on $20 .00 computer speakers,lol

[@PooNinja]

I know whats good. That’s why I got an OPUS! 🤘🏽

[@odie5268]

And then all the user fender hot rods suddenly disappeared from reverb.

[@EytschPi42]

Killer amp!

[@Brutuscomedy]

Things have come a long way but I still feel disappointed when my fav bands use Kempers and the like on new albums. I can hear the difference. The overall production has something to do with it too but imo, more people would do well to crank tube amps and mic cabs.

[@nenadwjestica]

Sennhaiser 421 is not condenser mic, do yuor homework bro :)

[@EytschPi42]

One mistake…. Anything else? I did say I never used it Mr. Smartass.

[@ickebins6948]

@@EytschPi42 How dare you don't know any detail on any piece of gear you never used!!! Delete you channel asap!!1111elf Just joking, thanks for the video.

[@crave809]

Hold UP!!!!! Linda, Linda, Linda, Linda, are you saying…. Hear me out…. GLEN WAS RIGHT?!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😂 1:13:31

[@honnaconna7312]

Fantastic video, remarkable hoody 🔥 rock on henning 🫶

[@whitex4652]

Right. Wenn Du es nicht richtig hinkriegst - selber schuld. Such Dir n anderes Hobby. :-))

[@EytschPi42]

eigentlich schon... mit wem heutigen Werkzeug ist es ECHT einfach, wenn man weiss wo man hin will und DAS ist das schwierige!