Troubles with Dual rectifier sounding "muddy" in recording.

M

mikemorg

New member
Im recording in-house with a rack-mount dual rectifier. This amp has a brutal sound and has had the Voodoo amps mod. I can get a lot out of this amp while playing live and during practice. When it comes to recording, the amp is just not very crisp. My other guitar play records with a Peavy 5150 which Im not a huge fan of, but that thing sounds awesome when recorded. We use the same Akg mic(not sure of the model) and we both used a BBE Sonic Maximizer (dumbass eq haha).
Any suggestions? Or is this just a characteristic of the amp?
Also, should I have this thing cranked when Im recording?
-Michael.
 
First off ditch the BBE, secondly try a 421 and a 57 with the recto, or swap the 57 for a ribbon mic, fat head, royer 121 (yea they aren't cheap) 3rd off make sure your eqing the bass a good bit of the mega low end out of the recording otherwise it's going to stay muddy no matter what you do. Also check mic position if you need more high end and less bass it's easy pull it away from the cone and more towards the dust cap, you can always try running the mic at an angle since that's for all intents a physical eq curve, all though there is some contention as to whether or not this is correct since mic's are not designed to pick up sound at an angle but rather straight on.

There are many things you can do, my best guess is that your recording with to much bass across the board, that is what the bass guitar is for, you want to get the bass guitar and guitar to glue together as if it's almost one sound, if the guitar is in the bass guitars frequency range it is absolutely going to sound muddy.
 
Pretty well what Dallas said...

And bring up the mids. Mids in recording are different than the mids you physically hear with your ears. Mids will crisp up your tracking and sound fuller when recording - and they won't change the gainy effect of the amp - it's a weird thing, but mids will help.

Peace,
V.
 
Just curious does it have the effects loop mod?

The reason I ask is someone had a similar problem with their racto, reversed the mod and had no problems with the sound. Just a stab in the dark suggestion... :confused:
 
IMO, if you are giging and recording with the same amp, you should have two different eq settings for the amp. One for each application.
 
i wouldn't think i would want to use a sonic stomp with a DR. the only time i ever use one on my amp - a JCM 2000 - is when i want to loosen/flub it up a bit and make it sound more like a rectifier, and i turn the mids up some on my amp when i use it.
 
Chubtone":38b4x25g said:
Isn't one of the Andy Sneap tricks with the Rectifiers to always run a tube screamer like a Maxon OD-808 in front of it? i think he does that with the 5150 too.
Click to expand...

This.

Additionally, just do whatever Ola does in his videos.
Awesome fingers + OD-808 + recto + sm57 = awesomeness
 
Turn the gain down. You'll get better results recording any amp with lower gain settings. The sound will be tighter, more focused and will lay in the mix better and jump out when you need it to. All this equates to a good recorded sound. You'd be surprised at how much gain you DON"T need when recording.
 
muudrock":290lmqaj said:
Turn the gain down. You'll get better results recording any amp with lower gain settings. The sound will be tighter, more focused and will lay in the mix better and jump out when you need it to. All this equates to a good recorded sound. You'd be surprised at how much gain you DON"T need when recording.
Click to expand...

This. The gain you use when recording is nowhere near live gain levels.
 
Ventura":2nwwpo4n said:
Pretty well what Dallas said...

And bring up the mids. Mids in recording are different than the mids you physically hear with your ears. Mids will crisp up your tracking and sound fuller when recording - and they won't change the gainy effect of the amp - it's a weird thing, but mids will help.

Peace,
V.
Click to expand...


By default, the DR and a Recto cab with V30's is going to scoop. It definitely needs some mids in the mix, but then you lose the base tone you are used to hearing. Try running two cabs, with both mic'd and the other cab with something other than a V30. The old SM57 isn't the ideal mic either. Or dub over the base recording. The DR has always been a great live amp, but not so hot shit recording. Post EQ is difficult too is everything is altered.

Steve
 
Totally forgot to mention the TS808/TS9/any TS variant, it's basically a front end eq that filters out the boomy lows, smooths out the highs and fills out the mids, gives you a very nice recorded tone to it. You basically run it so it's almost transparent, no added gain, unity volume, it's just a coloration pedal. Sounds silly but amazing results are assured!
 
I havent been on ina while so im not even gonna try to reply to all of you guys seperately lol. But, THANK YOU guys for all the input. Ive heard some of it but just never really had the money to spend to go forth will all of this stuff. I will def check out different mics or getting something better from someone and as for the maxon overdrive i believe, I have heard that does wonders for the DR. Its crazy how different the settings are between live and recording, mine are nowhere near wut they are now for recording as they are when i play live.
I just need to find someway to get this amp to be a lil more "punchy"
I will do what i can and repost my results asap. perhaps even provide a file on which you can hear the songs.
-Michael
 
Lot of good advice here. You may want to also try a graphic EQ in front with bass lowered and mids up a little. The MXR 10 band for eg. will also allow you to boost over all level into the amp allowing the preamp on the amp to come down a bit. In a serial loop or parallel loop set to 100% wet the EQ can be used and can produce even more drastic changes. Just bump the mids up on an EQ in the loop and you can change the cut a lot.
 
The 2nd response was right on the money. Also,back off the gain while recording,I used to crank it and it sounded really bad afterwards.
 
Turn the gain down and the volume up.

I also find it helps if you turn your treble down and your midrange up, then use your presence to compensate for the high end if you find your tone a little too dull.

Lastly, don't be afraid to back off your guitar's volume and/or treble pot a couple of notches. It does wonders for cleaning up the front end of your amp, which means you're distorting a clearer signal as it passes through the later gain stages.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top