Optimising Electric Guitars For The Studio

12/16/2014
Optimising Electric Guitars For The Studio
Sound On Sound : Est. 1985

Published in SOS April 2014
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Technique : Recording / Mixing
Half the battle in capturing a great electric guitar

sound lies in understanding problems with the
instrument itself and solving them quickly.
Jack Ruston
uring the 1950s and '60s, the electric guitar took centre stage in popular music and, despite ebbs and
flows in its popularity, it seems as ubiquitous as ever. In some cases the instrument defines the sound
of a genre, but it also has a habit of cropping up in unexpected places across the whole spectrum of
modern music. Given this prevalence, it's perhaps a little surprising that the guitar can be at all problematic in
a recording situation.
In this article:
Pulling Strings
New Agedstring Theories
The Best Compromise?
Calling The Tune
Capos & Tremolos
Intonation
Rattling Around
Pickup Artist
Jacks, Crackles & Pots
Amped Up
Final Thoughts
Audio & Video
Which To Track First: Guitar Or
Bass?
Yet many producers and engineers at the start of their careers, as well as guitarists going under microscope
of the studio for the first time, are taken aback at quite how
difficult guitars can be to work with. Apparently impossible
intonation issues, rattles, choking strings, hums and
interference can all put spanners in the works at just the wrong
moment. In fact, in my sessions, it's common for guitarists to
abandon their own instruments in favour of one of mine, simply
due to setup or maintenance issues.
With the help of luthier Matt Gleeson of Monty's Guitars, I'm
going to explain what sort of problems we face when recording
guitar, what causes them, and what, if anything, can be done
during a session to improve matters. Where possible, the best approach is to have your guitar professionally
set up, because an experienced guitar tech will be able to spot all the problems, and know just how much
correction each requires. What follows is not a guide to setting up guitars, although Matt will explain how to
address certain basic problems which could make all the difference in getting through the day. A lot of the
issues I'll discuss result from an interacting series of problems across the whole instrument, and in many cases
it's a question of a number of subtle changes being required to fully correct a symptom.
Pulling Strings
The way guitars are strung, and what they're strung with, has a significant bearing on the way the instrument
performs. We need to choose strings that are appropriate both to the player and to the instrument. If a guitarist
plays hard or tunes down below concert pitch, a thinner, 'lighter' string is going to be unstable it's going to
swing sharp as it's hit. That's always the case to some extent,
but there comes a point at which the swing is too great to work
with. A player used to a thicker, 'heavier' gauge may find the
lack of tension difficult to adjust to. On the other hand, as strings
increase in diameter, so their tone changes, and we can lose
some desirable 'springiness' or 'twang' in the sound. A heavier
string can be physically more difficult to play, and it can behave
differently with respect to the changes in pitch mentioned above
it can seem to stay sharp for longer at any given tension,
which becomes a factor when you downtune.
Be careful when tuning, as the pitch of a guitar
string tends to vary, pitching slightly higher
when struck, and settling slightly lower. You
I can't tell you what specific gauges to use (that's a decision
might want to tune to the former or the latter,
for the player) but whatever those gauges are, the guitar needs
depending on the playing style and/or track in
to be correctly set up for them. When you choose a different
question.
string gauge, the saddles, nut, truss rod and bridge may all
need adjustment. I'll look at some of those things in more detail later on, but it's fair to say that if you change
from one gauge of string to another, you're going to introduce some sort of setup issue. Note that there are
many brands of string, but rather fewer choices of material, by far the most common being nickelwound steel.
There are subtle differences in feel and sound between them. The most widely used brands are D'Addario and
Ernie Ball.
The scale length the distance from the nut (the slotted channel in which the strings sit, at the point where
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the fingerboard meets the headstock) to the bridge will almost always be 25.5 inches or 24.75 inches. The
shorter scale length will have less tension at any given string gauge and pitch, and this can affect both how the
guitar feels to play and how prone it will be to pulling sharp when hit hard. A player with both a Fender Strat or
Telecaster (25.5 inches) and a Gibson Les Paul (24.75 inches) will sometimes use a slightly heavier gauge on
the Gibson to compensate for this. This isn't something we can easily change at a session, of course, but if the
bottom string is going noticeably sharp on the attack of the note, you might find that you have more luck with
a guitar which has a 25.5inch scale length.
While we're on the subject of strings, I asked guitar tech Matt to offer a few words of advice. He suggests that
before putting a string on the guitar, you should check that it's neither bent nor kinked. Remove the coiled string
from its packaging and gently let it unwind, taking care not to force it. Hold it by the 'ball' end and let it hang
towards to floor. It should form a smooth, even curve with no kinks, not an 'S' shape or a spiral. If it doesn't, use
a different string, as this one is liable to cause problems with intonation and buzzing.
You also need to think about how the strings are actually seated on the guitar. A lot of tuning stability issues
arise when the string isn't neatly wound onto the machine head: any messy overlaps can cause problems, as
the windings move against each other. A video accompanying this article (see 'Audio & Video' box)
demonstrates a good, basic technique for stringing.
Once fitted, a new string will stretch with use, continually
drifting flat as it loses tension. To stabilise it quickly, gently
stretch and retune the string until it stops moving: just lift the
string up directly away from the fingerboard at some point
about half way between the nut and the bridge. Don't go mad
and pull it past its point of elasticity, as that will cause problems,
and do be aware that the string will continue to give a little bit in
the first few hours of playing. This stretching process will also
help to eliminate any slack at the bridge or machine head.
An example of poor winding at the

