JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Recording Studio and Gear Forum Amp Volume for Recording

How loud should you set your amp for a rockin song? Taking into consideration the volume of the mic input.

My idea is that u want to let the amp generate the sound so it should be cranked.

You need the amp to be in its sweet spot for the best tone. You can turn it up or down in the mix of the song however you like, but if the amp is barely on when you record it, it will sound thin and wimpy. For that reason, a lot of the best rock 'n roll tones are recorded on very small amps cranked up loud. There are lots of examples of huge sounding guitars that were recorded on a Fender Champ or similar little amp (Rolling Stones, Clapton, etc.).

I second Colin's advice. I set mine to the volume where they sound best. That is why most of my amps are fairly low power, between 1 to 20 W.

Try various settings to find the optimum recording level. Every guitar and amp can sound different and it also depends on the amount of fx you are using especially if you are using pedals etc. Your ears are the only way to judge the best setting for the sound YOU want.

Amp settings and loudness are one thing, but how you capture that sound is another. Sometimes you might want a second mic to blend some of the room sound along with the mic that's right in front of the amp...the ambient room sound does more than gain level does to replicate a big sound.

The best use of a Fender Champ in a recording has to be "Layla"--such a massive sound out of one six inch speaker.

Thanks all for the responses.

Im pretty sure any artist using a small amp probably does overdub layers as well as the miking the room.

If you do the same guitar part two or three times, it can get pretty gigantic.

I dont really have a good room to use. I was thinking of bringing a laptop down to a rehearsal studio nearby, using their amps and room and recording my guitars there.

Kind of a slick way to get a setup room and amp, without somebody charging you to set up, and then looking over your shoulder.

Somebody to say ok see you in a few hours!

what do you think? bring a laptop into this treated room? Got mics, stands, amps, even drums if I feel lucky.

http://metromusic.org/rehearsal/bayville/studioc-view1.html

One tip - don't let a loud amp fool you into thinking you've got a powerful sound. Some of the weediest fizziest sounds I've heard have come from huge Marshall amps. They may sound great loud but the sound doesn't translate back to normal listening levels.

James.

Well thats just one example, the room is what Im interested in.

Other places have other amps too.

Might be worth paying 15 bucks for an hour using a treated room.

Seems strange to want a padded room to record a guitar amp. The sound from the amp with the fx and the room ambiance is what makes the recording GUTSY........why kill it?

Seems more appropriate to record the guitar clean and then apply digital fx and amp modelling afterwards. LOL.

Well if wanting to mic the room is the goal, I dont want to mic a bad sounding room, I would think. I dont have a good room to mic the ambience of.

Using the direct mic and the room mic technique.

I dont know, just getting some ideas together!