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Learn to Play Lead Guitar

Thirdly, when you learn to play lead guitar, make sure that you pick up some music theory. I am not implying that you need to become the next Johann Sebastian Bach, but you have to know some basic theory in order to play good lead guitar. The reason for this is so you know which notes to play at which times. If you do not learn theory as you learn to play lead guitar, your solos will be out of tune and you will sound like a train wreck.

Secondly, when you learn to play lead guitar, you should always learn chords as well. There is a common misconception that lead guitarists don't play chords. This is not true. Look at Jimmy Page. He was the only guitarist in Led Zeppelin so he was responsible for all the harmonic action going on.

Let me start off by saying that if you want to learn to play lead guitar, I do not blame you. Look at all the bands out there today. The lead guitarists get the attention, the girls, the fans, and the money. Playing lead guitar is where it's at. You certainly don't see that kind of attention for the drummers or bass players. Lead singers compete with lead guitarists, but let's be honest. Playing the guitar is so much cooler than being a singer.

Hope this helped get you on your way to becoming an insane lead guitarist. Lead guitar is the best!

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So this is how I recommend you proceed: set up two small diaphragm condenser microphones in the X/Y configuration as described, about 18" from the guitar, with the central axis pointed at the neck / body joint. Now, if you do find that the stereo image is a bit tight - say played back through an iPod - you can use a bit of mid-side processing, or other image widening technique after the fact (a topic for a future article).

Acoustic Guitar Recording - A Tried And Tested And Simple Technique

You will read a lot of huffing and puffing about acoustic guitar recording techniques, and, to judge by the postings on internet forums, the use of inappropriate microphone placements is at the root of a lot of disappointment experienced by players and project studio owners. Described below is the technique I used for my 2006 CD, Interim Reports, and beyond. (Note: this is primarily intended for solo guitar, or guitar and vox, tracked separately but will suit a number of other applications.)

(Now spaced microphone setup with mics pointed at saddle & neck / body joint can sound fantastic - just make sure you audition in mono to check for any phase cancellation. Mono-compatibility doesn't matter to a lot of folks, but it does to many others - so they don't use it a spaced technique. If you aspire to having your recordings played on radio then your recordings will have to be mono-compatible.)

The benefits of the X/Y setup are three-fold:

1. When one listens back through a hi-fi system at normal listening distance, a guitar recorded with a spaced technique sounds unrealistically big - in fact it sounds about 12ft wide! This might sound impressive to some, but it can make others nauseous! An X/Y setup results in a correctly sized stereo image.

So, if you are having issues with your acoustic guitar recordings, try X/Y with the confidence that you will avoid problems that beset many - including this writer, for a time...

2. Phase cancellation. No matter how big it sounds in stereo, if one presses the mono button on the recording console, the middle of the guitar disappears leaving the sides hovering disembodied in space. More nausea, I'm afraid.

Now, after a lot of experimentation and frustrations, many players - including the present writer - give up entirely on spaced mic techniques for acoustic guitar recording and will opt for an X/Y setup with small diaphragm condensers. The X/Y configuration is defined as two microphones with their capsules coincident and set at an angle of 90p with respect to each other. In practice this entails mounting the microphones so that one capsule is directly above the other, as close as possible without touching, and set at the angle stated above.