If you're recording your guitar with one or more microphones, it's best to stick to the presets under Acoustic Guitar which will work with your microphones to give you the best sound. With a combination of finding and tweaking the right preset, you should be able to get the sound you're looking for. You can also show or hide this by pressing B. Selecting one of these presets will give your guitar track a different EQ which you can also tweak from the corresponding Smart Controls area that appears below your track. From here, you can select a wide array of presets for your guitar track. Your Sound Library should be located on the left-hand side, and you can show or hide it by pressing Y. Using GarageBand's Sound Library, you can choose and customize the presets to use for your guitar.
If you're unsure where to begin, check out our guide on how to record your acoustic and electro-acoustic guitar (this also works for recording electric guitar if you follow the "electro-acoustic guitar" section), where we outline each method and how they differ from one another, as well as some good mic positions if you're using a microphone or two.īoth these methods follow the same general steps when recording on GarageBand, but since the preparation is different, you're going to get different results.
This method is also a lot quieter than playing via a physical amp, meaning you won't have to worry as much about disturbing anyone.
This second method is perfect if you've got an electro-acoustic guitar or electric guitar and want to easily experiment with a wide range of virtual amps and presets, giving you more control over customizing your guitar track. Related: The Best Guitar Amps for Beginners It's much more convenient and requires less preparation than the first method, though your sound won't be as authentic.
The second method is best suited if you're looking to take full advantage of GarageBand's inbuilt presets and its wonderful Amp Designer and Pedalboard plugins. This is how most guitars are professionally recorded. There are various factors to consider when recording your guitar using microphones, but the end results can be fantastic. This is perfect for acoustic guitars, electro-acoustic guitars (unplugged or via an amp), and electric guitars (via an amp). If you're looking to capture your guitar's unplugged sounds, or you're recording your guitar through an amp, the first method is for you. Recording your guitar via a direct input (DI) Recording your guitar using one or more microphones There are two main ways in which you can go about recording your guitar, depending on the kind of guitar you have and the sound you want to go for.