Recording Electric Guitars with Phil Allen - Warren Huart: Produce Like A Pro

Grammy winning engineer Phil Allen shows you how to record electric guitars.
Learn how to produce a song from scratch: "Music Production with Phil Allen": pmaproducts.net/music-production-with-phil-allen/
Sign up for free recording tutorials and drum samples: www.producelikeapro.com/free-recording-mixing-bundle/
Hi Friends, we are back with another tutorial from producer extraordinaire Phil Allen: Phil shows you how to get great guitar sounds and how to pick guitar parts that compliment the song.
Session guitarist Justin Norman shows off his pedal board and explains how to get low-noise - high energy guitar sounds and records various guitar parts.
This tutorial is an early excerpt of Phil's soon to be released course "Music Production with Phil Allen", so be on the lookout, it's going to be good!
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
Warren
Produce Like A Pro is a website which features great tips to help the beginning recordist make incredible sounding home recordings on a budget.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Friends, I hope you're marvellously well! Want to learn how to get amazing guitar recordings? Today's video is for you! We're back with another free tutorial by my good friend and producer extraordinaire Phil Allen: Phil shows you how to capture great electric guitar sounds and discusses several techniques to get different guitar tones and timbres when recording electric guitars. Session guitarist Justin Norman walks you through his guitar pedal setup, explains how to dial in a low-noise - high-energy guitar sound and records various guitar parts: 1. Clean guitars supporting and interacting with the lead vocal melody 2. Chords to fill out the choruses, add texture & fullness 3. Slide guitars for vibe and dimension Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@iwantappledumplings6187]

Great excerpt !! Thanks Phil and Warren !!

[@Producelikeapro]

You're welcome! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Itsallawesome]

i really like this guys playing style. very studio professional. he plays the stuff you'd actually hear in real music

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much

[@TheMentalblockrock]

I'll share with you my guitar amp recording technique. The sm 57 1" from the centre of speaker cone that Phil Allen mentioned always sounds too harsh to me. I've found that pointing the sm 57 about 2" from the grille, pointed half way between the centre and edge of the speaker cone and at 45 degrees angle gives me the recorded sound that is closest to what my guitar sounds like when I'm in front of the amp playing it.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi John, fantastic! Thanks for sharing your insight! I really appreciate it! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@TheMentalblockrock]

If you think about it, when you;re listening to a guitar amp the sound you are hearing is the average from the centre of the cone to the edge of the cone, not just directly in the middle of the cone. Especially playing the guitar, standing a few feet in front of your amp the bit of the speaker pointing at your ears will be midway between cone centre and edge.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi John, definitely! I suggest adjusting it to be where you prefer the sound of the guitar in the track! The additional variation of placement allows for even more tonal variation! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@lloydhinshelwood]

His slide playing is next level Love it

[@claudius3124]

Noise suppressor pedal with an fx loop : that's clever ;-)

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Claudius! I agree! Thanks for the great comment! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@iwantappledumplings6187]

Im going to steal that trick Claudius !!

[@MixmanD28]

Yes, this is brilliant!! Very generous to share hard-won secrets like this. Deep thanks, indeed. 🙏 👌 ✌

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks very much MixmanD28! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@StamatisStabos]

Marvelous

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks very much Stamatis, Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@EricGPLAP]

Love the Phil mixing course!! Helps so much with mixing using stock plugins. Can't wait for the production course! Woot Woot!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks Eric! Yes, Phil Rocks! Great guy and extremely talented! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@MixmanD28]

This clip is packed with very useful information here - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Aw shucks thanks very much MixmanD28! You Rock!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@noisesoundtonevibe]

I love guitar sessions! They're such a treat... I'm sure I'll come back to this video the way I do with Tim Pierce's. Thanks Phil, Justin and Warren!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi noisesoundtonevibe, thanks very much! Glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@matbell1514]

Great...Thanks for the info.. the track reminds me of Kings of Leon.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Matthew, thanks very much! That's cool to hear! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@chuck3455]

Solo at the end was so tasteful

[@whois7557]

Curious about why the volume pedal is first... Won't that affect how hard your guitar hits your OD pedals and screw with gain staging??

