Recording Electric Guitar Direct Or Mic

Also known as a di these humble rectangles are one of the most misunderstood pieces of gear.

Recording electric guitar direct or mic.

Recording the sound of your electric guitar by miking your amp is a great way to simulate studio quality sound. Tools like spire studio s verb 65 are a great way bypass your amp leaving less in the way between you and getting your ideas. What all direct boxes exist to do is convert a hi z or high impedance line level signal to a lo z mic level signal. The only extra thing that you might not have is a direct box.

While a lot of sound comes direct from the speakers as you d expect a significant level is also emitted from the back and sides of the box via panel vibrations. According to legendary producer eddie kramer. The m160 was his absolute favorite option on electric guitar. And it was the primary mic he used back in his days of recording zeppelin and hendrix.

With the advent of higher quality amp simulations it s easy to get a great sound without an amp on hand. The one other ribbon mic in particular that has been used on countless recordings over many decades is the beyerdynamic m160. Electric guitar might be the first instrument to come to mind when recording direct. Similar to acoustic guitar recording an amp and di can each play a crucial role in the final result and recording both if possible can provide some cool options.

The electric guitar pickup. When recording an electric guitar the amp is the instrument as far as the mic is concerned and mic position is important.