Sometimes I can see on video that what a guitarist play in a studio recording booth differs in the sound from the final mix. Why does it happen?
Introduction.
When it comes to sound recording, there are many factors, that should be taken into account. The decisive factor though should be the music and in particular the performance of a certain guitarist. He should choose the appropriate studio, where his playing will sound exactly the same as in his head.
After that, the sound engineer should arrange the microphones in such a way that everything on a recording should 100% match with what sounds in the head of the performer.
Then the same or another sound engineer should mix the guitar with the rest of the instruments, that were recorded in the same way.
Naturally, the author of the particular composition must define the mixing properties. After all, it is only in his head everything sounds complete. However, in practice in the most cases, everything happens in a completely different way. The reason for that is every participant’s conception of this process. Each of them looks at his function in his own way. Oftentimes completely prejudiced. Not to mention that many of their actions lack any logic. The result of that is the recording, which differs in sound in the final mix not only from what was recorded on individual tracks, but also has nothing in common with the original sound (what is coming directly from amplifiers).
For a more complete and understandable answer, I will divide it into 3 parts. This way I will be able to describe more precisely the influence on the recording and mix of the guitarist, the recording engineer and the engineer who mixes the final product.
