THE PERFECT (VIRTUAL) GUITAR TONE

In the world of computer music production, there’s plenty of ways to capture a guitar sound. If you're a player you can record yourself. If you've money to spare or favors to call in, you could source a session player. Alternatively, there are plenty of approaches for 'faking' a guitar part – through samples or a virtual instrument. Wherever your guitar parts are coming from, this issue we’re focussing on how to shape the sound in different ways.

Achieving a powerful and entirely distinct guitar tone is now well within reach for home producers, while those looking to add some six-string garnish to their sparkling soundtracks have a plethora of options to choose from.

A guitar tone has traditionally been the multihued result of amp and effect variations, a signal path that can now be entirely virtually available in software form (but just don’t tell the unconvinced, old-school guitar-heads that).

As the field is vast, you need to lock down some key decisions early. Do you want the guitar to be the centerpiece of your arrangements? And – if so – are you after adding some fiery rock edge, or some harmonious acoustic layers, or perhaps soul-touching subtle delays?

To incorporate full-bodied, solid rock chops, you have two routes. If you’ve got a pre-existing rig, then you