Feb 07, 2003 10:36 am Whoa-- I really messed up that post! Sorry about that double posting. Forgive me db! Don't kick me out! :-)
Electric Guitar EQ
Posted on Feb 07, 2003 10:36 am
PorpoiseMuffins
a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member Since: Oct 09, 2002
I need some tips on EQ-ing electric guitar tracks, especially in the mid-range. It's really hard to get it to sound anything like the pro tracks. My electric recordings always sound thin with too much bass and treble. I want it to fill in the gaps in the frequency spectrum of the song without turning it up so loud that it sounds out of place. Also, I like using the technique of splitting the guitar into two seperate tracks and putting a slight delay between the two, but I seem to get this sort of phaser/flanger/weird sound when I do that that I don't hear on professional recordings. On another note, I'm having some trouble knowing where to use reverb. Should I use it on the drums all the time? Just the snare drum or the whole set? Also, I need an opinion on which plug-in you think is better: Cakewalk FXReverb, or Cakewalk Reverb. What do you think?
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Feb 07, 2003 10:36 am Whoa-- I really messed up that post! Sorry about that double posting. Forgive me db! Don't kick me out! :-)
Feb 07, 2003 11:21 am OH! You are so banned from the forum for that double post! :-)
You are not saying if you are recording a distorted or clean electric (if you did say I missed it). I don't like delaying the double track technique, but I do like double tracking, panning them differently and EQing them slightly different. It adds body to the sound. As far as anything beyond that, it wouldbe nice to know what kind of electric you are recording, clean or dirty, as well as what else is generally in the mix.
Feb 07, 2003 12:52 pm Oh yeah, you're right, I did forget some important information there...
I'm talking about recording distorted electric guitar. I'm using an Epiphone "special model" going through a Fender 25 watt amp (10 in. speaker, I think) miced with an SM57 pointed at the center of the cone. I'm using the distortion on the amplifier. I've noticed that in many pro recordings it sounds like there is a difference between the guitar in the left and right speakers, and I know that sometimes that's because they are two different guitars all together, but I guess that can also come from delaying the speakers or different EQ tweaks. How much should I change the EQ and in what bands between the speakers? I'm going for a sort of pop/punk or just plain modern rock sound (Drums, Bass, and Distorted Electric). I really like the sound of the electric guitar on most of MxPx's stuff (The Ever Passing Moment). That's the kind of sound I'm going for, though anything close to it would be great. I really want to fill in the spaces in my mix so it sounds almost like there has to be more than one guitar. I've achieved some decent results by using the frequency spectrum analyzer in Izotope Ozone on the whole mix and trying to match it with another mix, but I'd like to do something about the guitar before I get to that stage. Eventually I'll get one of my band's songs up for you guys to critique, but all of them are only part-way done :-)
Feb 07, 2003 06:17 pm www.dbmasters.net/hrc/for...=1320&frm=1
That was a thread in which jues gave some good starting points for EQ on distorted guitar. This is what I've been doing with mine and it sounds great. Keep in mind that what jues gave us here is only a jumping off point and you will have to use your ears to get everything dialed in just right for your particular recording. Hope this helps you, it definitely helped me.
Feb 07, 2003 07:14 pm Thanks. I did see that thread, but I guess I didn't take very good note of it at the time. I'll try out that technique.
Feb 07, 2003 11:27 pm Porp mate...
First off try chaning the position you mic the amp. Tilt the amp upwards and place the mic about 15cms away from the grill and to the top right, pointing towards the centre.
Next up, you need to "double track" all your guitar parts - this means literally playing the same thing twice (so you end up with two, nearly identical recordings.) - pan one 90% left and one 90% right. Try flipping the phase on one, if you like that sound, great, if you don't, go back to the original phasing. (inverting the phase at this point is a matter of taste).
Next try appling the following FX chain:
1.) Compression - use a 3:1 - 5:1 ratio, set the atack at about 30ms and the relase at about 180ms - this should give you a nice "crunch" sound - slowly move the threshold down until you hit the "sweet-spot" (your ears will tell you when you hit it)
2.) EQ - These are *rough* guidelines, the key is to experiment! Roll off below 220Hz, Boost at 300Hz for bass (but go easy or it will add "mudd" very quickly), Cut at 380Hz (wide Q) and then boost pretty hard between 650-880Hz (this is the "grit" area). