Home Recording Guitar

For years I tried to record my amp with a microphone. During this period I was using a Carvin 60w combo amp with a SHure SM57 microphone. I was never happy with the results and would spend countless hours adjusting tone controls, mic placement etc. Actually some of my better recordings had the most bizarre microphone placements. I can remember close micing the cabinet and not the speaker. I was always after a thick Eric Clapton (Cream era) or Eric Johnson type tone. I could not stand thin nasal tones.

Anyways after many years of frustration I was in a music store and there was some typical music store cowboy doing his best Eddie Van Halen. What caught my ear is that the thing sounded great. I then noticed he was plugged into some Rockman equipment. At the time Rockman had a little demo rack for all their products that went into a pair of AR powered speakers.

After doing some research I learned that the Rockman gear was designed to be plugged into a flat response system. Hmmm...if it sounds good coming out of regular audio speakers then it should record decently. It all made sense. I was removing all the variables that can make recording a guitar amp a nightmare. Mic placement, room acoustics, etc.

The music store wanted to sell me the entire Rockman setup for less than $200. Looking back I should have bought it since the Rockman gear, especially the Rockman Delay, is fetching very good prices and have become quite desirable.

I also looked at the H&K redbox but decided to buy the Rockman Sustainor and Rockman EQ. I ran this setup through my Alesis Quadraverb and was very happy with this setup. Finally I was able to record professional quality guitar tone at home. Anybody that claims the Rockman gear makes you sound like Boston is just plain full of crap.

My next piece of gear to record guitar was the Sans-Amp by Tech 21. This unit was really made to sound like a real guitar amp and was not as processed sounding as the Rockman gear. The Sans-amp is indeed very good. I have recordings that were done with a 64 Fender Princeton and the Sans-amp. When I listen to those recordings today I honestly can not tell which was which. The only way to tell is to maybe listen closely to the reverb.

I had seen some ads for something called amp simulators from Johnson amps. At the time I was a bit of a tube snob and did not pay too much attention to the evolving world of amp simulators. I then heard a recording posted on the web that was done with the Line6 POD. A perfect toll for recording guitar at home. After researching this area I came across the Behringer V-amp. Essentially the same thing as the Line6 POD but at much better price. This is one hot little amp simulator. With the twist of a knob you can access the tones of over 32 amps from Fender clean, to Marshall growl or Mesa Rectifier grind.

Does the V-amp sound as good as a real professionally recorded Marshall amp ? No. But it does get you 98% there for a fraction of the cost and hassle and that is what I am all about !