Recording Distorted Guitars...what do you think?
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Posted on Nov 08, 2008 09:28 pm
boedonaldson
Sir SM57
Member Since: Jan 29, 2008
Ok so ive been reading alot of posts on people recording guitars and having trouble getting clear sounding distorted guitars. Ive just uploaded a rough song in my profile with some guitars ive recorded. Have a listen and see what you think.
-Both clean and distorted recorded with an SM57.
-Amp was a Mesa Boogie Lonestar. Clean channel cranked.
-DBX 166XL compressor in the effects loop. (DD-6 delay pedal added for clean parts)
-Very slight amount of amp reverb.
-Distorted guitars were driven by a Boss OD-2 in the front end of the amp, turbo on with level all the way up, tone at 3 o'clock and drive at 9-10 o'clock (notice not much).
Ok so heres what I can sum up as far as recording distorted guitars.
-Its much better to get a driven clean/semi distorted sound on your amp at LOUD volumes and then drive the front end with a pedal.
-By using the gain on your compressor wisely it can help bring back any bite or definition lost in the preamp section of your amp.
-Not using to much bass to get a chunky sound (the bass guitar was invented for a reason)can help bring clarity.
- MIDS, MIDS, MIDS...as alot of people have said, very much a broken record topic. If you want a metal sound, cut the mids out in your post eq when mixing.
- When miking your amp, for best results, get alot of static noise happening from your guitar and amp (usually the stuff you try and get rid of)..then with some good quality headphones move the mike around the cone till you find the most even and clearest sound (static has frequencies too).
- Dont necessarily use high output pickups all the time for distorted guitars. My guitar was recorded with a Les Paul
with Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II's (same as Slash...LOW OUTPUT PICKUPS).
-Good quality cables are a MUST. Dont bother trying to record guitars with the worlds best guitar amp setup and try and run crap cables between them.
-Panning hard left and right has a great effect and has a big sound.
-Clean guitars do like a little bit of drive to them.
-And I must say again...VOLUME.....
Anyhow thats what I have learnt and my insight on the topic. I have not listened to the recording through anything other than my Adam A7's so I do apologise if it doesnt sound to superb on a home stereo or computer speakers. And remember it is a rough mix.
Any comments, tips or suggestion are appreciated. Hope this has been usueful for some people.
Cheers, Boe
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 08, 2008 10:16 pm Nice sounding track for sure.
I'll only add that keeping the distortion down a bit when recording will help attain a good sound. What sounds good in a live loud situation can turn to crap when recorded. A little goes a long way once it hits the track.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Nov 09, 2008 02:37 am i agree with what you wrote there Boe.
with all that in mind, i think mic placement is pivitol.( yes i know it pivots)
can be the difference between that scratchy sound you cant get rid of.
also, im working out now, not to strive for the absolute most clarity you can get. just something under that, otherwise it becomes too out there in the mix.
for me finding the best clarity and then backing up a bit to where it was just previous to that is the way to go.
gets rid of that scratch and too much presence.
guitars, afterall, need to sit back to a degree in the mix.
then the clarity comes up with the rest of the instruments in the final mix.
now, if i can just do what i said, world domintation is a surety.
Nov 09, 2008 03:16 am thanks for the feedback guys. I would just like to note that after listening through my headphones to get the best mic position with the static method, my mic was slightly off axis and had the best results. I think this takes away the scratchiness your talking about Deon. Yeah a little less distortion may have helped bring a bit more clarity. But I guess for people who want that 'gainy' feel and not necissarilly just sound also the driven clean channel with the slight overdrive is the way to go. I also feel more volume seems to seperate the buzziness and scratchiness of distorted guitars also.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Nov 09, 2008 03:26 am yeah off axis seems the go.
and even back off the grill a 1 1/2 inches, backs the speaker noise off quite a bit.
i always used to mic just off the centre of speaker a bit, off axis, but Noize suggested to the edge of the speaker cone off axis, which i feel helped massivley.
i think a good pre is very helpful too.
and...and....and...where does it end?
like you say, right down to the leads and speaker cables too.
i love this stuff man, keeps the brain(whats left of it) well oily.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 09, 2008 03:15 pm Yep, for the close mic off access is usually the best bet. Although I have done some jazz guitar sounds that were almost straight on and it worked pretty well. But it was near the edge of the cone as well.
TimmieBrink of Sanity RecordingMember
Since: Nov 27, 2008
Nov 27, 2008 03:12 am If you have access to more than an SM 57 the best way i've found for recording distorted guitars is to mic the crap out of it and use each channel like a paintbrush to shape your sound.
I put a SM57 right on the grill of the amp, a sennhieser 421 about 8 inches (depending on room) from the front, a Shure Beta 52 in the rear of the amp, any large condenser mic about 10-20' away in the room, and sometimes some sort of omni about 1-3' over the amp...
I know this sounds retarded but i've been doing it for a while and its been the best way to having all sorts of options while mixing. I don't like adding stuff to a clean guitar...this is one of the few times i trust the artist's prefered guitar tone. I can fix any problems with it before i push record and work with the amp in the room and mic placement is key but this works out every time for me.
