Recording: Recording an Electric Guitar in a Home Studio
Once you reach a certain level on the guitar, the next logical step is: recording a song. But what do you need for that, and how do you actually record it?
I’ll explain the necessary equipment and how to record it here.
Equipment
To capture something audible in an analog format (what we hear) and convert it into a digital format (what the computer hears), we first need gear that handles this conversion for us.
Interface
I’ll assume that everyone reading this already owns a guitar. Otherwise, you should check out this blog post: The Right Guitar for Beginners.
The interface that “everyone” is using right now is the “Focusrite Scarlett”.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter which one you buy. However, we’ll later discuss which one is best suited for your needs.
With this setup, you are already prepared to receive a digital signal on your computer and process it.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
Logic (Mac)
As an Apple user, my clear choice is: Logic!
Opinions on this vary, as they always do. Some swear by Logic, while others find it confusing and claim, “you can’t create anything decent with it.”
However, the fact is that many professionals use it, it’s commonly used in studios for recording, and yes, even for mixing songs.
It’s undoubtedly a professional program and far too extensive for someone like me. There are many functions in Logic that I don’t even know exist, and many that I do know about but can’t use because I haven’t invested the time to learn them.
Since my band Atomic Symphony decided to use Logic so that everyone can work on the same project, it was clear to me that I would stick with this DAW.
GarageBand (Mac)
The free version of Logic is GarageBand, which comes pre-installed on every Mac. It’s very similar to Logic, except that the interface is much simpler, it has fewer features, and all the extra bells and whistles that an amateur recorder doesn’t need are simply missing! 🙂
A cool feature of GarageBand is its iCloud integration. If you’re working on a project on your computer and then go on a beach vacation for a week, you can open and continue working on the project from your iPad or iPhone. With the right adapters (iPhone to USB — USB to your interface), you can even connect a guitar and keep recording in your hotel! 😛
Reaper (Mac and Windows)
The program I always recommend to my students when they start recording themselves is “Reaper”. I can’t say too much about it except that many of my students love it. It’s open-source, meaning that many independent developers contribute to it. This often results in a less polished interface but excellent functionality.
For example, plugins may not look as fancy as in Logic, but they work just the same. The developers likely focus more on functionality than design, which is totally understandable.
It’s also free. You just have to wait a few seconds before the program starts, and then you can use it forever for free.
Cubase
I actually started recording my guitar with Cubase. Honestly, I’m glad those recordings don’t exist anymore! 😛
Just like all other DAWs, Cubase can record and edit music very well.
If you decide to use Cubase, I recommend buying a Steinberg interface since it comes with a free copy of Cubase.
Ableton
Ableton is more commonly used by producers recording hip-hop, RnB, etc. However, I know a few guitarists who use Ableton for their daily work.
It’s especially great for loops, drums, and repetitive parts in music!
How to Record Properly
There’s a big difference between simply recording and recording properly. While a professional studio offers many more possibilities to make a recording sound amazing, we try to make it sound as good as possible in our home studios.
With a Click Track
I probably don’t even need to mention this, but for the sake of completeness, I will.
Always record with a click track. It’s built into your DAW. If you ever want to add a second instrument or even a MIDI instrument, it will often turn into a disaster if you didn’t record to a click track.
With a click, you can easily cut and edit to the beat or even to individual hits and re-record parts if necessary.
Double Track
Record the guitar twice — playing the exact same part both times. It’s impossible to play it 100% identically, down to the millisecond. But this tiny imperfection is what makes the recorded guitar sound incredibly full.
Then, pan one track left and the other right.
Here’s an example with just a single guitar:
Here are two separately recorded guitars, both centered:
And finally, the same two takes, but one panned entirely left and the other entirely right.
The difference is huge.
Fade In / Fade Out (X-Fade)
A crucial part of recording is editing together different parts. No one expects you to record an entire song in one take. So, you can record section by section or even correct parts within a section. The important thing is to merge them properly without any audible gaps.
Here’s an example of such a gap:
With an X-Fade, it looks like this:
An X-Fade is simply a fade-out of the first guitar and a fade-in of the new guitar.
Reamping
Reamping is one of the most important techniques for home recordings. If you’re doing everything yourself, don’t know much about mixing, and have already recorded your effects onto the track, reamping can help salvage the sound! 🙂
Reamping means that we send the raw signal (from the DI box or directly from the interface via Spdif) through an amp or a digital modeler like Kemper or Axe FX.
Setup
My Home Studio Setup Looks Like This:
- Guitar → Kemper via instrument cable
- Kemper → Interface via instrument cable and Spdif (Spdif requires two cables: one for send, one for return)
- Interface → Computer via USB
With this setup, I bypass the need for an expensive interface. A high-end interface can easily cost a few thousand dollars, but using Spdif, I can avoid that expense and use the Kemper as the “master.”
My Home Recording Workflow:
The guitar sends the signal to the Kemper, which adds distortion, delay, and other effects before passing it to the interface. At the same time, the Kemper sends a dry, unprocessed signal to the interface via Spdif.
This means I have two separate tracks recording simultaneously — one “wet” (with effects) and one “dry” (without effects).
I always record everything twice. Everything except solos is double-tracked.
I listen to the wet signal while recording. The Spdif track stays muted, and I only check it occasionally to ensure my playing is clean.
Once everything is recorded, I edit only the raw signal (Spdif) with X-Fades, make sure everything is tight, and then reamp it through the Kemper.
In the end, I have a perfectly processed track — just as if everything had been played flawlessly in one take! 🙂