machinehead.
One of the first things a player notices when picking up

a guitar is the age of the strings. When I was playing in bands,
I preferred strings to be as new as possible, and changed them
regularly, both to safeguard against breakages and because
I liked the bright character. But in the studio there's a problem
with brand-new strings: they can create a messy, shimmering
buzz over the note, which gradually lessens as the string wears
in. I've included a comparison in the accompanying sound files
which illustrates the difference between old strings and new on
the same instrument.
New Agedstring Theories
That's more like it!
So what's going on here and is there a way to artificially age new strings to avoid this problem? I've thought
about this a lot over the years, and tried all sorts of ways to address it. For a long time I believed that the strings
just needed to oxidise a little to lose that fresh, polished shine in order to sound clear and defined. I tried
unwrapping strings and leaving them exposed to the air for a few weeks before putting them on, and pulling
them through the palms of my hands to speed up that oxidisation process, but none of that ever really worked.
I have an additional theory, which is that the surface of a string increasingly deforms as it makes contact with
the fret. The windings gradually flatten out, increasing the contact area, and effectively 'mating' the string with
the fret. It feels as if a brand-new string isn't 'bedding' itself into the fret properly. Examine a used set of strings,
and run them between your fingertips, and you'll see and feel that at the fret positions there are flattened
sections of string. It's common to find bass guitars with very old sets of roundwound strings that sound as if
they're flatwounds. And, in a way, they are!
I've tried going up and down the fretboard, pressing new strings firmly into the fret at every position. I'm not
sure it really speeds things up, though, and if you press too hard, you risk deforming the core of the string as it
bends towards the fingerboard behind the fret. Matt and I even tried using a small hammer and a piece of
leather to gently tap new strings into the frets and create a flat spot immediately, but we found that we just
ended up kinking the string around the fret. Neither of us felt that this was the sort of thing that would be good
for the frets if done repeatedly over a long time. So, take care if you plan to experiment with ways to speed up
this process, and ensure that strings are properly stretched and tuned in advance, or you'll be bedding the
wrong part of the string against the fret!
While I still feel that this deformation of the underside of the string accounts for some positive change in tone,
I don't think that's the whole 'new string' story. I'm sure that the oxidisation does contribute to the effect, and
I suspect that as horrible as it sounds the dead skin and oils that come off our hands as we play end up
coating or reacting with the string in some way.
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What happens when a string is too old? Typically, the intonation goes haywire and the string sounds dull and
lifeless. In some cases that 'old string' sound can be quite useful, particularly on basses and acoustic guitars,
and I know producers who keep old sets going as long as they possibly can, regardless of the loss of
intonation. You may come across guitars where strings are clearly rusted, though, and that's not good.
If strings can be both too new and too old, you need to try to catch them within their window of useful
operation. Luckily this is usually quite a long period of time, but exactly how long and, crucially, how long it takes
to arrive in the first place, depends on the particular strings, who plays the guitar, and how often they play.
During the preproduction phase of a project, I'll usually advise people to change their strings a few days before
the session itself. A 'studio' guitar that sees less frequent action may need longer.
Pre-production is a useful opportunity to identify setup problems in general, and suggest professional
attention if it's required. I also like to take some of my own guitars for players to try, and introduce the idea of
them using some of my gear.
The Best Compromise?

