How to Record Guitar at Home
Recording guitar at home in 2026 produces professional-quality results at a fraction of what it cost ten years ago. This guide covers both methods — miking a real amp and direct recording with amp simulator plugins — with the specific equipment and settings needed for each.
Method 1: Direct Recording (Amp Simulator)
The most practical home recording method. No microphone, no room acoustics, no noise complaints. An amp simulator plugin runs on your computer and processes the guitar signal to sound like a miked amp.
Equipment Needed
Audio interface: Converts your guitar's analogue signal to digital for the computer
- Focusrite Scarlett Solo (£90) — the industry standard starter interface. Ultra-low latency, clean preamp.
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (£120) — two inputs. Better if you record vocals or two instruments.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): The recording software
- GarageBand — free on Mac. Surprisingly capable, includes basic amp sims.
- Logic Pro (£199.99) — the pro Mac choice. Extensive plugin library.
- Reaper (£50 individual licence) — cross-platform, extremely capable.
- Ableton Live Intro (£69) — popular for layering parts.
Amp simulator plugin:
- Neural DSP Archetype series (£50–65 per plugin) — the best-sounding amp sims available. Artist-specific (Plini, Nolly, Tim Henson, Cory Wong).
- BIAS FX 2 Elite (£99) — wide variety of amp models.
- Positive Grid Spark Amp — hardware unit that also works as an interface with built-in sims.
- Free option: LePou plugins, DETH, Ignite Emissary — high quality and free.
Direct Recording Signal Chain
Guitar → (TS or TRS cable) → Interface instrument input → DAW track → Amp sim plugin → Output
Key setting: Set your interface input gain so the signal peaks around -12 to -6dBFS on the loudest notes. Hitting 0dBFS (red clip light) introduces digital distortion — unrecoverable.
Method 2: Miking a Real Amp
Higher ceiling for feel and dynamics — a real amp with a microphone can produce results that amp sims don't fully replicate. Requires a microphone, interface with mic preamp, and a quiet room.
Equipment Needed
Audio interface with mic preamp: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (£120) or Scarlett Solo (£90) — includes a microphone preamp.
Microphone: The Shure SM57 (£95) is the universal standard for guitar amp miking. Used on virtually every commercially recorded guitar amp track in history.
Mic stand: Any standard microphone stand (£25–50).
SM57 Placement
The placement of the SM57 relative to the speaker cone dramatically affects the recorded tone:
On-axis, cap on centre: The brightest, most aggressive position. SM57 aimed directly at the centre of the speaker cone. Most accurate, least forgiving.
On-axis, cap on edge: The SM57 aimed at the boundary between the cone and the dust cap. Balanced — less harsh than dead-centre, more articulate than off-axis. The most common professional placement.
Off-axis (angled): Angle the SM57 so it's no longer pointing straight at the speaker. Reduces high-frequency harshness and adds warmth. How much you angle determines how warm — start at 30–45 degrees.
Distance: Close miking (2–5cm from grille cloth) provides maximum definition and minimum room sound. Move back to 15–30cm to add natural room ambience.
Signal Flow for Amp Recording
Guitar → Amp → Speaker cabinet → SM57 → Interface XLR input (with 48V phantom power OFF — SM57 is dynamic, doesn't need phantom power) → DAW
DAW Setup
Create an audio track: Set the input to your interface channel 1 or 2 (the instrument or mic input).
Monitor mode: Use direct monitoring (through the interface's hardware mix, near-zero latency) rather than software monitoring (high latency from processing delay). On Scarlett interfaces, the dial between headphone and playback controls the mix between direct monitoring and DAW playback.
Recording level: Aim for peaks around -12 to -10dBFS on the track meter. Leave headroom for EQ/compression in the mix.
Common Recording Issues
Hum and buzz: Usually a ground loop. Try a DI box (Radial J48) between guitar and interface, or use a humbucker-equipped guitar. Remove all daisy-chain power adaptors.
