How to record my Guitar?
Before getting technical, lets get to know what the signal path is first. The path taken by sound from a microphone to enter a computer can be defined as the signal path. Let us take the example of a simple signal path. Stating with our micro phone and ending in our computer’s workstation may comprise the subsequent units on its way.
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From a Guitar to an Amp, to a Mic to a. pre-amp, to EQ, to a Compressor, to Converter and finally to a Computer.
This shows that once your guitar is amped, the reverberation is captured by a microphone, which then transfers to a mic. Pre–am then will increase the signal and make it loud enough for actual use. From here, the sound could be send to an EQ unit and then to a compressor to alter the levels. Lastly, the signal is sent to the converter which stores the music in the computer. Has this gone into your head? Do not worry!
Listed below is a brief description and function of the different units.
Microphone: – The function of this device is to capture waves in air, water or hard material and translate them to an electrical signal. It is usually done via a thin membrane producing some proportional electrical signal. They have to chosen carefully as this is the device that capture the music form your guitar first.
All most all microphones that are used currently for audio, use electromagnetic generation (dynamic microphones) capacitance change (condenser microphones) or piezoelectric generation to produce the signal from mechanical vibration.
Before considering the price or quality of a microphone you need to look at the placement of the mic via the amplifier for the quality of the sound that is received. High quality of a microphone usually ensures greater quality of recording. However, price of a microphone does not always ensure quality.
Mic-Preamps – the function of a Mic.-pre amp is to boost the signal to a level that is usable for recordings. Actually, the signal that the microphone picks is very low, so there is a need to boost the signal so that it is useful for recording. This is where mic-preamps come in.
A device that oscillates from a low to very high voice during a song can be very hard to record and mix. Sometimes the low noise gets lost or the high pitch overloads the system.
Converters – in simple terms the converter is the device that receives an audio in analog from a mic-preamp, compressor, EQ unit, etc., and creates a corresponding digital representation, which is used in the computer.
Hoping that this article has educated you on basics of recording, allowing you to see what devices you would need and what each piece of the kit does. If you would like to learn more, there are a wide variety of guitar online courses available which will teach everything from the basics, the science behind the sound to the actual recording.