Recording dry or with effects

[newpedals]

Hi!

I was fortunate to witness a recording session of my friend's original song recently at a studio.

The lead guitarist had brought his amp which had a spring reverb tank and a vintage memory man delay pedal. The studio had a rotating speaker which they also used for the song while recording a phrase.

He had put the delay through his amp's effects loop. Dry sound was recorded using another amp. Both delay and reverb were very subtle.

They said that they always record it this way. After the song was recorded, they added delay and reverb to the recorded song using plugins.

Do you record
1. Completely dry
2. With subtle effects and add more using plugins
3. With effects, not using plugins
4. Some other way

 

[HomespunEffects]

 

[HomespunEffects]

I guess I should explain. I do like to record a mic on a cab but now that I have the ability to also record a dry guitar signal that’s my plan so that i can reamp that signal.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

It really depends on what I'm going for.

If I have a clear cut idea, most of the time I'll record everything straight in with not much added in post, maybe some subtle room reverb at the mixing stage.

If I am aimlessly mucking around with sound design I'll most likely record dry and post process with effects.

..But these aren't cut and dry rules for me - I've found that over time there shouldn't be any cut and dry rules. I've done things many different ways with cool results and what I find really matters is being able to remain in an inspired flow state.

As soon as I have to think too hard about what I'm attempting to do, I start to fall off the creative train. Which is a big reason why I'm starting to not record straight up DI tracks for further scrutinizing down the road and instead committing to a dry, pre-affected, amped tone.

 

[Whizzinby]

Occasionally I can actually hear my guitar under the blanket of delay and reverb!

#alwayswet
#thatswhatshesaid

 

[MirrorProfiles]

commit early if you can. if the sound isn’t right, why are you recording it?

 

[HomespunEffects]

commit early if you can. if the sound isn’t right, why are you recording it?

I reserve the right to change my mind.

 

[DrewJD82]

I record with all the effects on. The more options I give myself to alter things after they’re recorded, the less likely it is I’ll ever finish it.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Record with FX for me (getting a DI signal is always a good idea too though)

 

[Sleezy E]

Do you record
1. Completely dry
2. With subtle effects and add more using plugins
3. With effects, not using plugins
4. Some other way

Yes

 

[HotRats]

It really depends on the situation, band, goal but in general I record with eq, compression & effects, I sum mics for guitars cabs and any other instrument recorded with multiple mics.
I might leave room or special mics out of the sum if I feel like I'll need them at disposal while mixing.

Basically I try have the smallest possibile number of tracks to mix if I'm going to mix the project.
If I'm only tracking I might leave individual mic separated.

I record with effects whenever the player (or me) is happy and confident with the sound.

I'm a big fan of tracking processed tracks especially when I have good hardware at disposal.

Tracking processed drums through a nice console in a nice room is my favourite thing.

 

[norminal]

I record guitar with effects for the vibe, but also record a DI track simultaneously so that I can tweak the amp, cab, and effects in post.

 

[PLX]

DI into Reaper, then I can try anything and everything after the track is recorded.

Turn knobs, changes entire signal chains while listening to the playback.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

9/10 I record all to a stereo track…forces you to make decisions fast..,saves waisting time fiddling with sounds.

Sometimes I add a DI track, so I have the safety net to reamp

When I record for others:
When I trust the engineer they get a dry track and a stereo “all wet” track…if not…they get a stereo track with efx on it.

 

[spawnofthesith]

If I’m just recording demos or ideas I’ll go as far to do everything one take using my looper (like I’d be doing live anyway) so that I don’t have to spend time doing overdubs lol

 

[woody]

Spare tracks and disk space aren't scarce these days, so for a studio catering to hobbyists, it is obviously good practice to provide a safety net when the guitar player might overcook it with the effects. It's such an easy way to potentially save the mix.

If you are tracking yourselves, the question is how much do you trust your judgement to hold up come mix time?

 

[Orvillain]

Usually always with.

 

[aivoryuk]

I record with all the effects on. The more options I give myself to alter things after they’re recorded, the less likely it is I’ll ever finish it.

Great piece of advice - If the effect is part of the performance then I will capture it.