Some Of My Album Recording Experiences

Hello!

As some of you may know, I've been recording my new album for the past 3 weeks and I finished it. I was hoping to do a GMC lesson before going on a vacation, but as you can imagine, after 3 weeks of doing nothing else, but recording an album, there was a whole lot of stuff I needed to do that couldn't wait any longer.
I'm going on a vacation now and I'll be back in 10 days with some fresh new ideas for lessons.

Anyway, I have learned a lot with this album recording and wanted to share some of my experiences with you!

The biggest difference between this album recording and the ones I've done in the past is that this time I wanted to do everything in a short period of time with no interruptions. This proved to be a great method because I was focused on the music 150% and was able to feel the music and what the music asks me to do in terms of interpretation and phrasing.
When you're doing other stuff parallel to the album recording, a part of your mind is still concentrated on other stuff and you can hardly get this deeply connected with the music you're recording.

Before going into a recording session, make sure you are well prepared - in shape technically and that you know your parts. Also make sure the instruments you're using are in a perfect working condition - restrung with a fresh set of strings and well setup in terms of intonation and as little fret buzz as possible. I had the frets changed on my black Music Man prior to this recording.

When getting a guitar sound, make sure you're hearing exactly the sound you want out of your amp. If you don't get the sound you want out of your amp, it will be extremely hard to get the sound you want in the mix.
Try using more than one microphone on your amp as it's easier to catch the whole frequency range from the amp that way than using just one mic. Try using 2 mics for close miking - one closer to the center of the speaker (this one will give you more treble) and one closer to the edge (this will give you more bass) and then you can mix between the 2.
Make sure those 2 mics are on absolutely the same distance from the speaker to get them in phase. Then try experimenting with using a third mic somewhere in the room and see what you can get in different positions.
I'd recommend using 2 dynamic mics (like SM57) for the close-up miking and a condenser mic for the room mic as a starting point, but feel free to experiment with as many different mics you can think of.
The microphones I was using are:

• Sennheiser e906 on the center of the speaker
• Shure SM58 with the grille off on the edge of the speaker (I tried an SM57 which sounded very similar, but this one gave me a bit nicer sound)
• Audio Technica AT4040 as the room mic in the back of the amp

For some more thoughts on guitar miking, check this tutorial - http://www.imperialmastering.com/guitartonevid/

I was double tracking all of the rhythm guitars and panning them hard left and hard right. I was using the black guitar on one side and the white one on the other. They're the same guitar model, but every guitar sounds just a little bit different from the other (I have never come across 2 guitars that sound absolutely identical!). This way I got a broader stereo image then if I was using the same guitar on both sides.

That's all for now! See you again in about 10 days.
If you missed any of the videos from my album recording, you can still see all of them at du-podcast.blogspot.com

Ivan Mihaljevic New Album Recording Podcast

Hello GMC!!!
Next week I'm starting to record my second solo album! The name of the album is Destination Unknown.
I'm planning to do a podcast for every day I spend in the studio!
Here's the address at which I'll post the videos with some text - http://du-podcast.blogspot.com/

The funny introduction video is already there, so check it out!

I hope you'll like this idea and follow this podcast until I complete the new album!

Mr. Big On Tour In Europe!

That's right! Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey and Eric Martin are packing their bags and they're touring Europe!

Check out the dates - http://metalichicka.wordpress.com/2009/06/...pean-tour-2009/

I'll probably see them in Budapest!

We Need Your Help - Guitar Idol Final Heat

Hey GMCers, as some of you may know 3 of GMC instructors are in the online finals!
Please help us and support us with your votes!

Here are the voting links:

Ivan Mihaljevic - http://www.guitaridol.tv/online_final/entry/pirate_song
Muris Varajic - http://www.guitaridol.tv/online_final/entry/final_dance
Jose Mena - http://www.guitaridol.tv/online_final/entry/washed_away

Thank you very much!!!

Btw, registration is needed for voting! You can vote for each of us once!