There is nothing worse than recording what you thought was a great guitar take, but later listening back the guitars that sound dull, thin, or even worse out of tune. So, before you press Record, get it right at the source by following these few simple tips.
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The electric guitar is a complex instrument, and it can be difficult to recognize a problem and know how to fix it. Regardless if your guitar is $500 or $5,000 the best place to start is with a proper setup, and fresh strings. Simple right? That was easy! Well okay there might be more to it than that so lets dive into how to diagnose some commonly overlooked issues.
Strings
Fresh strings have a massive impact on making your guitar sound better as well as tuning stability. So, how do you know if you need new strings?
- Strings sound “Dull” or lack “Brightness”
- The strings feel dirty or have signs of corrosion
- Guitar will not stay in tune
- You can’t remember the last time you changed them
The last item is a bit of a joke but if you don’t remember how long ago you replaced the strings it’s probably time for a new set. By the way, you should consider recycling your old strings.
TIP: It’s important to give new strings a few good stretches to get them to stay in tune quickly, but be careful not to break them.
TIP: For better tuning stability, try not allow the string to wrap on top of itself when winding on the tuning peg. The string will be prone to slip while playing. However, If your guitar is equipped with locking tuners, do not wrap the string around the tuning peg at all. Let the locking mechanism hold the string as designed.
String Gauges
Strings come in different thicknesses known as a string gauge. It’s important to select the right string gauge for the scale length and tuning of the guitar that you plan on using. String gauge is mostly a personal preference but there are some reasons to choose a lighter or heavier gauge.
Keep in mind that a guitar has to be “set-up” for a specific tuning and string gauge. Otherwise, it will not play or sound very good. For example: Tuning a guitar that has been set-up for E-standard tuning with .9 gauge strings, down to D-standard is going to result in a lot of fret buzz due to back-bow of the neck, and the strings will feel floppy.
Common reasons to use a heavier gauges:
- Make up for lost string tension when tuning the guitar to lower tunings
- Notes go sharp when fretting (This can usually be mitigated by not pressing down as hard)
- Add string tension for guitars with shorter scale lengths e.g. Gibson
Common reasons to use lighter gauges:
- Easier to bend, “slinky” feel
- Easier to fret notes
- Lower action without fretting out on wound strings.
- Lower string tension for guitars with longer scale lengths e.g. Fender
There are tonal differences with string gauges as well, which is better is subjective.
TIP: When changing strings place a small piece of painters tape on back of the control cavity, and write the date and string gauge installed.
Tuning
Before we check for setup issues lets make sure our guitar is in-tune. If you have been playing for a long time you have probably tuned a guitar hundreds or thousands of times, but lets cover a few basics:
- Use an electronic tuner and tune the guitar to the tuning you plan on using while recording. There are a ton of good tuners on the market, you can use a free app for you smartphone, the built in tuner in your DAW, or a hardware tuner.
- Always tune up to the note. If you tune down to the correct pitch, you are more likely to experience a situation where the string is in-tune up until you bend or fret the string and the note drops in pitch because the string was bound up at the nut and released when the string was pulled.
- Pick as hard as you normally play while tuning. Depending how hard you hit the string when playing normally the transient, or the “Attack” of the note may go sharp when you pick the string and then return to the correct pitch while the note is ringing out. Keep this in mind while tuning.
- Tune before every take. Some guitars stay in tune better than others, but it’s still important to check your tuning between takes. The guitars may sound perfectly in-tune on their own, up until you later track the bass guitar and suddenly everything sounds horrible. Check your tuning often to avoid this.
Diagnosing Problems With Guitar Setup
Okay with the basics out of the way lets get into some ways that we can check to see if we have problems with the guitar setup that will directly affect the sound produced by the guitar. Think of these steps like a checkup for your guitar. We are going to check each “system” of the guitar and make sure it’s performing as expected.
Issues we are going to look for:
- Fret buzz
- Intonation issues
- Tuning stability
- Pickup height
Fret Buzz and “Fretting Out”
Some of the most common complaints players have with their guitars is Fret Buzz and “Fretting out”. Fret Buzz happens when a string touches the fret wire of higher frets while the string is vibrating. “Fretting Out” is when a note does not ring out at all due to touching a higher fret.
