🎸 Electric guitar

In your case, the electric guitar is the most critical source of the whole production: it defines the weight of the song and it’s the one that most often stops you when it “doesn’t sound good in the mix”. The good news is that 80% of that problem is solved before you touch a single plugin — in how the signal comes in.

Your signal chain

• BIAS FX: guitar → instrument (Hi-Z) input of the Audient iD44 → BIAS FX as a plugin in Studio One 4. You record the raw DI and the amp sim stays non-destructive (you can change it later without re-recording).
• Line 6 Helix Floor: guitar → Guitar input of the Helix → out mono to a line input of the iD44. Here the tone is baked in (committed), unless you also capture the DI separately for reamping.

Golden rule: always record the raw DI, whatever amp sim you use. It’s your safety net to reamp without playing again.

Its role in a rock/metal song

• Rhythm walls: double or quad tracking panned to the sides — the foundation of the weight.
• Leads / solos: one or two voices up front, with their own tone and space.
• Cleans / arpeggios: intros and bridges; they want headroom and little to no saturation.

What’s critical now (recording) vs. deferrable

• Critical now: input level without clipping, a tight and clean take, and the DI saved. This is almost impossible to “fix” in the mix.
• Can wait: the exact amp sim, EQ, fine panning and the amount of saturation — all of that is decided comfortably in the mix at no re-recording cost.

Throughout the guide you’ll see this same guitar travel through the stages (recording → mixing → mastering) as part of the guide song, so you can follow its full evolution with the same takes.