SETTING UP IN THE STUDIO: STOMP BOXES
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STOMP BOXES
Got some old stomp boxes you want to run your guitar through in addition to
POD? No problem. You can place the stomp box(es) between the guitar and the
DI box (if you’re using one) or between the guitar and your mixer input (if you’re
feeling wild and running without a DI). Make sure the stomp box isn’t overdriving
your mixer channel or DI, and make sure that the stomped and then DI’d signal
doesn’t overdrive your mixer’s input. You can also experiment with putting your
stomp boxes just before or after POD – most anything might work depending on
the specific gear you’re working with and the sound you’re trying to achieve.
When setting your levels, be sure to try your loudest strumming, hottest pick-up
combination, and your maximum volume boost from the stomp box(es) at the
same time to make sure the resulting clamor gets through the signal chain cleanly.
RADIATION ALERT
If you’ve got a computer in your studio, this important public service
announcement is for you. You’re likely to find, especially if you are using a guitar
with single coil pickups, that it is quite easy to pick up some serious noise from any
computer monitor that you use near your guitar. CRT displays are, after all, just
special purpose ray guns that shoot photons at you all day long. Your guitar
pickups receive and amplify the electro-magnetic fields that your display radiates,
and you hear this in your audio signal as buzz and hum. Moving farther from the
CRT, and turning your guitar so it does not directly face the computer’s display,
will minimize this problem. But if you find yourself in a tight studio setup, needing
to lay down some quick tracks, and being pestered by CRT-induced buzz, you may
find it helpful to do as we have sometimes done: set up your track to record and
start your pre-roll; reach up and flick your computer monitor’s power switch off;
record your guitar part; stop your recording, flick the monitor back on, and check
out the buzz-free playback.
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