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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Recording Corner »

Permalink First Attempt Recording Amp

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I've been working on demos in my basement for a few years now. I've always relied on the modeled amps in Garageband for my guitar tone.

Earlier this year, stevel listened to some of my demos and provided a wealth of constructive criticism and encouragement (thanks again, Steve!). He also gave a quick "Recording 101" for mic'ing guitar amps. I bought a Texotica Saratoga a few months ago and it sounded so good, I decided to give it a shot.

A few weeks ago Mike (morphball) came over with some mics and other gear (thanks, Mike!). The basic setup was an SM-57 pointed near the right edge of the single 12" speaker and a Sennheiser 609 hanging pretty close to dead-center. The mics were connected to a Focusrite Scarlet, which was connected via USB to the Mac.

I'm playing a Johnny Marr Jag through a Texotica reverb unit. Once tracked into Garageband, I did a little EQ tweaking and added a touch of reverb, but no crazy knob-twiddling. The song ended up with an Astronauts vibe, so I tracked two rhythm parts (which are basically identical) and the single lead track. The bass and drums are programmed in Garageband (old habits die hard). LOL Definitely still have a ways to go (on many fronts) but I can say with confidence that I'm never going back to modeled amps!

If interested, you can check it out on reverbnation:

Habu Mach 3+

-murph

http://www.reverbnation.com/elmiragesurf
http://www.reverbnation.com/aminorconspiracy

"I knew I was in trouble when the Coco-Loco tasted like water!" -- morphball

Enjoyed that very much, Murph.
Nice "round" sounding guitars. Maybe this is due to the use of an actual tube amp.
More importantly, nice tune. I could equally imagine that as the more-chill Pipeline-like vibe that you recorded it in as I can imagine it with a slightly hotter bpm and edge like this Los SJ-type vibe. By no means a comparison or criticism...it just speaks to the strength of the composition.

Lorne
The Surf Shakers: https://www.facebook.com/TheSurfShakers
Vancouver BC Canada

Last edited: Nov 17, 2016 11:27:02

Hey Lorne, thanks for the listen and feedback!

Funny you mention a slightly edgier approach to the song. Fady (bandmate in El Mirage) suggested an approach "with a little more drive and hair to it" if we decide to play it live. We already cover "Kawanga!" and Los Straitjacket's version of "Sing, Sing, Sing!", so it wouldn't be a stretch for us to try as you suggest.

The song itself is really basic and not a lot going on. My main focus was trying to develop a solid rhythm across the instruments and see what kind of tone I could get from the Texotica gear. I was surprised how those two elements alone seemed to increase the surf vibe of the demo.

Thanks again!

-murph

http://www.reverbnation.com/elmiragesurf
http://www.reverbnation.com/aminorconspiracy

"I knew I was in trouble when the Coco-Loco tasted like water!" -- morphball

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