bring Guitar recording on higher level

[phonobank]

Hey folks I am in the recording business for a couple of years and I have always trouble with my guitar recordings I mean the musicians really like the sound but I am not satisfied.Ok could be the mike ,could be the preamp could be the room(but with closemiking?) coul be me(I hope not) could be the cables.I checked every part a couple of times and the guitars sound is still not really "in your face" and kind of weak in a way.But what can I do ?I checked every spot on the speaker, different amps, boxes and so on . Please help

[Midiguy]

Can you post a clip and tell us your signal chain - everything from brand of guitar to mic to pre to A/D?

[phonobank]

Ho thanx for asking my path is :Gibson les paul standard to marshall 1960 vintage to sm57/md421 to api to protools
other path is k7 to peavey 6505 to engel vintage 4x12 to sm57/md421 to spl channel one to protools I hope that helps clips are coming

[Midiguy]

How are you getting from the API into Protools? Mbox, etc. Or do you have the API A2D in which case you might be going digital?

[phonobank]

Hi thanx for asking again! I am going into the protools digi002 system analogue via vovox cable the other way is going into logic platform via rme AD/DA converter and hdsp 9652 PCI card but most of the time I am using protools because the summing seems to be way better.I hope that is enough information.all the best

[maskedman72]

Originally Posted by phonobank

Hey folks I am in the recording business for a couple of years and I have always trouble with my guitar recordings I mean the musicians really like the sound but I am not satisfied.Ok could be the mike ,could be the preamp could be the room(but with closemiking?) coul be me(I hope not) could be the cables.I checked every part a couple of times and the guitars sound is still not really "in your face" and kind of weak in a way.But what can I do ?I checked every spot on the speaker, different amps, boxes and so on . Please help

i had the same problem.the clients were satisfied with the sound but i was not.

your signal chain should yeild great results.

my sound got better once i got a better a/d box and clocked the 002 from it.

my sound got even better once i started playing with the amp and mic placements.

take your time with mic placement.

right now for me my gear is great so it lies on me if it dont sound good. i had to improve my skills to get better sounds.

[Vatraxos]

Ok I've decided to give away my in your face secret...

Assuming you're using a tube head....for rythm guitars

1) You need a load box (motherload is the best one I know of) with speaker sim that will also let you route the signal to your guitar cab.

2) Blend 2 mics (I use an sm57 with a royer 121) with the direct signal (load box) to taste.

3) Repeat the process using a different head and blend again. Yep that makes 6 chanels per rythm part.

This works wonders for me..


Cheers,


V

[psycho_monkey]

with that front end, you should be able to get a satisfying guitar sound! The AD conversion in the 002...well, it's not a Lavry, but it's unlikely to be letting you down THAT much.

What sort of space are you recording your guitars in? if you've got a nice room, try an ambient mic as well...or try backing the mics off the guitar cab a little. It basically comes down to experimentation. You shouldn't need to buy additional converters etc to get a good sound with what you've got - I doubt it's going to be the missing link in your sound.

You are running into inputs 5-8 of the 002 aren't you? don't want to go through 2 lots of preamps....

[Bassmec]

Yes ribbon and dynamic + careful attention to position and the phase of those then tweak the phase tool on the motherload. Hey presto! Instant Ramstien.

[Charlie_M]

How many guitar tracks are you putting down (just for rhythm gtr)?

[phonobank]

Hi it depends sometimes two sometimes more most of the time two for one guitarplayer,sometimes different mikes sometimes same mikes..

[Charlie_M]

OK I'm pretty new to recording also but something I just started trying is to put two different performances into two channels and pan them wide, then come back and put a 3rd performance up the middle and adjust levels to taste. I feel like I finally found the "BIGNESS" I have been looking for on guitars.

If you have already tracked and can't go back and get another performance onto the hard drive, you can try to duplicate the two tracks you have for a total of 4, put the first two panned hard to one side, the other two (duplicates) panned hard to the other side, and apply a short delay (in the range of 10 -20 mS to taste) to the duplicated tracks.

I think it works better with different performances of the same part on each track but the dup/delay bit can do OK too. It's a different kind of sound, not quite as BIG as separate performances from what I can tell, but a lot bigger than a straight single performance (even one with two mics). I think it has a flangy/chorusy type of flavor when you do it that way (dup/delay) that you don't get with multiple performances and no delay applied.

Charlie

[Absolute]

If your looking at converters for improvment on guitar your looking in the wrong place. There is no highend. Not only will hear virtually no difference in solo but in a mix there will be no difference to speak of.

[Kenny M]

My favorite combination is a Royer 121 into Chandler TG2 combined with a 57 (or 421) into Chandler Germ Pre and blend to taste. I have Neve's, API's, Shadow Hills and Chandler LTD1's and this is the favorite combination of all I've tried.

That being said, their isn't that much difference to the end result between all of these pre's and stellar results can be obtained with any of them including your setup. It really all comes down to the guitar and amp and of course the player.

If you're not getting the results you want I would spend money in the guitar and amp dept. before you try anything else. This is so often overlooked, but the biggest improvement I've found in my guitar tracks have been found by trying a lot of guitars and amps. It really is all about that and the "nut behind the wheel". Same goes for drum sounds. The chase with pre's and hardware may get you a 5% improvement, but the guitar and amp used even when comparing say two Les Pauls can completely change the vibe and quality of the whole song.