A few of my friends have been trying this little trick for recording electric guitars: They have been putting the amps in the car. My friend Andy Hunt told me about it [www.myspace.com/andyhunt]. He said a friend of his had to do this out of necessity. I then told another friend about it, J.D. Tiner, who tried it out too [www.glassonionrecordingstudio.com]. This trick seems to be a really good make-shift iso booth if you have no options, but need separation. It’s quick, simple and does not cost anything (assuming you already own a car). In a time where we are seeing an increasing number of home recordings with a DIY approach, this is a trick worth putting to use.

Rigging It Up
To get started you need to park your car close to your recording space. You are going to have three relatively long cable runs-a power cable, a mic cable, and a guitar cable. You might have the luxury of an outside electrical outlet near your studio door that you can use to cut down the length of your power cable. But the mic cable is going to have to be long enough that it can reach the mic pre, and the guitar cable is going to have to be long enough to reach the amp.

If you don’t have one long mic cable, you can just connect several together to make one quickly. The guitar cable can be extended by using two guitar cables and a direct box. Take the first cable and go from the guitar to the DI. Use the “pass thru” jack on the direct box to connect the second run of cable to the amp. I recommend using a passive DI, such as the Radial JDI [www.radialeng.com/di-jdi.htm].

The amp can be set up pretty much anywhere in the car. If you have an SUV, I suggest putting the amp in the back cargo area. Experiment with folding the back seats down to see how it changes the sound. If you drive a compact car or sedan, I suggest putting the amp in the back seat. You can also experiment here by putting the amp in the trunk, and then folding the back seats down. Using a smaller car is a little bit trickier because the tighter space will make it harder to find a stable place to set the amp. If you are using a tube amp in a small car, you want to make sure that you don’t lean the hot components of the amp up against a seat. This could prohibit the amp from venting heat properly, which could then damage the amp, or worse, start a fire.

While on the subject of precautions, it’s important to note weather conditions. Think twice before you attempt this trick if it is bitter cold or brutally hot outside. You are going to be putting your precious expensive equipment inside a car with no ventilation for hours. And absolutely DO NOT try this if it is raining or snowing. Taking advantage of a garage or carport can save you here. Use good judgement when setting this up. If you have any doubts, you probably just shouldn’t do it (don’t say I didn’t warn you).

The last step to setting up this recording trick is dealing with the cables. The best way to handle this is to crack a window and run the cables through. Then take some towels and seal up the gap. When micing up the amp, there are a variety of choices you can make. The most simple approach is to use the tried and true 57 close up on the speaker.

The car as an effect
Don’t be afraid to get creative. Feel free to use the car trick as a way to get a unique sound for the guitar tracks. Experiment with more than one mic if you have the resources to do so. Get crazy with the mic placement. Try different areas of the car, and different mics/polar patterns. Maybe a ribbon mic near the windshield, or an omni mic near the driver’s position. Perhaps even try recording a different instrument altogether, like bass or background vocals. The latter will be particularly tricky, because you will have to run long cables for the headphone system.

In Practice
Let me know how this turns out for you. I would love to hear examples of this trick put to use. Post comments about your experience with links to your recordings. Good luck! Hope you have fun with this one.

Photo by: J.D. Tiner. Please note: The above suggestion and link to the Radial DI box is NOT a paid ad. I simply think these are great DI boxes.