My guitar recording philosophy has evolved toward minimal, purposeful gear: tone comes from the fingers, pick, guitar, and amp, while digital effects complement rather than replace the core sound.
Reflecting on my recent projects, I’m very happy with the overall results. My guitars sound exactly how I want them to when I play the songs through my home stereo. I’m especially satisfied with the methods that developed naturally: simple tools and a straightforward workflow that produce a robust, almost raw guitar sound I absolutely love. It’s difficult to find this kind of tone in mainstream guitar music today.
Amp baseline settings: Volume 3, Master 4–5, Treble 5, Middle 3.5, Bass 4, Reverb 2, FAT off.
Blue Yeti: Cardioid mode, 4–5” from the grille, 2” right offset, forward tilt, −9 dB gain reference.
QuickTime Player (recording): Quality: Maximum. Format: ProRes 422 + Linear PCM.
iMovie (YouTube playlist exports): File → Share → File → High (or
Custom) → Better Quality. Output format: .mp4.