With the move to more guitar-driven music in church over the last ten years, many people are asking the question: How do I make my guitars sound great? If you are a good sound guy you have probably figured out that anyone can make guitars sound okay, but making them sound great is an art. So here are a few tips. Some of these tips I have figured out and some of them I have learned from watching some of the greatest engineers I have ever seen mix guitars.
Listen First
Listen to the guitar amp before you mic it. Do your best to recognize the qualities that your guitar player is striving for. One of the greatest mistakes that engineers make is that we don't respect the time that a guitar player takes to create their sound. Guitar players spend countless hours on it, and it's worth trying to keep the integrity of what they have been working on. The plus side to this way of thinking is that if you share your desire to help them keep their tone they will have a lot more respect for you. So listen to those guitar cabs and see what it sounds like.
Guitar players spend countless hours on it, and it’s worth trying to keep the integrity of what they have been working on.
Check for Definition
After you have listened to the two or three different sounds your guitars are trying to create, make sure they fit together. If they do fit together, great. However, if they are not going to mesh together then talk to the guitar players. If you can't sit in front of the amps side by side and hear a large difference between them, then you wont be able to keep the integrity of their sound on the console. So if they do clash, tell both the guitar players something like this; “Man your guitars sound great. The only issue is that your sounds are really similar together. Is there any way one of you could change your tone a little to help us mix you guys better?” I promise this works. The best part about this is it will take the pressure of separating them off of you.
Pick Your Mics Carefully
One big mistake that many people make is using the same mic on guitar amps. As great as a SM57 is, it has tonal qualities that are unique and inherently will bend your guitars to sounding the same. All microphones have the same issue. So don't use the same mic on two different amps. The 57 is great for darker rhythm guitars. However, its not great for lead guitars or guitars that are supposed to be tinny. You can use a Sennheiser E609 for your more tinny guitars. Maybe you are in a situation where one guitarist is using completely different sounds with one amp. No problem. If you have a few extra channels then double-mic the amp and only use the darker mic when he is using that sound and vice versa. There are more expensive mics that will sound better, but these are great base microphones.
Some of these tips I have figured out and some of them I learned from watching some of the greatest engineers in the business
EQ or Not to EQ?
So you have done all this work, but your guitars still need a little something. Do you EQ a little or what? Well, my first thought is that if you have a good relationship with your guitar players, ask them for what you need first. If you don't, then just take a minute and do a little work. Remember the greatest thing you can do is help translate what the musicians are doing through your sound system. Now, if they are really inexperienced then this method might be harder, but it is still worth a shot.
Making guitars sound great is more than throwing a mic in front of it and twisting a few knobs. It takes time to understand the individual sounds the players are going for, helping them create definition between the two, choosing the right mics, and finally put the final touches on with the guitar player. Mixing this way will create a mutual respect for you and your players and it will also make your mix sound better.