So... what if a player shows up at a session with strings which are not sounding good, and there are no other
guitars available? You can't easily speed up that natural beddingin process, so you need to decide which is
the lesser of two evils for that particular session. Sometimes, tuning stability and intonation are everything,
sometimes tone takes precedence. You may have to choose. Just be aware that a new string will need to
stretch, and the re-string will take a little time. If that's something you don't have in ready abundance, it may be
better to press on with the old set.
Imagine a string breaks and can only be replaced with a brand-new string. What should you do? One new
string in among a used set usually sounds odd. If the part can be reworked so that string is not required, put
a new one on so that the tension on the neck is as it should be, and then continue with the modified part. If it
can't be reworked, give it a go with the new string and make a decision on whether it would be less distracting
to change the whole set or not. It might be possible to move on to other parts which don't require that string, and
come back to the affected part another day.
It's always a good idea to have an alternative instrument available if at all possible. While the issue of string
age might be difficult to overcome during a session, it's easily and cheaply prevented by changing the set and
playing them in beforehand. Ultimately, if there's no choice but to move forward with brand new strings then go
for it. There's no point in worrying about something that you can't change.
Some people advocate keeping 'played in' sets of strings to hand; they put new strings on, play them for
a few days, and then take them off, ready to be used in times of need. On the face of it, this sounds like a great
plan, but my experience of this approach is mixed. Firstly, with most designs of bridge, the whole string needs
to pass through a narrow hole, into which the ball end eventually seats itself. That's very easily done when the
string is new, because it's straight. Once you've wound it around the machine head a few times you end up with
permanent coils in the string, which can result in some pushing and pulling to get it off the guitar and then back
on again. Remembering that we upset our intonation if we deform the string's core, this procedure can create
intonation problems, or buzzing. Secondly, it can be tricky to get the string back on with those 'flat spots'
I mentioned earlier facing the frets. You can end up with some rattles if those dents in the windings don't fit the
frets exactly as they did before. I'm not saying that putting old strings on will never work sometimes it's fine,
and it's worth a try if you already have such a set but do be aware of the potential problems.
Calling The Tune

Tuning stability and poor intonation are the most obvious symptoms of many problems, and can be a huge
source of frustration. It's important to understand that even a perfectly set-up guitar can not be in tune for every
key at once. This physical limitation is explained elsewhere, but the long and the short of it is that guitar tuning
is a compromise: you can tune one chord perfectly, and leave another sounding slightly wonky. The
accompanying sound files include an example of this, in which I've tuned a guitar to a 'G' chord in the open
position, and compared that with open 'A' and 'E' chords.
There's no special knowledge or approach required to deal with this: you just have to be prepared to retune
and drop in if you feel that the result you're getting is unacceptable. Some players will instinctively avoid playing
certain chord shapes that highlight this problem, and there's nothing wrong with asking a player to try a different
inversion of a chord to see if it's more pleasing to the ear. Distortion will exacerbate this, and all tuning
problems, as the increased harmonics make discrepancies more apparent. Furthermore, a full chord complete
with thirds will be more troublesome than a power chord of just root, fifth and octave.
I should mention that it's also possible to modify a guitar to 'compensate' for the tuning, which, when
combined with a specific matching of certain fretted and open positions when tuning, allows you to average out
some of the discrepancies. In other words, you can find a less jarring middle ground but note that all you're
really doing is swapping one compromise for another. Besides, that sort of modification is not something you
can carry out at the drop of a hat.
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Some bands prefer to tune to each other by ear. Don't let them. It's very awkward when the time comes for the
keyboard overdubs, and they've collectively tuned themselves half a semitone up. Everyone should share the
same tuner, and they should tune often. It's important to use a highquality tuner, and that means one with a fast
enough response that you can clearly see the pitch on the attack of the note as well as the sustain. This used to
be costly, but these days, the Peterson Strobe app on the iPhone is an example of an excellent tuner for very
little outlay.
It's crucial to tune up to the note, rather than down onto it. This is because as you reduce tension at the
machine head, the string may stick slightly as it slips back through the nut, leading to an imbalance in tension
either side of the nut, dropping the string flat when it subsequently evens out. Always tune down below the pitch
required and then gradually up to pitch half a turn back on the machine head is a good place to start.
As I mentioned earlier, when the player strikes the string, it will not attack and decay with an even pitch. The
attack will be higher in pitch, followed a second or so later by a stable period of sustain, and finally a gradual
drop in pitch as the string vibration reduces. As a general rule it's best to ignore the brief pitch increase on the
transient, and tune so that you're 'green' as soon as the string stabilises. But that's not always going to give you
the result you want: if the player hits the low 'E' string hard, it could end up being very noticeably sharp on the
attack. It's possible that you'll need to tune to the attack, especially if it's a faster riff with no longer sustained
notes. This is where a tuner that tracks the note quickly is an invaluable asset. As the player moves up the
fingerboard, shortening the string, that effect may become less pronounced, and you may need to retune.
Sometimes it can be hard to find the right point at which to tune a slightly wild bottom string. If you find that
you're still getting some unwanted 'beating' on a particular chord, tune everything to the tuner first, and then
tweak only the bottom string by ear, as the player hits the chord. Just don't be tempted to then adjust other
strings in the same way, or you risk moving away from concert pitch. You may well find that if that chord needs
to sustain for any length of time the bottom string will then drift flat. That's the joy of guitars! You'll need either to
accept a middle ground, or to encourage the player not to hit that string so hard!
It's often best to tune at a specific position if that's where the guitarist is playing. For example, if the part is
based around a fifthfret power chord, I'll generally tune the guitar by fretting each string at the fifth. If a player
has a style which results in a string being inadvertedly bent, for example the bottom 'E' string in a barre chord,
I'll have the player hold that chord and then tune those notes in place. Sometimes you're going to get problems
in the open position if the guitar is tuned that way, but all you can do about that is prioritise. My advice is to
make sure that whatever else happens, the main downbeat of the chorus is right. And remember that as this is
a recording, you can retune and drop in to correct certain chords if you wish, time-consuming though that
approach can become. Note that when you add distortion to a sound, the added harmonics highlight issues
which don't usually bother us, so tuning problems tend to be more obvious with distorted guitar parts than clean
ones.
Capos & Tremolos

Capos present a challenge in relation to tuning. If you tune
a guitar in the open position, and then apply the capo, there will
almost always be some tuning issues. It's best to tune with the
capo in place, but be aware that changes at the machine head
can result in a sluggish response at the tuner readout as the
capo 'clings' to the string. If you stretch a string with the capo in
place, you can end up with higher tension behind the capo. This
will gradually equalise and you'll drift sharp. Some capos use
a spring to clamp the strings. That spring can sometimes apply
enough pressure to the string that it bows up away from the
fingerboard just above the fret, resulting in intonation problems. A floating tremolo system.
Use a capo with adjustable tension, and set the tension just
tight enough to fret the note without buzzing. A capo that matches your neck profile will allow you to get the
optimum performance.
Some tremolos and floating bridges present a challenge. As you play the instrument, the bridge moves, thus
the strings move through the nut, and their tension at the machine head changes. These movements can make
a poorly set-up guitar very frustrating from a tuning point of view. The Floyd Rose bridges with locking nuts
address this problem by having the string clamped both at the bridge and the nut, making the machine heads
redundant during use, and eliminating any movement across the nut. These systems give much greater stability
than the typical tremolo you might find on a Fender Strat for example. If you are tuning a guitar with one of the
more classic tremolo designs, I suggest that you gently dip the tremolo each time you adjust the machine head.
This helps to equalise the tension across the guitar. You may find that after you 'dip' the tremolo the string you
were tuning has slightly changed in pitch. Just keep working through the process. Obviously, these systems rely
on the tension of the strings being balanced by springs at the bridge. If there's an imbalance between the two
for example if you change the gauge of string the bridge will change in angle, affecting the action and
intonation. By tightening or loosening the springs, you can realign the bridge angle, but be aware that this is not
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always a quick process midsession is not a good time to tackle this issue.
Sometimes, tuning and tuning stability can be affected by nut slots that are too tight for the string gauge used,
or a string tree (see glossary) that's improperly positioned or inhibiting the movement of the string. If you turn
the machine head and hear little creaks or sudden shifts in pitch, these possible causes are worth
investigating. There's not a lot you can do about the nut in the middle of a session, but you could remove
a string tree that's causing a problem. Be aware that the purpose of the string tree is to increase the break
angle across the nut. Removing it could potentially cause buzzing on the relevant strings, and they might
conceivably pop out of the nut slots if hit hard. Both nuts and string trees can be lubricated with a little graphite
or oil. Commercial products like Big Bends Nut Sauce are available, but at a push you can try rolling a pencil
lead across the edge of the nut slot so that some graphite shaves off and drops into the slot.
If tuning is becoming an issue in your session, have a look at the way musicians are going about it. Offer
some advice and help if needs be. You may have to be prepared to either accept some tuning problems,
typically 'beating' manifesting itself in overdriven chords, or retune and drop in some problematic chords.
What's acceptable really depends on the genre and your client's expectations of the result there are many
great records with quite obvious tuning problems, but also a lot of modern records with not a note out of place.
You just have to juggle the resources available against the type of record the client wants to make.
Also, remember that changes in temperature and humidity can affect tuning stability so leave the guitars in
the room in which they will be played for as long as possible to minimise this.
Intonation
Given what I've said about tuning, it's important to do everything
possible to help ourselves with respect to intonation. With most
electric guitars, checking and adjusting intonation is usually
a quick and simple procedure. First, locate the screws used to
move your bridge saddles backwards and forwards, and then
using a high quality, accurate tuner like the Peterson app
mentioned earlier, compare the 12th-fret harmonic with the
fretted note at the same position. If the fretted note is sharp,
move the saddle backwards, if it's flat, move the saddle
forwards. A good way to remember this is that the F's go
The typical way in which bridge saddles tend to
together: "sharp back, flat forward. Make sure that you check
be staggered.
your intonation every time you change your strings: this
procedure is really easy to do once you know how, and is demonstrated by Matt in an accompanying video
clip.
Further factors are liable to skew your intonation, many of which stem from the playing action being too high
at certain positions: while some areas of the neck are fine, when you move to a position with a high action and
fret a note, you're actually bending the string sharp. There are a few things to look out for when troubleshooting
this issue.
Almost all electric guitars have a truss rod running down the
centre of the neck, underneath the fingerboard, which will be
adjustable at one end or other. The truss rod dictates the curve
of the neck, or the 'relief', as it's known. If the neck is bowing too
far forward, you tend to get a playable section at either end of
the neck, with a high action in the middle. Tightening the truss
rod can straighten the neck slightly and help to correct this
problem. The inverse problem is a truss rod that's too tight,
giving a totally straight or slightly backbowed neck. This results
in a low action through the middle of the neck, and often
choking in that position, but a high action at the top. If the nut or
bridge saddles are too high, you can end up with an action
that's too high in general. If the nut is a little high, the first-fret
position can be sharp.
The truss-rod adjustment point: don't turn too

