Hey Guys, its a pleasure to be here.. i have a few questions for the pros..
Home > Home Recording Forum > Recording Techniques > Hey Guys, its a pleasure to be here.. i have a few questions for the pros..
Posted on Jun 28, 2004 04:20 pm
Diesel724@aol
Member Since: Jun 28, 2004
first off. thanks for your time.
I'll tell you what equipment im using right now. i just recently got an M-Box and Pro Tools LE. I have condensor microphones. Radium Midi keyboard and reason to run it. I have monitoring headphones made by sennheiser.
My guitar is a Epiphone Les Paul which sounds great for a lot cheaper.. and I also have a BOSS ME-50 guitar multiple effects board.
Now, my questions...
1.) I have a good understanding on how to use pro tools. I bought the ignite book to use for reference too. Recording clean guitar or guitar with chorus and delay seems to sounds great... recording distortion sounds messy and awful. I want to know either a certain way to edit or set up distortion so its more together. To give your an idea of what I mean by "together" distortion listen to A Perfect Circles " The Hollow." Its intense but not sloppy like all of their music.
2.) I know very little about what to do with the music after i record it. As far as editing and master goes to give it the Pro sound. My ears are open to all your tips.
3.) I unfortunatly don't have a live drummer so I need to record with drum loops. I bought a MIDI keyboard and I have "reason" (the program) for this but I have very little knowledge on how to make drums sound great.
Thank You all SO much for your time.
Charlie
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Jun 28, 2004 06:02 pm Welcome to HRC!
How did you record the guitars? With a mic on the amp or directly out of the ME-50? Your problems sound kinda as if you tracked running direct with out a speaker simulator (I looked up the ME-50 and I'm pretty sure it's not equiped with one). The clean sounds would probably sound awesome but anything the least bit dirty would have a nasty high pitched fizzy tone.
If this is your scenario, your best bet would be to rerecord the distorted tracks by micing an amp.
Hope this helps
ciinxMember
Since: May 15, 2004
Jun 28, 2004 07:27 pm I am just a new home recordist and dont know much but i think micing an amp may be much too noisy for home recordings (still the best method if I record from a proper studio and mix at home).
I used to connect direct line from pre-amp out of my guitar amp into the soundcard while using headphones plugged into the headphone out of the amp. Depending on what type your amp is, the distortion sound is not so bad.
By the way I am using Boss ME-33 and the distortion sound really sucks if i use direct line.
Jun 28, 2004 07:51 pm yeah, i went from the guitar to the ME-50 to the M-Box.
I dont think that I'll be able to mic an amp though because from what I hear its really difficult.
Anyone else have experience with the M-Box?
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jun 28, 2004 08:22 pm Micing an amp is not that difficult . There's a great tutorial in the 'tips' section, Diesel, and you really do get a better sound that way . Give it a whirl, you may surprise yourself !
Jun 29, 2004 12:14 am Definately check out the tips section of this site, it'll help you in more ways than one to be sure. For distortion, I'd want to mic an amp. A small cranked amp sounds really good. To get an idea of where you want to place the mic, let someone play the guitar while you put your ear next to the amp. Move your ear around until you find the place that sounds best to you. Also, after doing this for the first time, I drastically changed the eq on my amp and distortion box. It sounds a LOT different when you got your head right next to the cone. BTW, I cant be held responsible for any loss of hearing caused by this technique. ;) Something else I've done recently to get a really heavy sound is to use less distortion than normal (quite a bit less!) and double track the guitar parts. I may be wrong, but I believe I got that tip from jues a while back. I've been in super-thick-heavy-guitar-heaven ever since!
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Jun 29, 2004 05:01 am yeah, get to 'that sounds cool' and then use about a third of that...
Jun 29, 2004 06:30 am If you are using an app that takes VST plug ins you can get a JCM800 plug in for FREE! Its very very good and cost is right :-)
Sounds very accurate too. Its on a site (Which I will find when I head home from the office and post later) looking into the REAL sound. No commercial project involved. They also have boss effects they have modelled. FANTASTIC!
