As we get more and more into software, we eventually get into plug-ins. There are almost a zillion of them now available for use for reverbs, delays, chorus effects, compressors, virtual synths, virtual drums, and of course, virtual guitars. Not just the guitars, but the pre amps, the amps, the cabinets, the effects, everything.

But the question I ask, is that as a guitarist, I've worked very hard to get MY TONE out of MY GEAR, and should I use plug-ins, hardware, or mic my amp?

Plug-ins:

Obviously with plug-ins, there's the ease of use factor. The plug-ins are right there in the software. They can be instantly re-called from song to song, or even changed on the fly if you don't like the direction that the sound of the guitar is going in. The versatility of plug-ins are a big plus as well. You can pull from such a variety of amp types, and effects, it's like being in the music store and you get to choose what you want to just take & record with.

It's fun to be able to swap sounds in a song, and usually automating a guitar effect is pretty easy to do. Automate things like gain, to make a track get gradually more distorted over a period of time, or a delay time that goes long only in certain places, but is otherwise a shorter doubling delay. I like to also mess about with the EQ during a song as well. I'll change the guitar tone during the verses when the guitar needs to be backing up the lead vocal. By this I mean I'll pull down 4.5kHz a dB or so to let the vocal come through better, then bring it back during the big guitar chorus, and perhaps use more panning to keep the guitar and the vocal from fighting each other.

On the other hand, plug-ins tend to sizzle a little on the full bandwidth side of the sound. A guitar speaker range is up to like 8kHz. That lack of high end is part of the guitar sound's overall tone. Often I'll throw an 8kHz low pass filter over the guitar track to better emulate the guitar sound.

Hardware:

Often to me, I'll want my live rig to be recorded. I may have a rack piece of gear that I use live, and want those patches available to record. For this case, I'm digging this GT-PRO I have from BOSS. I use it as great guitar plug-in. No, it doesn't have traditional software plug-in capability, but it does have editing software, and the box has USB. I can use it as my guitar audio interface to record guitar right through the box into software. What's fun about that, is that now with Apple having Aggregate Devices, I can use the GT-PRO as well as my regular audio interfaces simultaneously. This means that I can record a dry guitar signal, then run it out to the guitar processor to re-amp the signal; with whatever effect I choose, and with MIDI, I can automate this as well as patches, effect parameters, etc. I can also record both the dry, and an effected signal, then decide later which I like, or combine them. Or even have say, a rectifier pre go to one track, and a blues amp pre to the other, because I have dual amp pre's in the GT-PRO.

There are a few manufacturers that make USB audio guitar processors, check and see if that's something that would interest you.

Mic'ing the amp:

On the other end of town, there's mic'ing the amp. To me, this is a more organic process, because it IS your sound. There's no tone like your own tone, and capturing that can be the most rewarding. However this means that you need a mic, some type of mic pre, and some knowledge of mic technique. Using one, two, or three mics on a cabinet to get a good sound is a common practice in the studio. Maybe also use a room mic to pick up that vibe, and a distant mic for that more developed tone from the cabinet. Getting all of this into a bedroom can be a challenge, but once it's set, it's not like you're going to be changing that mic set-up a lot, so I leave mine that way. The rig stays in another room Mic'ed any ready to go. I'll put freezer bags over the mics to keep out dust, or perhaps pull the mics, but I leave everything else in tact. All of the mic stands, and cabling stay at the amp, set-up and ready to go. When I need to track guitars, I sling the mics onto stands that are already in place, and hit the big red button.

I used a large closet for the longest. With proper acoustic treatment, you won't get a very boxy kind of sound, and it can stay set-up, and still get enough separation between the amp and the control room.

The upside is that I have my sound. The down side is that I'm married to that sound now when I record. There's no changing it later, like to change amp types, or effect settings. If the delay was too loud, I'm either going to re-record it, or live with it. Sometimes even with an amp, I'll go through a splitter first and record the dry sound on a separate track. Then at least I can re-amp that if I need to.

So many choices! The idea is to try as many different ideas as you can, and see which work for you. I go more project, by project, to see what set-up is going to work best for that session. At a minimum you'll end up with a bunch of ways to get a great, well recorded guitar tone.

Have Fun,
Phil Gates

makintrax@philgates.com
http://www.philgates.com