much at once!
The neck relief, neck angle, nut, bridge and saddle height all
interact to affect the playing action. If you adjust the truss rod,
it's quite possible that you'll then also need to make
adjustments at the bridge. It's always best to get an
experienced tech involved as soon as is practical, but if you can
see an obvious problem that's making a guitar unusable, you
have nothing to lose by making careful adjustments.
Examining the neck relief.
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Again, I invited Matt to offer some further words of advice. "To

see what is going on with the neck, have the guitar in the playing position and hold down the first fret of the high
'E' string with first finger of your left hand. At the same time hold down the 13th fret with the thumb of your right,
and tap over the fifth with the first finger of your right hand. You want the gap to be about the same as a .010gauge string. Do the same on the low 'E' string. You will more than likely find that there is more relief on one
side, usually the treble. This can be due to the neck being slightly twisted, the wood not giving evenly, or simply
that you've been playing a lot in a particular area and the frets are unevenly worn. The amount of relief needed
can vary depending on string gauge, playing style and player preference. Adjust the truss rod a 16th or eighth
of a turn at a time and always remember your starting point, so that you can go back if things get worse.
Remember 'righty tighty, lefty loosey', and never force the truss rod if it won't turn freely.
The frets themselves wear over time in the most commonly

used positions, flattening out and losing height. When that
happens it's possible that the intonation point of the fret can
move. Frustratingly, the nature of this problem is that it tends to
happen at the position you use the most! Pulling the strings
aside can reveal the extent of any fret wear. This is not
a problem you can correct on the day. If the frets are that bad,
change guitars, or find a different position. Excessively high
pickups can also affect your intonation more about that later.
Rattling Around
Fret wear.
If a high action causes problems with intonation, the opposite problem that of a low action results in notes
choking out, buzzing and rattling as the string comes into contact with frets above. Adjustments to neck, nut and
bridge are appropriate in the same way as with a high action, but there are a couple of other issues to be
aware of. Sometimes the frets themselves are set at uneven heights, which can affect performance even if the
neck is perfectly adjusted. There's not much you can do about it immediately, other than to raise the action
further than you'd otherwise wish to: that's one for a guitar tech to look at.
The neck profile of an electric guitar is rarely flat from the bottom string to the top string. Most fingerboards
curve up towards the 'D' and 'G' strings to some extent, with radii typically varying between around seven and
16 inches. The flatter the fingerboard, the lower the action can be set while still allowing the player to bend the
strings. On a fretboard with very curved radius, like on an old Fender guitar, bending the top two strings can
cause them to choke out as the string moves towards the centre of the neck, where the frets are higher. The
solution to this is a higher action on those strings, or in general. The player's preference will dictate which is
more important out of playing action and the ability to bend at those positions. Some guitars have a compound
radius, with greater degree of curve at the lower end of the fingerboard, flattening out as it gets towards the
higher registers. Be aware of this issue: if you adjust the action to avoid choking, you also need to check what
happens when the player bends the top two strings. They won't necessarily ring freely, especially if the radius is
tight.
Sometimes guitars generate buzzing, rattles and unwanted mechanical noises for reasons other than the
height of the action. The nut can be too tight for the strings to sit properly in their slots, for example. This can
cause buzzing on open strings, tuning problems and can even result in the nut cracking. A nut slot that's too
wide can cause 'sitaring' and/or dulling of the open string.
Some guitars are made in such a way that there's not much of
a break angle across the nut for the treble strings. This problem
typically affects guitars with straight headstocks, for example
Fender Strats and Telecasters, and results in the string buzzing
in the nut as it's not being pushed down firmly into its slot. The
solution to this problem is the use of a string tree to pull the
string down towards the surface of the headstock after it has
passed through the nut. These are commonly fitted as standard
to guitars which need them, but sometimes they have been
A shallow break angle across the nut. Note the
removed. If possible, you could refit the string tree to remedy
use of a string tree to increase the break angle
this problem.
on the 'E' and 'B' strings.
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In the same way, some bridges don't have enough break

angle, and strings can be prone to buzzing where they make
contact with the saddle. The solution might be to raise the
bridge, but of course you then open a can of worms further back
down the neck. There's no instant fix.
The truss rod can sometimes cause a rattle or knocking
sound if it's slightly loose. Tapping the back of the neck can
reveal this problem. It usually happens when there's little to no
tension on the truss rod, and a very slight turn to the right can be
the remedy.
A shallow break angle at the bridge.
Bridges and saddles of all types tend to have small screws which can work loose and rattle. This presents
itself as an unpleasant buzz in the decay of the note. If you can see something that's obviously loose it can be
tightened, but be careful not to inadvertently change the saddle height or intonation setting in the process. I find
that a little blob of Blutak stuck on the head of a rattling screw can be a good, instant way to solve the problem.
On a guitar fitted with a tremolo system, the springs that balance the string tension and make the bridge 'float'
can sometimes buzz or cause other mechanical noises. Take the plate off the back of the guitar and see if
a little fiddling around cures it. You can try holding a piece of cloth or towel against the springs to dampen
vibrations, but be aware that if you put pressure on them, you will affect the pitch as the bridge moves. Just do
whatever you need to do to control the noise while you get that part down.
In a similar way, the springs that are fitted to pickup height adjustment screws can also vibrate, causing
a rattle. This can often happen if the springs are not being compressed because the pickups are too low.
Fiddle, and if necessary, adjust the pickup height.
Pickup Artist
Sometimes, in search of more output, players raise their

pickups up too high and if pickups are too close to the strings,
the magnetic pull of the pickup can result in some strange
effects. As well as this causing the note to decay in a quick and
unnatural way as the string's vibration is inhibited, for example,
strange dissonant overtones known as 'wolf tones' can often be
heard. Luckily, the fix is simple: lower the pickup until the wolf
tones disappear.
It may seem likely that powerful humbuckers would be more
Pickup heights on a Fender Stratocaster.
prone to this problem, but the humbucker actually has
a magnetic base, rather than the magnetic pole pieces of
a singlecoil pickup and that extra distance between the magnet and the string makes the humbucker less
prone to causing wolf tones (though you will still notice some tonal changes as it gets too close). Another sound
file is included to demonstrate the 'wolf tone' effect.
While we're on the subject of pickups, here's a quick tip: a high output from your guitar may seem like a good
thing, but some pickups are so hot that they make it impossible to get a clean tone from the amp. Rather than
chasing the highest possible output from your pickups, consider using a clean boost pedal to hit the amp
harder when required.
Jacks, Crackles & Pots

