95% Of Guitar Players Don’t Care About This… The Other 5% Are DANGEROUS 

This is the reason I often record myself playing guitar or go live on Facebook. While I appreciate the comments and support from Facebook friends, I am ultimately doing it for myself, not for them. I watch those videos religiously to see areas of my playing which need improvement and then work that into my practice routine. It also helps to have many guitarist friends who can give me constructive feedback and point out things I may not notice on my own.

I've been very fortunate that my father was a musician and an audio engineer. I grew up surrounded by pros, and when I started my blues trio, my drummer was actively going to school for audio engineering. Sammy G had inspired me when he released that series you mentioned, and I've been recording all of my songs in chronological order on my music YT channel. Some of these were on my album, and I link the album versions. I also deleted a lot of my work but for very different reasons after my band broke up. But my album is one of the few things that survived, and I have to say, for a bunch of kids with passion and heart, it's not a bad album. The first two songs were our singles and had the best polish, but the rest needed some serious work. But you're right Mike, just a few minutes on how you capture a sound can turn a good recording into a great one.

4:00 that didn’t even sound bad, I have no taste 😅

My advice to 2018 is buy stock in any company that does hand sanitizer, and/or medical masks, and/or latex gloves.

On amp speakers it's best to capture the top end with a close miced with an SM 57. Then for the bottom you use a condenser like a U 47 further away. How far? That depends on how low you want it to go. The further back you get the longer a wave propagates. A 100Hz wave is 4 meters long. That's over 12 feet, but that's down in bass and kick territory, and you don't want to step on their frequencies. Guitar is more of a mid range instrument. So it's usually 3 to 5 feet. You would be surprised just how narrow that can be. What sounds good in a solo may not be the tone you want in the mix and visa versa. A shrill nasty sounding amp might just be what you need to punch through in the context of a mix. On 'Funk 49' Joe Walsh used a Fender Champ with an 8" speaker, but it sounds huge! Also on acoustic the 14th fret is usually a little sweeter than the 12th. The closer to where the neck join to the body the better. But, like any mic a little placement tweak can make all the difference. That's why some engineers invest in robotically controlled mic stands. If you have one a small condenser for the closer mic instead of the 57 and your large condenser further back pointed at the body towards or just off the sound hole.

I think 5 years ago (2018 vs 2023), you were green and what you made back then was more getting a new piece of the puzzle for gear and then having to learn what it could do. You're absolutely right, there are no rules beyond what the equipment was rated for electrical power and those physics. And one piece of gear that is similar to another is going to be a hand grenade close to a bullseye. The other part of it, how it all eventually comes together is part control of the situation & gear with a bit of a Hail Mary desperation of hope that the accidental breakthrough occurs for the perfect storm of success. I find this with the gear I have, it was cheap, then I learned how to use it and awful became pretty good sound/tone. Quite often the gear didn't move to another spot in the room. While your 2018 video was cringe-worthy. How much of that was new gear and just learning & experimenting with what it was capable of & could really do with even the accidental expert on how to use it ? I hear too often the $ 15-20 Shure copy sucks & is a POS. Maybe it's because the vocalist sounds like the vocalist or the guitar or amp sounds like what it does and was more out of not knowing how to use it & in the learning phase of that piece of gear in the puzzle. Oddly enough, as I learned how to be every hat in the process, get better at one or another, the cheap gear that I have is actually pretty good gear. I don't need the big brand names, quite often that Chinese piece of poop is right there with anything someone charged $ 100('s) or even $ 1,000('s) more for. I get dropping the brand names for effect, but I challenge you to do one of these videos armed with the expertise you now have vs when you started with affordable gear. I got a feeling you'll be shocked at the level of quality that comes from that challenge. And it won't take any more effort than what it does with a big name brand stage cred piece of gear.

7:46 " This is a fragile Mike" no need to talk about your past self like that man. You turned out just fine 😂

Acoustic recording can be difficut because you'll always move around a little while you play. I like getting a matched pair of pencil microphones, criss-crossed at a right angle. This way if you move a little bit, the other mic picks up the difference. It gives you more options during the mix later too.

I really wish I had my stuff from 'back in the days' sure it'll be cringe, but I wanted to listen back to how well, or not well, I played; recorded, and sound. I deleted my old guitar stuff because at one point, due to life in general, I just didn't play guitar a lot, if not at all. With covid, and all the post lockdown giving me a lot more time I've been getting back the last few years, and I actually kinda want to hear my old self to both check my current status, and laugh at myself a bit. I'm glad you were able to find something, and share this video, now for me to check Sammy G's video :D

None of that was honestly that bad. Like at all. You've come a long way, though.

First time seeing your channel . I agree with every point you made . Cool and entertaining clip . I will subscribe , Thanks CAMCURSE .