Latency: The delay between playing and hearing the processed sound. Use direct monitoring through the interface (bypass DAW processing). Lower buffer size in DAW audio settings if using software monitoring.
Too much room sound: Move the amp closer to a corner or wall, hang heavy blankets around the recording space, position the microphone closer to the speaker.
Choose Your Method Based on Space, Not Just Budget
The guide's two methods — direct recording versus miking a real amp — aren't simply budget tiers; they solve genuinely different practical constraints. Direct recording removes the room entirely from the equation, while miking a real amp requires a genuinely quiet space and tolerant neighbours regardless of how much money you spend on microphones and interfaces.
A player in a shared apartment should default to direct recording regardless of budget, since no amount of spending fixes the fundamental noise and room-acoustics problem that miking a real amp requires solving.
Common Mistakes
Choosing to mic a real amp without confirming you actually have a suitable space. As Method 2 states, this approach requires a genuinely quiet room — spending on a Shure SM57 and quality interface doesn't solve a fundamental space constraint that direct recording sidesteps entirely.
Setting interface input gain too hot and clipping the signal. As the Direct Recording Signal Chain section warns, hitting 0dBFS introduces unrecoverable digital distortion — aiming for -12 to -6dBFS on the loudest notes leaves essential headroom that's impossible to add back after recording.
Using software monitoring instead of direct monitoring, introducing unnecessary latency. As the DAW Setup section explains, direct monitoring through the interface's hardware mix offers near-zero latency, while software monitoring processes through the DAW first — a genuinely avoidable timing lag that affects playing feel.
Placing the SM57 dead-center on the speaker cone by default without considering the tonal trade-off. As the SM57 Placement section notes, this on-axis position is the brightest and least forgiving — the more common professional placement (cap on edge) balances articulation with reduced harshness, worth trying first for most recording contexts.
ToneStakr's Take
For most home recordists, especially those without a dedicated isolated space, direct recording via an amp sim plugin remains the sensible default — it removes room acoustics, neighbour noise and microphone placement entirely from the list of variables to manage. Reserve miking a real amp specifically for players who've confirmed they have genuine acoustic space and want the specific dynamic feel a real amp and microphone combination provides, since that method's higher ceiling only matters once the room constraint is actually solved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What audio interface should I buy for guitar recording?
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo (£90) is the best starting point — a clean preamp, genuinely low latency, and broad compatibility with all major DAWs on both Mac and Windows.
Do I need a real amp to record good guitar tones?
No — modern amp simulation plugins (Neural DSP, BIAS FX) produce genuinely professional results without any physical amp involved. Many commercially released records now use amp sims throughout their guitar tracking process.
What DAW should I use?
GarageBand is a sensible choice if you're on Mac and new to recording — it's free and genuinely capable for getting started. Logic Pro suits more serious Mac-based recording. Reaper works well cross-platform for budget-conscious recordists. The specific DAW matters considerably less than your choice of interface and plugins.
Is it worth using both a DI box and a microphone when recording a real amp, for blending options later?
Yes, genuinely useful if your interface has enough inputs — capturing a DI signal alongside the miked amp signal gives you reamping flexibility later, letting you experiment with different amp sim processing on the same performance without needing to re-record.
Does room treatment matter at all if I'm exclusively using the direct recording method?
No, not for the guitar signal itself — since no microphone captures room sound in the direct chain, acoustic treatment becomes irrelevant specifically for guitar tracking, though it would still matter if you're also recording vocals or other mic'd instruments in that same space.
Should a beginner start with a free amp sim or invest in Neural DSP immediately?
Starting free (GarageBand's built-in sims, or free options like LePou or Ignite Emissary) is the sensible approach — it lets you confirm your recording workflow and interface setup work correctly before committing to a paid plugin, which becomes a more informed purchase once you know specifically what tonal territory you're missing.