So far we've spoken mainly about mechanical issues, but obviously the electronics have the potential for
problems too. Sockets, pots, switches and wiring can become dirty or damaged, leading to intermittent (or
permanent!) loss of signal. It's well worth investing in a can of switch cleaner and, if you're so inclined, a basic
soldering iron.
One very common problem relates to the wiring of the jack socket. Over time, the nut which holds the barrel of
the socket in place can come loose, and the natural reaction is to tighten it up. But in doing so, it's easy to
rotate the barrel of the socket to some degree. Eventually one of the two wires that connect to the back of the
socket comes loose, and signal is lost. It's a simple matter to resolder that wire and tighten the nut properly,
getting the guitar back into service. This problem can be prevented by always exposing the whole socket and
holding the barrel still while you tighten the securing nut. On
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most guitars the socket is accessed via a small plate on which

it's mounted, or by unscrewing a rear panel.
Matt suggests that a great way to clean the contacts in a jack
socket is to tightly roll up some wet-and-dry paper, insert it into
the socket, twist and remove. This gets rid of oxidisation and
any grime that may have built up on the contacts.
If there are problems with pots, dry joints, wiring, screening or
damaged switches, they're generally going to be difficult to
tackle midsession unless you have prior experience with this
A twisted and broken jack socket connection
if the socket is loose, be careful how you
sort of work. You can try rotating a pot a few times, applying
tighten it!
switch cleaner to a pot or selector switch, or melting the solder
on what you suspect may be a dry joint, but detailed
descriptions of these sorts of repairs are beyond our scope here.
You can't work with electric guitars for long without discovering that they're often prone to external interference
in the form of electrical hum and buzzing. This particularly affects singlecoil pickups, which was why the
humbucking pickup was developed. The last few years have seem the emergence of 'noiseless' single-coil
designs, and other noisecancelling devices such as the Ilitch Plate. The guitar's electronics should ideally be
shielded, the best way being to completely line the cavity with copper foil, but even if a guitar is well shielded,
the whole signal path is vulnerable: cables, pedals and amplifier can all be susceptible. When you start
introducing multiple amps, splitters, pedalboards and pedal power supplies, the potential for interference and
hum increases. These matters have been discussed in past issues and we won't go over old ground in detail,
but there are a few things to try if you're plagued with these sorts of noises during your session...
Keep well away from obvious sources of interference, like old CRT screens and lowvoltage lighting. Try
rotating the player and thus the instrument to find a 'quiet' angle. You may well find a position in which the
noise all but vanishes, as demonstrated in the sound files that accompany the article. Maintain the shortest
signal path you can using the best cables available to you. Remove any pedals that you're not using for any
given part. Some components of your chain may be noisier than others. It's worth seeing if you can optimise
your noise floor by changing the relative gain structure between your guitar, pedals and amp. For example,
some fuzz pedals are really noisy, and it might be that the chain is quieter if they're given a little less gain, or
output, and the amp a little more. Effects-pedal power supply units are a common source of noise. I've tried
pretty much all of them, and I've yet to find one that's better in this respect than using batteries. Obviously some
units can't run on batteries, but where you can, I personally would. It's always worth having a stash of them.
Some pedals seem to sound better with batteries, whether or not they lower the noise floor. I asked
AudioKitchen's Steve Crow to shed a bit of light on this:
"Neither mains-powered DC supplies or 9V batteries are 'black boxes' containing a perfect DC supply. Nine
Volt batteries are made up of six 1.5V cells, each of which will have its own internal resistance, capacitance
and inductance. Add into the mix the contacts between each cell and the next with the impedance (resistance +
