craigmcclellan asked: I've seen pictures of your electric guitars on the wall in the studio, but what is the rest of the electric setup in your studio?
my studio electric guitar rig has evolved several times over the years, involving everything from mics on live amps cranked up beyond belief, to power soaking signal so my neighbors wouldn’t hate me, to plugging straight into DIs and reamping. but i’ve finally settled into a setup that i love.
i go directly in through a decent studio preamp, then use native instruments ‘guitar rig’ for everything. this is my setup for all recorded bass too. it allows for maximum flexibility as you can completely change the sound after you’ve recorded your parts and keeps the creative process moving rather than stopping for hours while you try to dial in that ‘perfect’ tone. when the inspiration hits, record your parts, then worry about the tone of the instruments after. later in the process is when you’d rather be making decisions about guitar and bass tone anyway, once you can really hear how it’s sitting in a mix. you’d be surprised that what sounds AMAZING by itself coming out of an amplifier rarely sounds amazing sitting in an actual mix.
this setup is amazing for me because as i find myself doing more and more remote recording and programming it’s proven invaluable to have all those amps/pedals/cabinets/etc. with me anywhere i go.
so the bottom line for me is removing anything that hinders the creative process, and i’ve lost countless hours over the years listening to and tweaking amps while all the creative energy disappears. and that’s probably why i’ve so connected with and embraced a more programmed/electronic approach over the last few years. rather than so much of your creativity going into thinking about HOW you’re going to do something, anything becomes possible so you’re simply doing it.