[@lewisdean107]

Might be what he's going for. I admit it's a strange choice but there's almost always gonna be an application for every order you could imagine on any pedalboard, however niché.

[@1900stratoliner]

Cool vid. I will try the cleaner setting/harder picking to get the heavy sound. Think I use to much gain. Thanks.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi 1900stratoliner, exactly! Use less gain and you'll get a bigger sound! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@1900stratoliner]

Thanks!

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@netzer442]

Very nice!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks very much netzer442! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@mercible]

A pleasure to watch the masters at work. Thanks for sharing!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks very much! I appreciate your kind words! Phil is a great guy and an amazing talent! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@robbievalentine8239]

I have never seen OD pedals into the noise suppressor before like that. Interesting. I'll give it a try.

[@neilbarbu]

Marvelous squared

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Neil, thanks very much! Yes, Phil is great! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@BarbecueFitness]

Great slide playing, loved it!

[@benmaguire4098]

nice slide playing & some good tips the d.i. box looked like a radial ?

[@BkBangatv]

very nice playing on that last part. real smooth

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks BK! I agree Justin is amazing! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Danielsfield]

Especially liked the slide part really cool I would like to hear the finished product.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Dan, thanks very much! The finished song can be heard here:- soundcloud.com/produce-like-a-pro/morgan-mallory-of-this-im-sure Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@L.Scott_Music]

I recently got a valuable lesson in recording guitar from a pretty good teacher. First step was ditch the laptop with the amp sims and plug into a great pedal running into a REVV amp head. :-)

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha thanks Loren! Who was that? haha Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@CO-254]

This is an amazing video. One day I hope to have that kind of reserved playing. It was perfect and tasteful. Thanks for posting.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi George, thanks very much! Yes, Justin is an amazing player! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Hellosange]

really nice slide part !

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks Hellosange! Yes, Justin is great! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Elsteveador2]

Wahey! Namesake PLAP!

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha yes indeed SteveJoeAllen! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@arvfur]

Won't the distance from the speaker to Justin's ears be like 10-12 milliseconds, and make him play that amount behind the beat? Wouldn't headphones be tighter timing wise?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Arve, great point! It's a lot less than that, however that's a trick Producers have been using for years to bet musicians not to play on top! Guitarists in particular tend to push ahead of the groove, so having them sit back is a great way to get it to feel wonderful! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@arvfur]

Thanks for the tip!

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome Arve! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@NerdMusic3]

Hi, I've been having an issue with recording my electric guitar and amp......some of my really high notes sound like they're distorting or clipping, even though the gain on the mic pre isn't that high and the actual recorded track isn't clipping, and it's at a modest level when recorded, not more than -12 db...........I've tried different mics and still having issues......could this be the amp or the guitar's pickups instead? Thanks

[@abnerortiz6027]

Hello Warren Haurt quick question my friend would you be able to name me some studios in the Los Angeles area that you did a tour of please!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Abner, wow there's been so many! The big ones are Sunset Sound, United and NRG and many more! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@jyfjuf]

Thank you for sharing !!!!

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome koama! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@sigurdthomassen4764]

Hi! How do you get the guitar signal from the control-room to the amp? Thanks for the video!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Sigurd, great question! There is a guitar tie line from the control room to the live room! There is a panel in the control room you plug into and then one in the live room that you connect to the Amp. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@ZJ-Hebimetasan]

Nice approach on metal Maluma my boy...

[@tranjose]

Are you running long instrument cables from the control room to the amp?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi tranjose, great question! No the instrument cables connect via mic panels in the live room and control room, it's not a particularly long run. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Slayr.]

Any good budget mics for recording all normal rock band instruments?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Slayr, excellent question! Pretty much any affordable dynamic mic is great on guitars! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Slayr.]

