Modern rock guitar recording

[Analizemodmusic]

I am new to gearslutz and am not yet savy on navigating the threads to find what I need to know. So I am only starting this thread so that I can be directed to the right thread that already has the info I need. I need to know everything about recording heavy modern rock guitars. Whether it's on a gearslutz thread, another thread, a website or anything else. Please direct me to information about mic types; mic placement configurations; amplifier volume settings; preamp gain settings; preamp eq settings; phasing concerns; the way a source guitar sound should be recorded so that it sits in the mix right; pre preamp effects vs post preamp effects loops vs post mic processing with outboard gear vs digital plugins; single or double miced takes vs multiple miced takes vs single or double miced with multiple takes (layering), etc. Please... I am not trying to start a complicated thread unless there is not already a good source for all this information. Just direct me to it please.

[No4PCs]

Hi friend, im not very "modern", i still trying record guitar with the sm57 in front of the speaker !
I hope the other ones doing modern.

[Iceman]

I don't think a thread will solve all your problems. I mean you'll get some stuff from the internet, but I think you need to keep trying different options.

[guitardom]

you have obviously done some research to come up with some of the concerns you have. a lot of it is going to do with the rest of the mix, will it be a drum, vocal, or guitar dominant mix, how well do the drums, bass sound, how dense of a mix, to many options to just be able to research and be given answers.

how much reamping you wanna do?? still just an illusive game of find the guitar tone you want and capture it. i have spent WEEKS on sessions doing nothing more than finding the "tone" for the song. the tone has to be there first, then you can sweetin' it from there with eq compression and fx. and of course the mic pre situation.........api, neve, chandler, great river, daking, ua, every body has there own preferences.

multiple mics, typically, i like a 57 off center, 57 off axis facing the cone, and been exploring the ribbon thing lately to, but not profficient enough at it yet to give an opinion on that.

i suggest tracking down some threads by the guru, Mr. Michael Wagaener. the man is the best in my opinion for THE guitar tones.

these are all my unqualified opinions, good luck

[SuperGroupie]

You might want to check out Slippermans guide.
Its very inclusive:

Slippermans recording distorted guitars from hell

[jroystudios]

For a heavy sound remove a good bit of Mid add high and Low..
Use a duel Hum on the gtr. you know Gibson PRS type
Use a sm57 up close to the middle of cone
I also use a AKG 414 about 3 to 4 feet back. pad it -10db and you may need to low cut it at 75hz.
Turn the vol up so the amp breaks up a bit on its own unless this is to much for the speakers.
Add distortion / overdrive
I record this trk. then add a clean gtr trk under it and it will add massive punch to the distorted trk
I also will record the trk twice and pan them left / right for a big wide sound. You do give up some in your face punch but gain a really broad sound. Hope that helps

[D_T_Music]

There's really no ONE way to get a good heavy modern tone. It's all about experimentation and finding what works for you.

That said back when I was first getting into it I found this thread helpful:
Recording guys, how do you get such huge guitar sounds?

One of the common pieces of advice for getting a big guitar sound is to not overdo it with the gain.
Less gain, more layers.

Anyway, I hope the link helps.

[funkycam]

get a 57.
get the speaker cabinet off the floor (decouple)
record 10 secs. move the mic a small amount. listen again

lower gain has more transients so sounds punchier & thus bigger.

above all use your ears

[drumdrum]

All I will say is practice, practice, practice. It can take a few hours to get a good live sound, but it can take MONTHS to get a good recording sound.


The trick I find with modern guitar recordings is finding a space for it in the mix. Too much bass, the mushier it gets...too little bass, the thinner it sounds. Here are a few general tips. +1 on reading Slippermans guide by the way... Also google around for Andy Sneap techniques. Even if you're not doing metal, his tips and advice can apply to any genre.


Just a few tips off the top of my head...
High-pass filter is your friend! Apply to every guitar take between 80 - 150Hz as you see fit. I've seen some people even put it up to 250Hz so it depends on the genre and sound you want. I rarely go above 150Hz, with a shelving ramp of -18db to -36db. (I use Logics stock EQ).

Andy Sneap trick this: Multiband compress everything below 200 - 250Hz so that you get an average of -3db reduction at a fairly consistant amount throughout. Helps to tame the low end. Not for everyone, but I like this one myself.

Same trick as above, but this time your target is palm mutes. You want to set the threshold so that any palm mutes trigger a gain reduction, leaving the open strings alone.
(In fact I may be confused, and this may be the actual thing he does... maybe someone can correct me on this... I mean it makes more sense logically especially for hi-gain sounds)

Low Pass everything from between 7KHz to 10Khz. Leaves more room for cymbals.

ROOKIE MISTAKE WARNING!!
Ive seen LOADS of newbies mix a heavy guitar sound soloed and then wonder why it wont fit in the mix. The thing is, if you were to solo 99% of the modern guitar sound you think you are hearing on a record, you would be VERY surprised at how different it actually sounds, relative to how it is perceived on the record. Thats because the bass guitar is often un unsung hero on these records, with much of the heavy sound kudos wrongfully going to the guitar. (massive respect to good bass players!) And the kick adds alot too to the punchy-ness of a sound.
My point is...when recording or mixing guitars, always always always mix it in context with the whole mix. Checking tuning and fret noise in solo is fine, but anything else always with the whole mix playing, preferably maybe with vocals, but at very least with bass and drums..

So this raises the conundrum...how do you know you have a good recording sound if you havent mixed the bass or drums yet?
Well, there are many answers or this but what I do is I record the drums and bass first, and I get the drums to sound close to how I think I will want them to sound at the end of the mix. The bass, I take a little time with to compress and EQ and to get a good sound from it. If I DI the bass I usually parallel process the bass. Seriously, spend a couple hours at this if you can.

Then when you want to track your guitar, get a good sound at the source that you want.
"But wait...you said...with the whole mix playing...what??"
I know thats what you may be thinking, but the reason behind this is, I get a good sound at the source first, and THEN I start trying to fit it in to my drum and bass mini-mix. Usually what I find is I need to roll off the gain a fair bit and to lessen the treble and bass knobs on my amp, and pump the mids a little. Depends per song, but by doing this and then applying the EQ and compression above, I can hear my "near-final" tone before I've hit record! The idea of the DAW EQ is not to alter the tone, but to fit the guitar in the mix.


As for recording, I went down the amp modelling route for ages. While it is quick for scratch tracks and alternate sounds (I love TH2 for ambient/weird stuff), I wouldnt go near any of them for rhythm or lead tracks. You can get a great sound with them, but it takes so much effort and time, and IMHO.....they just dont have that "pushing air" sound that for me gives the guitar tone that final 5%.

Nothing beats (IMHO) a SM57 on axis near the cone of a good amp and cab. Nothing. The tone will also sound more realistic and will sound bigger, wider and easier to mix with than amp modellers. Sneap uses a single 57 in most of his songs I believe and the tone he gets is amazing!
Other mics worth a mention - MD421, Sennheiser E609 (? - check model number), Royer 121 (if you have $1200!!!)

Hope this helps and best of luck!]-DD