capacitance + inductance) they entail. Battery connectors add some more. I'm not saying these factors are
huge, but they will exist, and vary with the brand and 'flavour' of batteries you use. What you won't have with
a battery are any remnants of 100Hz (rectified 50Hz) AC ripple or potential for multiple ground/earth
connections causing 50Hz hum, both of which become pertinent when considering mains-powered DC
supplies. The internal impedances associated with mains-powered DC supplies will be different to those of
a battery and the delivery of the power may be affected by AC ripple, ground/earth loops and so on. Deliver it
through a long bit of nonshielded wire via connectors and you have some more variables. The upshot of all this
is that very simple circuits (old fuzz circuits, for example) will rely pretty heavily on the quality of their DC supply
to perform well, as they do not have much (any) capability to reject power-supply noise. Pedals with lots of gain
(fuzz) will obviously multiply any power-supply junk a great deal so it will show up more believe what you
hear, not what you're told.
Amped Up
You can clean the socket of your amp and its pots and switches in the same way as those of your guitar, but
beyond that it's quite difficult to suggest quick and simple remedies to electrical problems in an amp. Hum and
wind noise that crops up is often to do with valves, and if you don't have replacements, there's not a great deal
you can do other than to re-seat the dodgy ones and hope for the best. Where output valves are arranged in
two pairs, for example in an AC30, you can try swapping one of each pair and see if the hum is reduced
a potential cause of hum is a mismatch between the pair of output valves. If you can achieve a better match
with the valve from the opposite pair, you might reduce the hum a bit. It's not going to go away, and really you
need to replace the valves with a matched set. Often this then requires a rebiasing. It's been said many times,
but be extremely careful when messing about with the internal parts of a valve amp. They can give you
a potentially fatal electric shock, and store enough juice in their caps to do so even after the amp has been
disconnected from the mains. Don't take risks, especially with older amps.
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A loud amp vibrates a lot, and sometimes we end up with all manner of vibrations and mechanical rattles both
within the amp itself and nearby. If you're being driven mad by some sort of vibration, check that the cabinet
itself is solid, and that it's not causing, for example, catches on a flightcase wheel base to vibrate. Some amps
are quite prone to this: to take the example of an AC30 again, the amplifier portion of the combo slides out of
the main cabinet, in which it sits as a sort of shelf. This whole assembly can be noisy if the screws aren't tight.
Every time I do a guitar session, I arrive with enough time to set up one solid combo, or cab that I know
sounds good, mic it and get it ready to record before the band arrives. That way, whatever they bring with them,
and whatever the problems we may later encounter, I know that I've got this one rig ready to go at all times.
Final Thoughts
Reading this, it may seem like guitars are plagued with problems at every turn, and in fact that's not a million
miles from the truth. But we have to keep some perspective on how serious these problems really are in the
context of a recording. Does it matter if your part is a little noisy? Does it matter if it's out of tune? Does it
matter if your amp sounds like it's slowly but surely breaking? Well, that's up to you and your client. Sometimes
it will, sometimes it won't. What this piece aims to do is to help you get a handle on what might be wrong, and
decide whether a simple solution is worth pursuing in the time available. Always remember that the perfect is
the enemy of the good: don't be paralysed by a problem if it won't really matter in the end.
Jack Ruston is a record producer and mixer, working primarily with rock bands. He usually ends up playing
guitar in some shape, size or form on most of the records he makes.
www.jackruston.com
Matt Gleeson is a luthier, who has done work for the likes of Dave Gilmour, Kasabian and Biffy Clyro. He builds
and repairs guitars from his Monty's Guitars workshop, based at State Of The Ark Studios in Richmond, and
also designs and handwinds his own range of custom pickups. .
www.montysguitars.com
Audio & Video