Hey Mike, how's it hangin. I'm commenting on your vid about Mexican Fenders vs American and cheap guitars in general. Back in 1982 when I took guitar lessons and was new to playing their wasn't a lot of choices for inexpensive guitars. Or I should say the cheaper guitars played Horribly. A few brands that aren't around anymore was MAGNUM guitars and LOTUS guitars. My first strat copy was a brand new Magnum strat that was Awful. You might be able to ask a few guys my age who started playing in the early-Mid 1980's about the cheap guitars back then.

bro went from dollarstore youth group worship angst straight to the telefunken XD The sm7b it's like at this point you'd expect to have them flying around all over the place like some whimsical Harry Potter fever dream shit, what with all the podcasting going on out there so I'll let that one slide. But i was half expecting you to start breaking out the Neumann's next, maybe like a derelict c412 or something ;D All joking aside though, I wanted to point out that starting out capturing your playing you're probably not gonna have access to expensive high end recording equipment. What's important here is that you need to care. If you take your time and put in the effort to 'get it right at the source' you can make whatever gear you have work for you. When I started out recording in my dads homestudio I was lucky enough to have some amazing gear to play around with but I soon enough wanted to just dick around and try experimenting. So I borrowed one of his sm58's, bought myself a behringer c1 and a cheap M-audio interface and I put those shitboxes to work son! Seriously that 30 dollar behringer mic is actually stupid good on anything from for vocals, acoustics to overheads, snares , shit man I even used the thing on brass XD TL;DR Get to know your gear whatever it is, care about your music and put in the work to get it right. Anywhoooooo, essaying over...

Great video really enjoyed it. I was just watching your why you will never sell your telecaster video. And you may now him but Robbie Robertson is a tele and strat player very underrated in the eyes of a blues and amircana fan he is up there with Clapton and Keith. And the concert movie the last waltz featuring( Neil young, Neil diamond, bob dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Eric Clapton) and meny more and the band The Band with ( Levon Helm drummer, Rick Danko Bass player, Richard Manuel pianist and Garth Hudson organist saxophone piano and meny other instruments) but again such a great guitarist like you may now them so for any one you should look Into The Band

“First things first rest in peace to uncle Phil.. for real. You were the only father that I ever knew, if I get a girl pregnant I’m going to be a better you” u get a sub for great taste in music lol I was not expecting that haha

Have you ever noticed how much you rest your right forearm on the top of your acoustic when you're playing? Especially if you're recording, try lifting your arm off the top versus the way you normally play, let the top fully vibrate and don't muffle the sound.

Kelly Joe Phelps....The Slingshot Professionals album

Listen to Kelly Joe Phelps. I think you will love him.

I appreciate the idea of this video, really I do. That said my guitar playing ability does not require a $1500 microphone. I am driven to improve my abilities and get better without a doubt, but I am not delusional enough to think this will ever be more than a hobby that entertains me and brings me joy. I will never need a $1500 microphone.

I'm afraid this felt pretty clickbaity, Mike. It was less about playing the guitar, and being a guitar player, and more about being a sound engineer... and owning expensive gear. Actually, it wasn't at all about being a guitar player. You got me. I guess the clickbait title should have been warning enough. I'll be more selective with my clicks in the future.

Oh thank God im not the only one that cant control myself every time i say "first thing's first" 😂😂😂

1:31 is that a guitar with a pot lid?

Subtle J Cole reference

Great , Mike!!! Experiment, Experiment , Experiment. All equipment has different abilities I found my amp has a better tape output than expected and sounds better than Miking it. You just never know

Song is better than 99% of present day radio crap.

If you are recording alone, you are not only the engineer, you are the producer as well, so you have to think and listen like three people, the player, the engineer and the producer. Maybe the job of the producer is the hardest, when you are working alone.

LOL, I was trying to think of a stock tip too!

Better than a lot of my early stuff

It's always important to remember the most important thing, even when learning, even tho some of it sounds bad, it's all part of what we are. Without the early parts, the now doesn't exist. Peace ✌️

Great video!

Its not bad for a beginning guitarists....we have good days and bad days. I have some cringy stuff on reel to reel... :p

@3:35 are you serious? Awesome voice

Geez it should a great mic for that price!

Remember, you ARE your own worst critic. It's not about the quality, it's about the evolution and experience. One added observation...I still have 8 track, cassette, and reel to reel recordings...no trouble at all finding them, just trying to play them!😊

Keep going you sound great

Some of my old videos sound great , others not so much

You make great videos.

One day those early recordings will mean a lot to you. Maybe not yet, but one day ... 😊

I have trouble watching me from LAST WEEK, let alone years ago 😊

Samarai is great.

I learn so much from the guitar community on RU-vid

Anyone has a tldr?

I had a roommate who "played drums." He couldn't put a fill on the start/end of a measure. I couldn't be around him.

Turn 'em loose brother.

Great video! Can anyone point me to the Sammy G progress videos?

Way better than anything I’ve recorded 😂😅

I hear someone say game changer… I think oh crap I’m okay at checkers and I they are switching to chess. Lol

Samurai may have better technique but you sound better when playing

🙄 It sounds good

ayee j cole

“I was so bad… “ *not bad at all just a little bland*

GameStop 🚀 🚀🚀🚀

Im worse now than i was 10 years ago....

Too hard on yourself. That song was great

This over Taylor Swift any day

boom first! twss

You are way to hard on your self, that song wasn't that bad Mike.