How to Mix Guitars
Last week’s installment of Home Recording Basics covered low-end mixing for basses, synths, and samples. Next, we’re moving on to guitars.
When it comes to mixing guitars, there’s a lot of history to consider. As the heart of rock and roll and one of the most popular instruments since the birth of recorded music, there are many, many different mixing techniques. Would you mix Jimi Hendrix the same way you’d mix Chet Atkins? Eric Clapton like Eddie Van Halen? Prince like Kurt Cobain? Of course not.
So your first consideration is crafting the tone—that is, the tone you or the guitarist you’ve recorded are trying to achieve. Sure, take inspiration from the great players, engineers, and producers, but focus on what you have in front of you. What’s unique about this part? What’s it trying to say? Then, ask yourself how best to bring that out in the mix.
If you’re mixing a track another engineer or producer has recorded, first listen to the range of tones available to you in the tracks. Many engineers use multiple mics to record guitars. But just because they used them doesn’t mean you have to. Find the best mic (or combination of mics) to get the tone you want and mute the rest.
If you can’t get the desired tone from the mics provided, look to see if the engineer recorded a DI track. A DI track is a clean, unprocessed signal directly from the guitar, before it hits the amp. It can be re-amped or run through an amp simulator to achieve the tone you’re looking for.
This is an excerpt from How to Mix Guitars, originally published by Reverb. Read the full version here.
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