Hey everyone, I'm trying to record an EP for my solo metalcore project and I'm looking for some advice on guitar recording. I've got a Schecter C-1 that I'm trying to record direct. I'm in an apartment and strapped for cash, so an actual guitar rig might be out of the question at the moment. I'm trying to find a good amp simulator to get a sound similar to bands like As I Lay Dying, Darkest Hour, All Shall Perish, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations? Outboard gear is fine too as long as its under about $500.
I should probably mention that I'm currently using Cubase 5 on a Mac Pro and I'm using a Presonus Firestudio.
I play an occasionally aggressive style as well, and softube's metal amp room is my favorite for that, try the lower gain setting at about 1/4 gain pull up the presence and compress after.
Guitar rig is good with chewier, less articulate tones.
Try running them both at once if you can, they're complimentary.
have you tried Amplitube 3? the basic package is now free and you can pay for extra amps/stomp boxes etc but i was surprised as to how good the free package sounds. may be worth a try, it won't cost you anything
Especially when it's metal, in my experience the rack Sansamp (psa) sounds much better than any Pod or digital amp simulation ... and the very first edition of it without the patch memory sounds best- they can be found for under 500 I think
Hey everyone, I'm trying to record an EP for my solo metalcore project and I'm looking for some advice on guitar recording. I've got a Schecter C-1 that I'm trying to record direct. I'm in an apartment and strapped for cash, so an actual guitar rig might be out of the question at the moment. I'm trying to find a good amp simulator to get a sound similar to bands like As I Lay Dying, Darkest Hour, All Shall Perish, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations? Outboard gear is fine too as long as its under about $500.
I should probably mention that I'm currently using Cubase 5 on a Mac Pro and I'm using a Presonus Firestudio.
Line 6 Spider series ... try all the different sizes and find the one that sounds best in your space. I had the 75w 1x12 Spider II for about 8 years until it broke. It was better sounding than 95% of the amps it was ever up against, *especially for metal sounds* ... it's the "fender champ" of metal.
Also try the peavey 6505 series for backround layers.
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Being limited in what I can do at home, and thus unable to do a proper miking of a real amp like you are, I spent A LOT of time on trying amp sims - software and hardware - and worked with almost all of the usual contenders. I ended up with an Axe Fx 2 and am extremely happy with it, but it is beyond your mentioned budget. So from my experience, I would give you these recommendations:
Software:
For metal guitars, I found two amp sims to beat pretty much all the others:
- Softube Metal Amp Room, something around 100-150 bucks
- IK Multimedia Amplitube 3 Free, go to the Custom Shop and buy the German Hi-Gain "Anger" model, 30 bucks or so, and you can always get more stuff as single purchases, a very affordable exercise
For both cases, I would only use them for the amp sims and TURN OFF the cab sims and get the Two Notes Torpedo PI-101 Modern software (50$) or the Redwirez Big Box (somewhat above 100$) as a separate cab sim. They are much better than the cab sims that are part of the amp sim plugins.
Hardware:
I found the POD HD500 to have useable sounds in the high gain territory. The Mesa, Diezel and Engl models sound quite ok, especially if you also disable the cab sims on the POD and also use above mentioned cab sims.
Trust me, the cabs make a HUGE difference.
So, there you go. If CPU power is no issue, and you want to be able to shape the amp sound during mixing, go with the software, if you need to save on CPU load or want to work focused and fast and make early decisions on which sounds to use, get the POD.
Last edited by parlopower; 2nd May 2012 at 01:44 PM..
Reason: Typos
Buy an Engl E530 preamp, new 500$, so you could maybe get a used one for 350-400$, run that line in into your audio interface, and then into cab impulses (Torpedo PI-101 Modern or Redwirez)! That combines real tube sound with excellent cab impulses. You can find examples for that on Youtube, search there for "Engl E530 direct" or the like.
+1
This plugin really nails a "metal" guitar sound IMHO
LISTEN TO THIS MAN.
He and Dave Ben are guilty of, errrr, I mean responsible for my favourite sounding album of all times, Breaking Benjamin's "Dear Agony". I still wonder how they got the rhythm guitars on the whole album sound so incredibly BIG with just two baritone guitar tracks...
If I could afford him I would hire him to mix my upcoming EP...!!!
Read this, too, from an engineer called Slipperman who is on here. Yes, it refers to miking up real amps in a well equipped studio which is pretty much the opposite of your situation, but the theory is bang on and it's worth absorbing the priceless info contained within as you tweak your own sounds. Plus, it's properly entertaining:
I have AT3 Free and bought in the Custom Shop the emulations of:
Soldano SLO-100
Metalhead MH-500
Metal Lead V (Peavey 5150)
Metal Lead W (Randall Warhead)
I also trialed pretty much ALL of the high gain models ("Lead" models as they are called in AT3). I found none of them as useful for high gain as those above, except for the "German Gain" model, which was even better. I would have bought it IMMEDIATELY, if I had not received my Axe Fx 2 already, which made me stop buying any guitar software whatsoever.
If you want to go the AT3 route, I would recommend get AT3 Free and buy German Gain from the Custom Shop. That or Softube Metal Amp Room. These two beat all the others FOR MY TASTE. But then, I also love the Axe Fx 2, so I am by any definition of any tube amp lover a despicable brainless deaf monster that crawled out from under a stone at the bottom of Mount Clueless.
That being said, I think the Metalhead MH-500 would accompany the German Gain model (or Metal Amp Room) nicely with a rather different and therefore complimentary sound.
PODS are great for metal tones. I haven't tried too many softwares, but if you're going digital, metal is the genre to do it. The Redwirez impulses are phenoms in their own right.
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Read this, too, from an engineer called Slipperman who is on here. Yes, it refers to miking up real amps in a well equipped studio which is pretty much the opposite of your situation, but the theory is bang on and it's worth absorbing the priceless info contained within as you tweak your own sounds. Plus, it's properly entertaining:
It is THE most authentic sim that I have yet come across and I am a dyed in the wool valve amp fiend here!
It really is quite astonishingly good .... and NOT only limited to METAL ... at low gain it is the only choice for classic rock type tones in my opinion. (when you can't or don't want to go to the 'trouble' of micing up your amp)
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Once you have some great cab IR's you could even take an actual guitar pre, plug it into your interface and use the impulses to simulate the speaker, or do it all ITB and use an amp simulator, but the former works better IMO. Here are some great cab IR's for a stupidly cheap price.
Metal can get some great tones from sims and modelers, moreso than other genres. Cab impulses are critical, absolutely. Recording techniques and a good source are also critical. Watch your gain, and play from the heart.
ive found using amplitube or the POD farm demo to be great then playing it through my Microcube with an SM57 right up close helps get the sound im after
I used a Sansamp PSA-1 when I was in a similar situation. It's not as good as a full on mice'd cab but if you live in an apartment it will get the job done.
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are guilty of, errrr, I mean responsible for my favourite sounding album of all times, Breaking Benjamin's "Dear Agony". I still wonder how they got the rhythm guitars on the whole album sound so incredibly BIG with just two baritone guitar tracks...