Note: A guitar with very low action (low string height from the top of the frets), will have some fret buzz. However, as long as you cannot hear the fret buzz when playing through an amp, then it is not a problem.
To test for either of these issues, do the following:
- Start with the guitar unplugged.
- Fret the first fret of the low E string, pick the string and pay attention to how long the note rings out, and if the string is buzzing against any of the higher frets.
- Next, fret the 2nd fret of the low E string and do the same test.
- Continue on to the 3rd, 4th, 5th frets, etc. until you reach the highest fret for that string.
- Now do the same for the rest of the strings, write down which strings and frets have buzz.
- Next plug the guitar into an amp, or amp sim. Dial in a clean tone and play the notes that you wrote down that had fret buzz. Then do the same with a distorted or overdriven amp tone. If the buzz is not audible when playing through the amp then you are good!
If you had significant fret buzz issues, and the noise was audible when playing through an amp you will likely need a setup. There are a lot of things that cause fret buzz. Most common issues are too much or not enough neck relief, action too low, high frets, nut cut too low. Let me know if you would like to see an article for doing basic setups.
Pickup Height
The proper pickup height is subjective, and most manufactures publish their factory specs, but here are a few general guides. If the pickups are too high the magnetic force will pull down on the string and pull the note slightly sharp. However, if the pickups are too low you will notice less output, less pick “attack”, and a dull sound. This often overlooked step that can have a impact on intonation and tone.
Some suggested guidelines for setting pickup height:
- Lower the pickup until you hear notice a loss of output.
- Raise the pickup until the magnetic force pulls on the string and pulls open notes sharp.
- Back the pickup off until you find the “sweet” spot.
TIP: Be careful when lowering the pickup. Too far and it will unscrew and drop into the pickup cavity, and you will likely have to take the strings off to re-mount the pickup. Ask me how I know…
Intonation
Intonation is when the guitar is in-tune when playing anywhere on the neck. In reality most traditional guitars do not have perfect intonation but can still get close. When intonation is off, it can result in notes and chords sounding great in one position on the neck, and awful in others.
Multi-scale or “Fanned fret” guitars are designed to have near perfect intonation all over the neck.
To test for intonation issues:
- With an electronic tuner play the open E-string (which should be perfectly in-tune)
- Fret the E-string at the 12 fret, and play the note again. Ensure not to press down to hard or bend the note.
- If the note is sharp or flat the intonation on that string is off and needs to be adjusted.
- Perform the same steps on the rest of the strings
TIP: If you are having trouble playing the 12th fret without bending the note sharp, play the natural harmonic on the 12th fret instead.
Electronics
One of the most common issues with the electronics of a guitar is scratchy volume and tone knobs. You will immediately know if this is an issue if you turn the volume or tone up or down and you hear a scratchy sound though your amplifier speakers. Fortunately, in most cases it’s a simple fix by spraying a small amount of contact cleaner into the back of the potentiometer and working it in by turning the knobs. DeoxIT is a popular choice.
TIP: If the guitar is equipped with Active pickups like EMG or Fishman, be sure to install a fresh battery before your recording session.
Pickup Upgrades: If you aren’t happy with the sound of your guitar, one of the most noticeable upgrades you can make to your guitar is to upgrade the pickups. This is especially true for “budget” guitars that often save money by using subpar electronics.
The Seymour Duncan pickup finder is a great tool for finding a new set of pickups, but keep in mind it’s almost always cheaper in the long run to buy a guitar with better specs than to spend money upgrading a budget model. That said, if you really like the guitar you have there is nothing wrong with upgrading it!
Excess String Noise
An issue you will likely encounter when recording is excess noise from the strings beyond the nut to the tuning peg, and also, on some guitars, from the bridge to the tail-piece or body. FretWraps are a excellent solution to this problem. However, you can use a piece of foam, sock, hair tie, etc. to dampen the strings.
This trick also works to silence the strings for a floating tremolo system.
Conclusion
That’s It! We have now covered the basics of evaluating and preparing your guitar for recording. Hopefully, after completing these steps you are now getting much better results from your guitar. Let me know if this helped you, or if you have any questions or suggestions.
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