And all for free.
I was most impressed with the JCM800 tho. It has ALL the settings of the famous marshall and it is authentic. They actually dis all the companies who claim to haev "realistically modelled" amps as theres is better (and it probably is). So, if its any gid - I will post the link later.
You could also consider buying a commerical modeller like Amplitube if you have VST - its expensive but it has dozens of modelled amps - and all very good. clean and distorted with FX.
Good luck anyways...
Coco.
Jun 29, 2004 06:49 am care to say WHERE to get the JCM800 VST?
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jun 29, 2004 07:03 am Woot, give up the free stuff !
Jun 29, 2004 10:08 am hey, yeah, i actually have a version of amplitube that came with Pro Tools.
I'm going to read the tutorial on micing an amp and see what I can do with that.
My next beautiful questions though...
How do I edit, mix and master... I dont really understand what goes into those processes. any tips would be great.
Most importantly... how can I get drums to sound great? any good sites with good loops or anything?
thanks so much guys!
guitwizzNothing doesnt give me gasMember
Since: May 25, 2004
Jun 29, 2004 10:13 am cocos holding out, trying to make some side dough-age....hehe
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Jun 29, 2004 12:20 pm Quote:
How do I edit, mix and master... I dont really understand what goes into those processes. any tips would be great.
again, in the recording tips section theres articles on each of these ya ight find useful
wheres this plug in at btw coco?
Jun 29, 2004 12:41 pm Hey Guys
Like I'd hold out on you guys!! I had no time earlier plus I couldnt find the link...
But now...
I have!
www.simulanalog.org/
Enjoy! I think this stuff is good myself. Its all free so you cant knock the price. Its actually a JCM900 and theres also a Fender amp too! Sounds good with my Fender Strat and JCM sounds good with my Epi Les Paul.
Anyways..enjoy and let me know what you think of the gear.
These guys are to be applauded developing such things in the name of "academic projects".
DB or Noize - can you sling this one in the links section for the good of everyone?
Cheers
Coco
Jun 29, 2004 12:43 pm Noize will, thats his job :-)
I have played with one JCM900 in my life and I thiough that was the worst and most expensive piece of crap I have ever played thru...
Thanks for the link tho...
Jun 29, 2004 01:06 pm I'm not a Marshall fan either but I think the plug-ins look very promising especially for free. Sucks that vsts don't work in pro tools though.
BTW Diesel, I see that you only have condensors. If you use one of those to mic your amp, be careful not to have your amp too loud as condensors are more prone to overload (in extreme cases even diaphram damage) than dynamic mics such as a shure sm-57. No need have the amp whisper quiet just not blaringly loud. Good luck
Jun 29, 2004 05:21 pm Love my Marshall - the sound of rock and a generation of rockers!
But, each to their own. If I had the space and cash I'd have a couple of JCM's and a couple of 4x12's in my living room - tho, Id probably not have my wife any more :-)!
Still..every cloud and all!
hehehe
Coco.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jun 29, 2004 09:14 pm It'll be in there in a minute. Thanx coco.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jun 29, 2004 09:23 pm OK its in there coco.
Also, I will just say on my part. A Marshall sounds best when played through with a proper guitar. If you dont have a guitar and pickups meant to be played through one, it will be awfull. Also they are very touchy tone wise, with no room for error. I have owned several and only liked a few of them.
Jun 30, 2004 03:44 pm Aye - I agree wi you on that Noize.
I have a genuine Fender Strat which sounds good thru the Marshall..I tried Fender amps and didnt like the tones. My Les Paul sounds very good thru the marshall but its like bread and butter..marshall and a les paul!!! A marriage made in heaven...
Ive never changed my amp in 10 years tho - I do love the big heavy beast of an amp that it is! I am also getting right into my VAMP...its givin me some good tones, as does Amplitube. To start with, I was struggling to get the tones from the VAMP (cause Id messed up the presets!). Set it to factory default and now its sweet as a nut!
Coco