What's your opinion on using a Blue Snowball ICE on 100 - 200$ range solid state amplifiers?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Slayr, I haven't personally used it, but I hear from friends that it's great! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@chrispinelli]

Who is the artist who sings this song?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Chris, the artist is Morgan Mallory! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Chris, The finished song can be heard here:- soundcloud.com/produce-like-a-pro/morgan-mallory-of-this-im-sure Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@ephreimharris]

@@Producelikeapro The link is dead 😐

[@IanRLewis]

I do all of it by myself and already know what parts to play that will not step on my vocals. Most of the stuff here will be deleted and he played one harmony and doubled the part instead of doing a complete harmony like the producer asked for. The tone was great though and parts of that slide guitar was great.

[@agregors47]

Any idea what console he's using in that studio?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Andy, great question! I believe it's the Toft console, the 16 channel is around 6k, they are quite affordable. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@straitview74]

Justin said a "pedal for his tempo"....what was he talking about?

[@robbievalentine8239]

straitview74 tap tempo for the delay and reverb pedals. Syncs everything up.

[@critiquedard]

Waouh ! What effect is on the guitar at 13:00 ? Please help me ! It's been so long i'm looking for this effect !

[@michaelbauwens576]

That's a volume pedal to create volume swells + slide for the 'fretless' singer-like playing + some saturation (overdrive) + reverb and delay for the echo sound!

[@critiquedard]

@@michaelbauwens576 Thank you very much Michael. I was thinking about it. So if we want this effects works, we have to have some overdrive ?

[@michaelbauwens576]

@@critiquedard to make the notes sing like that, yes. You can also have clean slide playing but it works better if you have some compression and/or saturation (overdrive).

[@critiquedard]

@@michaelbauwens576 Thank you for the answer, Michael. Have a nice day.

[@matthew17020]

Does the output of the DI go to the amp input?

[@TheErrorerrorerrorer]

Matthew Roberts no

[@matthew17020]

James Aparicio informative! How is it done?

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Matthew, the 1/4 inch output is in parallel to the input, that splits to the amp. There's a Mic Output from the DI which goes to Mic Pre. I hope that helps? Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@supervised]

Probably straight into the audio interface

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Bruno, yes indeed, goes from the XLR output from the DI to either a console, external mic pre or the mic in on the audio interface! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@TheJamison76]

I prefer a 121 and a u87 mixed on my guitar amps. Try it, you might like it ;)

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Nick, that's also a great combination of mics! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@carlostorres1171]

What is the song?

[@joinushugabear5847]

Whats up with the click?

[@MyBichSustained]

What pedal is he talking about that controls his tempo?

[@samuelellringmann3424]

I'm not a guitar player so I may be wrong. But it looks like he is referring to the BOSS FS-5U Pedal, which will let you adjust your delay time by tapping the tempo of the song

[@MyBichSustained]

Excellent,I will check it out! Thanks for the fast reply!Excellent vids!

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes I believe Sam is correct MyBichSustained! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@nickybareau3639]

hi warren if ever you need a cutting edge funk virtuoso guitar player I'm uk based and so cheap

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Nicky, thanks for offering, I'll keep it in mind! Most of the time I do the guitars myself, Bass, keys and some drums. I will often use Tim Pierce. Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@stephenfell4338]

why can you not go line out instead of mikes? thank you

[@ryker6richard]

nice singing,,,,,,,,, leave that lead alone it was perfect!

[@monkeyxx]

There was some good stuff here, but THAT CLICK TRACK WAS SO HORRIBLE. I couldn't stand listening to the click in this example!

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha I hear you! Click tracks can be insanely annoying for some of us! I think over the years I've blocked them out! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@TheJLPShow]

Charlie Day on guitar!

