Some quick tips to achieve guitar-god greatness

Send two tracks to one set of effects for aunified sound

01 LAYER YOUR LICKS

Most of us DAW users will have a decent sample-based guitar to hand, and one way to make it sound more authentic and huge is to layer it up. You could either double-track it or use two complementary guitar parts from two totally different sources.

The trick is to then send them through the same set of virtual amps, cabinets and other effects. This will have the effect of unifying two very different sounds, melding them as one into a larger wall of guitar sound. Either way, do consider layering when you use an electric guitar – there’s a good reason why so many bands have more than one guitarist!

02 LOOP SMART

If you are using sampled guitar loops rather than full-blown virtual guitars, then the trick will be to introduce variation in that loop, as there’s no way that a ‘real’ guitarist will play exactly the same loop over and over. However, there are several easy ways to do this. The first is similar to how you might alter the drums in a loop and that is to physically slice big notes out and about, adjusting the timings and volumes very slightly to bring in a more human feel. The second is to double-track the loop on further loops and experiment with timing, volume and ultra-fine tuning. Thirdly, simply introduce some kind of phasing or dynamic effect that gradually moves as the guitar loops. At the very least, this will add interest to the constantly cycling loop, disguising its constant repetition!