E-Guitar tracking show & tell

[jon]

Here are some photos of a rock guitar tracking session last month...there was a nice choice of amps and colors...various Fenders, Marshalls, Mesas, a Soldano, a Vox and an Ampeg...mic'ed with 57s and the occasional 421 or MK219 to analog 2" GP9 at +8/185. Mic pres were generally either Neve 1073s or the SSL J series desk pres, though Tubetech, GML and Millenia pres were on hand as well. Most of the time I used no EQ during tracking, but not always. I did often insert an SSL channel comp, an LA2A or an 1176 before the Studer....each track was different.

[jon]

The usual mic positioning schtick....turn amp down a little...stick one ear in front of the cab...move ear around until it sounds good...note position with finger...put mic there.

Then turn amp back up...have assistant wearing cans move a second mic around while I listen in the CR.

Pick the best one or try mixing the two together (usually I just go with one mic). If I had that Little Labs phase variator that Michael speaks of, it would be interesting to try.

[jon]

In the heat of the moment...

[jon]

Playing back the track for the artist...then putting down a rough mix of each song at the end of the day.

In the photo, there is the Studer remote on the left and the PT screen on the right. The demo recordings were in PT, which was synced to the Studer during the session. The def tracks all went to the Studer, as did the drums and bass.

Questions / comments ?

[C.Lambrechts]

nice pictures Jon.


Are those amps yours or did the band bring them all in ?


What I like to do in big project instrument situations is take the musicians out to this rental company I have a very good relationship with. They have about everything you can imagine or dream of available and I will accompany the musicians down there and assist in the testing. Usually I will fill up my mini van and we'll continue testing at the studio.

My first choice in mic for electrical guitar is allways an sm57 but often changes into something else ... even condensers like the 414 get frequently used in front of the cabinet.

I have tried the listening / finger pointing / mic placement technique off and on but it doesn't seem to work for me. I will start out close and in front of the speaker and will have an assistant move around the mic whith me giving directions in the CR. (must be me).

As far as pre's go I seem to have the best results either with the neve's 9098's or the drawmer 1960 units.

[Knox]

I assume you are tracking all your guitars with the guitarist in the studio with his amp as opposed to the head in the control room?

[alphajerk]

nice.

im in guitar ODs right now with a band. running orange, sound city, marshall, and fender through orange and marshall cabinets.

just a few different sounds.

running into a "special" pre im just being able to test out. something weird about it i must look into. and api's, a few mics on the flamingo in fat/iron engaged.

r121, 57, u195's mainly.

found a use for psp's pseudostereo plugin.

[Steve Smith]

Jon,

pardon my " french" but your studio is fuc-king beautiful. Love the red drapes.

The SM 57 is allways a standby, but I am really partial to the AT4050. I love that thing on cabs..

[5down1up]

looks like heavy metal

a ibanez guitar ??? can this sound any good ??? i am just kiddin

[jon]

Originally posted by C.Lambrechts
Are those amps yours or did the band bring them all in ?

About half are the studio's, a few are the band's, and some are rentals.

[jon]

Originally posted by Knox
I assume you are tracking all your guitars with the guitarist in the studio with his amp as opposed to the head in the control room?

Yes. I do both; each method has its pros and cons. Having the guitarist in the studio with amp and head makes me get up more to go out and get a good sound from the amp in the room before hearing it in the CR, and I tend to work on mic placement more as well. It also facilitates guitar-amp feedback interaction and allows for short cables from the amp head to the cab. However, it requires a louder cue mix in the cans for the player to heard the track over the din. Having the head in the CR facilitates tweaking the head, allows for lower can levels for the player, but tends to be more sterile somehow in play/feel sometimes...and mics tend to get placed and left there since I don't have to go out to the studio as much to dial in a sound.

[jon]

Originally posted by Steve Smith
Jon,

pardon my " french" but your studio is fuc-king beautiful. Love the red drapes.

The SM 57 is allways a standby, but I am really partial to the AT4050. I love that thing on cabs..

Thanks for the nice words. The drapes are new, we put them in last month.

I'll have to try the 4050 on cabs!

[jon]

Originally posted by 5down1up
looks like heavy metal

a ibanez guitar ??? can this sound any good ??? i am just kiddin

Yes, good eye. There were 6 and 7-string Ibanez's, a 7-string Gibson (can't remember which one), and a 6-string Tele and Mustang. I generally found the 6-string gits had a better tone.

They were putting 64-guage strings on them, tuned down to B.

[jon]

I received an email from a fellow forum member asking how much time I typically spend getting a guitar sound, from start to finish, as it seemed to him that it could be a long process, what with amp head and cab choices, guitar choices, mic choices and placement, mic pre, compressor, etc.

While it could vary from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, the typical range would usually be 1-5 minutes. Ten years ago, it would often take me a long time and be a struggle....time and experience does help to know what you need and how to get it quickly.

[Jay Kahrs]

Next weekend I'm doing guitar overdubs with the band I just cut basics with. Loud, cool indie rock stuff. In addition to the stuff I own I'm surrounded by cool little amps at the moment, mostly Fender. A silverface Vibro Champ, an orignal Deluxe, a brown Princeton, a Fender reverb tank, and a Sunn Collosus head among others. There are also tons of pedals around here that they left, three Big Muffs, lots of Electro Harmonix stuff, Voodoo Labs and a lot of stuff I've never seen before. We might also borrow and rent some amps but with so many choices already at our fingertips it might be too much. Still, I've got friends with Orange, Top Hot, Matchless and a '60 Bassman. We spent some time during basics swapping pedals and stuff around. I also switched mics and preamps around a few times for the one guitar player.

I'll be sure to take some pictures next week.

[jon]

Jay, I'd enjoy seeing pictures of your session...please post them when you can.