Recording distorted guitar tones. Advice and tips please...

[Spaceboy]

Awesome thread, definitely going to read every tip and link here. I almost always have turned back the gain quite a bit when I attempt to record. I haven't yet been able to get a tone I'm satisfied with though.

 

[Ventura]

Too much mids is honky, at the amp that is. I consider a guitar tone to be 'all mids' if the low end is present but not muddy and the high end is clear but not uncomfortable. Establish this and the midrange falls into place. I actually tend to run my rig pretty devoid of mids and further scoop midrange after tracking. Considering that I use V30's and a Maxon OD808 my guitar tone is still 'all mids'. Too much even at times.

Ah, well, yes... You've got a mid heavy speaker in use...just sayin'.

V.

PS - what happened to Goldblum and the Goldtop??

 

[locoed]

Not sure if anybody has mentioned this,i haven't read the entire thread.
When you record dirty tones,turn your gain back a little,give it a test run,alot of cats record with they're normal tone and it
ends up being really fizzy,harsh and you can't hear each string,sometimes when you back your gain off the whole EQ may sound
different,Just an FYI. I myself,won't listen to music before i record,i like to have fresh ears.

 

[JakeAC5253]

Too much mids is honky, at the amp that is. I consider a guitar tone to be 'all mids' if the low end is present but not muddy and the high end is clear but not uncomfortable. Establish this and the midrange falls into place. I actually tend to run my rig pretty devoid of mids and further scoop midrange after tracking. Considering that I use V30's and a Maxon OD808 my guitar tone is still 'all mids'. Too much even at times.

Ah, well, yes... You've got a mid heavy speaker in use...just sayin'.

V.

PS - what happened to Goldblum and the Goldtop??

Just offering a counterpoint

Needed a fresh start. New image. Something more.... modern. Haven't found it yet

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I changed my mind....If you are asking this question, the last thing you want to do is play with multi-mic'ing.
Get a 57, put your headphones loud, and move the mic starting dead center and slowly work your way out. It will go from piercing> excellent> muddy. Find the sweet spot, record 10 seconds and play back in isolation & with a mix (even if it is only a dummy bass and or Vox). Don't totally disregard isolated tracks, if it sounds like garbage it is garbage. In context is very important, but there will be moments when your guitar is isolated on the track so make sure it's solid.

If you have a hi end preamp, the 57 slays. If not, I have found the 57 sucks. Shrill and abrasive through mediocre pres, I would try out an LDC to see if it works better. Regardless, the louder you play, the more air you push, the better it will translate. That sucks, most of us have kids, neighbors, hearing issues....damn them all- turn it up to 11. Or at least as loud as your room can handle- at some point small room feedback + roof vibrations will tell you when the amp is too loud.


If possible, move your speaker cabinet into different rooms and different spots in rooms- that will make a HUGE difference. Find the tone that works before busting out the mics. Some rooms are lively, throw a small rug down in front to tighten it up if need be.

If you start getting into adding room mics, phasing issues may frustrate and crush your spirit. YMMV

 

[Ventura]

I changed my mind....
If you start getting into adding room mics, phasing issues may frustrate and crush your spirit. YMMV

I don't see how there'd be any phasing issues with separate mics doing separate tracks?? They'll all have their own signal to record, and they'll all get mixed down correctly in the end, no??

V.

 

[Ventura]

Too much mids is honky, at the amp that is. I consider a guitar tone to be 'all mids' if the low end is present but not muddy and the high end is clear but not uncomfortable. Establish this and the midrange falls into place. I actually tend to run my rig pretty devoid of mids and further scoop midrange after tracking. Considering that I use V30's and a Maxon OD808 my guitar tone is still 'all mids'. Too much even at times.

PS - what happened to Goldblum and the Goldtop??

Just offering a counterpoint

Needed a fresh start. New image. Something more.... modern. Haven't found it yet

Ah, I see... Well hell, you're making me look bad as I've had my little Goth Angel staring at that red leaf for a couple years now

Peace
V.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I changed my mind....
If you start getting into adding room mics, phasing issues may frustrate and crush your spirit. YMMV

I don't see how there'd be any phasing issues with separate mics doing separate tracks?? They'll all have their own signal to record, and they'll all get mixed down correctly in the end, no??

V.

If there is a completely new take, there would be far less issues. But if your are recording 1 performance using a close mic and a room mic, that takes an experienced ear to get it right. I know FFillipetti uses phasing to his advantage, but for someone looking to get great sounds, I would steer clear of that technique. Plenty of the room character will be captured with a close mic, many pros do it this way. Simple is almost always better in this situation, too many times I heard tracks that sounded good in isolation only to come up weak and worthless in the mix due to room mics and phasing issues, it's an auditory illusion that is hard to avoid.

The test to see if you are multimicing properly? Set your pans to dead center. As you add tracks, phasing issues will make the sound weaker. If you are spreading your pans out, you may be missing underlying issues.

IMO

 

[Ventura]

Good post - good take on matters... I reckon I've got a good ear

Granted, I've been at this for some time now, and have run an actual studio, so I guess I take it for granted that most peeps will figure this out. I've found little problem with 2 close mics + 1 ambient mic with the positions just so, and recorded separately, then - in the mix down - either watch the wave patterns, or add some delay to the tracks themselves - instant presto no phasing. So long as I'm getting near full redline on every mic, I know I've got tracks to work with 100%.

We all go about it differently, and true, some of the SWEETEST clips I've heard have been 1 mic with 4 recordings layered together - high gain middy, high gain bass, super crunch, and pissed of plexi - all together?? SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO balls out!!

Avagoodnight Folks!!
V.

 

[petejt]

Try to cover any hard surfaces in the room that you're recording in, unless it's a large hall where you want all that awesome reverb. Otherwise the microphone will pick up the direct reverb and thus will sound very harsh. It's more noticeable on record than live. It gets more problematic when cranking the amp/s up too. If you can use some bedding foam overlay to soundproof the walls and any doors. It's a crappy colour but half the price of Acoustic Foam- yet exactly the same thing!

You can always add a little reverb in post-mix if you want to add some depth. It doesn't take much processing for that.