The day I sold my bass was a good day.
I had a problem.
See, I assumed that simply because I was capable of recording all the instruments on my recording projects that I should.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
I bought that little Fender Jazz bass, thinking to myself, “Wow, Joe. You’re so impressive. Imagine how it’s gonna feel when you tell someone, ‘Yeah, I played all the instruments on this song.’ They’ll think you’re amazing. Heck, you’re like Dave Grohl.”
I’m not like Dave Grohl. If you’re dripping with THAT much talent, then yes, you can probably pull off playing everything on the record.
I’m not Dave Grohl, and chances are neither are you.
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You know I couldn’t let Halloween go by without some sort of Halloween-themed post, right? Right.
I’ve had plenty of “scary moments” over the years in my studio. After all, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into the thing, an it definitely hurts when things don’t go exactly as planned.
If you’re just starting out, here are a few things you want to avoid as much as possible. If you’ve been recording for years, you should read this too and make sure you’re not getting lazy. Any of these can happen, and most of them are avoidable.
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Do you hear somebody like me or Graham say how important it is to “get it right at the source” and wonder how you do that? People will email me, saying they don’t even know what a good recording is supposed to sound like.
It’s a valid concern, and the good news is it’s all subjective. What sounds like a great kick drum to me may sound muddy to you. What you think is a killer mix may strike me as boring or lifeless.
It’s all relative.
Okay, Joe, that doesn’t help us know how to get great recordings. I’m getting to that. 
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What do your vocal recording sessions look like?
You get the Pro Tools session ready (create the vocal track and extra playlists for takes, create a reverb track and route the vocal to it), set up the mic stand, pop filter, music stand. Maybe dim the lights, have a bottle of water handy…perhaps you even light a candle to “set the mood”?
Okay, I can’t remember the last time I lit a candle to record vocals.
What’s the next thing that happens? Where do you put the vocalist once she shows up? Do you plan to put her REALLY close to the mic, like an inch or two away?
Hang on there, cowboy.
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Everybody asks about what microphones and mic placements they should use on acoustic guitar, but rarely do they ask about the preamp. It’s a shame, because the preamp plays a huge roll in the sound of ANY recording.
As I told you in the Intro to Preamps video, there are lots of different types of preamps. If you’re starting out, you’ll just use the built-in preamps on your audio interface. That’s fine, but just know that a really nice microphone into a cheap preamp may not sound as amazing as you expected.
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If using one microphone is great, two must be twice as good, right? Sometimes.
Some of the best acoustic guitar tones I’ve ever gotten have been with two microphones, this is sometimes referred to as stereo mic placement (although two microphones doesn’t always mean it’s technically “stereo,” but that’s for another day).
As with most things, if there stands to be a bigger benefit (better guitar tone), there are also greater risks (phase issues).
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So, you’ve got a good-sounding guitar, you’ve placed it in the right spot in the room, and you’ve picked the right mic for it. Where do you put the mic?
Mic placement can have a dramatic effect on how the guitar sounds in the recording. (Remember how mic placement transformed a floor tom into a kick drum?) A great guitar can sound absolutely horrible with the wrong mic placement. On the flip-side, a mediocre guitar can sound better than it is if you find the right mic placement for it.
There are two main factors to consider with mic placement – distance and location and today we’re simply talking about mono mic techniques, that is, using only one microphone.
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Once you’ve got a great-sounding guitar in a great-sounding spot in the room (and don’t underestimate how important those two steps are), you’re ready to pick your mic.
If you only own one microphone, your choice is easy. If you own several, here are some tips for choosing the right one.
Condenser Mics
95% of the time, I use a condenser microphone when I record acoustic guitars. Condenser mics, as opposed to dynamic mics, tend to capture much more detail, particularly in the high-end. They’re also fairly sensitive, which means they capture the subtle nuances of an acoustic guitar much more effectively.
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