Questions-Recording a Tele

[boogaloo]

Got some good (I hope) news last week- the band I'm in was on hiatus, and we decided to get back together to complete an album we were recording when we took a break 5 months ago or so. At the time, I was using my G&L Legacy for the electric work. Now I have an American 52 RI Tele and want to use this for recording. It sounds great through my 65 Deluxe RI cranked up, but it can be a little noisy and seems prone to grounding noise. I'd really like to record using the amp miked. Any suggestions? Are any of the noise gates worth investing in? Thanks in advance for your help. I've gotta get back to work, but I'll check in later this afternoon and this evening. Oh- our band plays original music, classic rock / blues style with some alternative thrown in for good measure (we're hard to describe, but a lot of our songs sound similar to Allman Brothers, CSNY, Wallflowers etc.) Thanks

[KC]

first off, try shielding your tele -- instructions here:

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.html

then, if that doesn't work, try dropping in a pair of kinman, barden or bill lawrence pickups -- no personal experience with the first two but the lawrences work fine, and they do really cut down on the hum and noise.

I'd also question your choice of studio, maybe -- there really shouldn't be that much RF floating around.

but whatever you do, get rid of as much hum as you can -- it tends to build up as you layer guitar tracks in, so what starts off as a little ends up as a lot. good luck.

[KC]

noise gates work fine for the noise between notes but they won't do anything for the noise when you're playing. you're way better off getting rid of the noise in the first place.

[sean001]

I have been on your shoes. First I would look for any dimmer switch, neon/florescent light turn, turn off all appliances, etc...probably if your in a studio there shouldn't be any of this stuff around but you would be amazed. Eliminate all the usual suspects first.

Next, I would go get some alligator clips and a 10 feet of wire or so. Clip one end to your strings behind the nut and then the other to an electrical outlet ground (make REAL sure you know which is which) or a water pipe or some other good ground. That will cure a lot of buzz. Last but not least, you can do the "buzz dance" where you move around in the room until you find the quietest place to stand. You can even get a long cord and go in another room if you need to, though sometimes the long cord adds the noise back in.

[boogaloo]

I do have some copper foil somewhere from doing a guitar years ago due to static from pickguard during winter months. I haven't tried the guitar in the studio yet- I'm just going by what I've experienced thus far in various rehersal / practice areas (private homes, my home etc.) You're right- the studio should (hopefully) be a better environment. I've never heard of that wire trick. Thanks!

[T Prior]

While plugged into your amp, take another 1/4 inch guitar chord and plug it part way into the second input jack on your amp, just enough to make the ground connection.

Plug the other end into your shoe making contact with your skin under your sock.

This is a normal procedure for me now to eliminate single coil recording noises.

IF it works fine..if it doesn't then spend the big bucks..

good luck on the recording sessions.
tp

[jerome]

noise gates generally neuter the tone of straight guitar into the amp setups, they're good when you're playing through a rack full of effects and your tone is already manipulated past the point of no return, but I'd try a long chord and look for a quiet spot in the studio, or live with the buzz unless it's unbearable...My Lace Sensor equipped tele is exceptionally quiet, and personally, I like the sound of them...if you're up for a pickup swap, you might look into those...

[boogaloo]

at TP's suggestion- I've gotta try that out!. The other guys will flip! Jerome, I've never tried a set of lace sensors...I did have a set of "Noiseless Vintage" in my ASAT Classic before the Frailins, and I didn't like the Noiseless. I'll have to see if I can find a guitar equipped with them to try out. I really like the pups on my 52 though- '52 Vintage in neck, '62 in bridge. When I got home today I cranked up the Deluxe- no lights on in the house, nothing running (A/C off at the moment) and it wasn't bad. At one point I got a wierd "creaking" kind of interference, but other than that pretty good. I'm gonna shield the guitar as I have everything I need anyway and I know that it will help some.

Another question- miking the amp. Our former producer used two mikes (both condensors as I recall); one about a foot in front of the amp, the other about 8-10' away and high. Sounded good with the HR Deville and the Legacy. Any opinions relative to mike placement / configuration for a Deluxe RI and the 52? Thanks again!

[tellypicker]

...over the years. If you try everything that has been mentioned, look at the back of your amp and see if it has the effects pedal plugged in. If so, unplug it. I doubt it will help with a newer Fender RI amp as those pedals are probably quarter inch plugs. However on the amps that use the little RCA plugs, those suckers cause lots of noise. I have my 2 main amps both with the reverb one unplugged-just kick on the reverb and then unplug it and the reverb still works. If you unplug the pedal with it kicked off you got no 'verb. Then just dial it in from the front and away you go. I was just about frantic with a couple clubs I play regularly until I stumbled over that and it knocked me back to just a nice quiet normal Tele hum. Kinda peaceful sounding hum, like all is right with the world cause I have a Tele in my hands...

[Kingpin]

Mics can be placed anywhere from an inch or two away to a about a foot away from the speaker grill. As you move further away you start to lose some presence, and getting clearly defined guitars in the mix becomes more difficult. A mic aimed at the center of the speaker will capture a somewhat brighter sound than one aimed at the outer edge. Determine what kind of sound you're after beforehand and place the mic accordingly. Avoid stereo mic-ing if there are going to be multiple guitar parts. There is only so much room, panningwise and frequencywise to fit everything in the mix. If you do stereo mic, keep the mics at least 18" apart to avoid phase problems. You might consider having one mic right on the amp and one placed in the room to capture ambient sounds. If there is another guitarist, try and work it so that you're playing different sounding instruments so you wont be fighting for space in the same frequencies. Lastly, choose any effects wisely. Too much reverb or delay can make it sound like you weren't playing in the same room as the rest of the band. Put on just enough to give you a sound you can work with and the Mixing engineer can always add more later. Have fun.

[jerome]

coming from my Fender amps, I use a Shure SM57 about 3-4 inches off the cone (off center), and a condensor mic about 6-8 feet back....