We've created a number of audio examples to illustrate several of the points discussed in this article. You
can also find a couple of videos in which Matt Gleeson demonstrates good practice in restringing, and how
to check for and correct intonation issues.
sosm.ag/apr14-optimisingguitarmedia
These sound files accompany the Optimising Electric Guitars For The Studio article which appeared in
SOS April 2014. The files can be download as 24bit 44.1kHz WAV files.
Sound On Sound
ExampleAOldStrings16bit441kHz14JAN14
0:18
So u n d O n So u n d - Ex am pleA O ldStr in g s 16bit441kHz14JA N14

So u n d O n So u n d - Ex am pleBNewStr in g s 16bit441kHz14JA N14 1
So u n d O n So u n d - Ex am pleC Tu n in g Pr o blem s 16bit441kHz14JA N14
So u n d O n So u n d - Ex am pleDNo is e16bit441kHz14JA N14
So u n d O n So u n d - Ex am pleEWo lfTo n es 16bit441kHz14JA N14
Sound On Sound
O ptim is in g Elec tr ic Gu itar s
Cookie policy
Example A.
Old strings on a Fender Telecaster recorded with a DI
Example B.
New strings on the same guitar a few minutes later.
Example C.
Typical guitar tuning discrepancies. Tuning for a G chord and comparing to open A and E. Recorded via
a DI box.
Example D.
Finding the null point to combat interference. Recorded with a DI box.
Which To Track First: Guitar Or Bass?

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Here's a quick practical tip for you. Most of us find it difficult to tell when low frequencies played in isolation
are slightly out of tune. For that reason, if there are limitations that affect how many musicians you can track
at the same time, I'd always try to get the drums together with a guitar, and then overdub the bass, rather
than track the bass alone with the drums. Alternatively, a guide keyboard part following the chords provides
a handy anchor for our sense of pitch and this can be binned once you're happy with the rhythm-section
tracking.
Published in SOS April 2014
All contents copyright SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2014. All rights reserved.
The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent
of the Publishers. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents.
The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers.
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