Tips & Techniques:What the best way to mute the intial pick attack for guitars?

Let me 'splain a bit clearer. I have an idea for recording guitars. Two amps-one set up with medium gain for great clarity and attack, really percussive. Then one set up with more gain for the sustain of the chords/notes. Would there be a techniques to mute the mushier attack of the second amp then let it sustain? Just a crazy thought...

[Subversounds]

Jeff Beck used to do that with the volume knob of his guitar...

[BillytheMTN]

Zappa did something similar but I don't know exactly how. You can hear it on most of his stuff from the '88 tour. I believe it incorporated an envelope filter that muted the initial attack of the distorted amp.
There's also something similar he did with 2 Bi-phase units. An envelope filter when open would pitch one signal down a few cents and the other would open up and trigger the second bi-phase with a pitch up. Not exactly sure how but I know he used envelope filters to create the effect.

[Suda Badri]

Originally Posted by BillytheMTN

Zappa did something similar but I don't know exactly how. You can hear it on most of his stuff from the '88 tour. I believe it incorporated an envelope filter that muted the initial attack of the distorted amp.
There's also something similar he did with 2 Bi-phase units. An envelope filter when open would pitch one signal down a few cents and the other would open up and trigger the second bi-phase with a pitch up. Not exactly sure how but I know he used envelope filters to create the effect.

Is there anything zappa didnt do?

[rty5150]

if you could get a gate to be slow at opening that would work.
i think the sonnox transmod does some smoothing of transients as well.

[Marcocet]

Or use a compressor and place one of the more attacky guitars in the sidechain, filtered so that mostly the "clicky" frequency is still coming through. It'll duck the guitar out of the way of the other attacks.

Ducking. It's fun for the whole family.

[Mr.HOLMES]

Let the guitar player use a thicker pick with a round edge.
A thicker pick also gives him more control about the TONE!!!!

There are several products on the Market.

For example the "Dunlop Jazztone Picks" have a nice sound and the click noise is minimized.

[bbgallaway]

First thought is SPL Transient Designer. A lot of the other techniques mentioned would probably work just fine, but the SPL would do the job just by turning one dial. There are a few other pieces that perform an identical function as well, I just can't think of any of their names right now.

[Steck]

Originally Posted by Suda Badri

Is there anything zappa didnt do?

LOL!

[Mr.HOLMES]

Originally Posted by bbgallaway

First thought is SPL Transient Designer. A lot of the other techniques mentioned would probably work just fine, but the SPL would do the job just by turning one dial. There are a few other pieces that perform an identical function as well, I just can't think of any of their names right now.

Why not just starting at the source and using the right pick?
It saves money and is effective and saves work instead of fixing it in the mix.thumbsup