[@zistheword]

[@Producelikeapro]

Yay! Thanks zistheword! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@DynamicRockers]

Ryan Gosling plays guitar

[@adrianshegstad4126]

Charlie Kelly plays a mean guitar

[@kaiulrich6185]

When I watches the slide part I thougt I could not play with my watch tossing around like that

[@guitargunnarhamburg8766]

LETS JUDGE ME !!!!! Instrumental Rock Guitar Gunnar Ostheim BREAKAWAY Thank You ;)

[@bullet0657]

I love my Bad Cat Black Cat

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Edwin, I have to say I am quite impressed with them! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@josefvr3315]

Ready. pop corns, guitar, a coke. enjoy the video.

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha thanks Fernando! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@benmorgan9748]

I play with a BadCat, the low end is so rich.. beautiful.

[@anticheatersquad1733]

Hi Warren! I'm a big fan and ever so grateful for all the advice you provide. However, the input of this video really suffered from the poor camera quality - especially the lack of image stabilization made this almost unwatchable. Any chance for an upgrade camera wise? Either way, keep up the good work :)

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi AntiCheaterSquad, firstly great logo! Any Star Wars reference is great in my book! This is a short excerpt from many hours of footage, I really enjoyed the piece even though Connor who filmed this was a little shaky! As they say c'est a vie! I'm sorry it spoiled your enjoyment of the video! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@caspermaster-com]

Kinda unconfident guitar performance

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Casper, yes, definitely, that was his first take! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@probusexcogitatoris736]

"I don't need any strumming"... goes on to record a strumming guitar :D

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha which part is the strumming part? The octave run? Check out the song here:- soundcloud.com/produce-like-a-pro/morgan-mallory-of-this-im-sure Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@probusexcogitatoris736]

Yeah, not really a strumming part... but, I just could not help myself and my bad sense of humor. Great song!

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha that's cool! Trust me I'm happy to laugh at myself! Haha Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@luisbautista5176]

LMAO he just called green days guitar sound SUUPer heavy

[@Melvin7727]

It is, in the context of rock. But a lot of it comes from the layers of guitar and the bass sound being rock solid consistent.

[@jrantajoki]

10 emails a month is too much, how about a weekly or better yet a bi-weekly recap instead? I had to unsubscribe from the mailing list, it was just getting bit too ridiculous. Even when the content is often interesting, it´s just too much!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Jarkko, thanks for the message! Yes, there's a lot of different amounts of emails depending on what kind of engagement your like. A lot of our community is very engaged and likes a lot of information and free content updates etc. We are blessed that our open rate is very high, but I completely understand that not everyone wants to get 10 emails a month! Thanks for watching the video and commenting, I really appreciate it! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@ctld5266]

if you want to see really great, go see tim pierce youtube channel. that s the top of the game. far better than that...

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

Christian Loudieu PLAP has covered him too.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Christian, yes, Tim is not only a great friend of mine, I use him all the time in my Productions and we have made quite a few videos together! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi CIRCLE OF TONE Your friend for guitar tone, yes! Tim is amazing! One of the greatest session players ever to live! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@ctld5266]

Make one real awesome, Dg Mc Kean and Rob cavallo recording guitar and drums. This team with cla mixing is for me the best

[@Producelikeapro]

Indeed Christian Doug is a wonderful engineer! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@franciscodanconia3551]

Warren, I always learn something from your videos, but this guy calling Green Day's guitars heavy is like calling a bag of potato chips heavy. Sure there might be a little crunchiness there, but heavy? Absolutely not.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Nunya Bees' Wax, haha I agree! That was the point, you both agree, to some people 'Green Day' are a Punk band with loud guitars, where ultimately they use relatively low level gain! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren

[@Melvin7727]

I think when you listen to Boulevard of Broken Dreams or Holiday the guitars sound massive compared to others in the same genre. "Heavy" doesn't only mean metal or mountains of gain or chugging. Maybe fat would have been the better choice of word over heavy.

[@cemsahin8874]

boss noise supressor eats hell lot of your signal especially with fx loop activated. It makes the guitar tone sounds "dull" and lifeless. How can a pro use noise supressor on a guitar track, especially a 80 dollar BOSS ! Also the guitar has humbuckers in it... I see that as a mistake