I got asked an interesting question recently from a viewer called “ImLee”

It’s a basic fundamental question about recording guitar that I’m sure we’ve all asked ourselves at one point or another!

“Why don’t you record directly the sound from the amps?”

I remember asking that question way back in 1990 when I first got to work in a “real studio!”

Like I said, this is a great question many of us have probably asked ourselves.

Today, we’re taking a look at a Peavey 5150 direct and through a cab miked with an sm57! You can instantly hear the difference.

We also tried a few impulse responses. Some of you are asking yourselves “What is an impulse response?” Well, it’s basically a snapshot of a speaker that has been miked. It will include the sound of the cabinet, mic, plus the mic preamp that was being used at the time as well as the room that it was recorded in.

To use these impulse responses, you’ll need an Impulse Response Loader! In this case we used Pulse from Lancaster Audio! (Only free IR Loader for Pro Tools)

You can also get great guitar tones using IRs WITHOUT making any noise! (perfect for home or apartment recording)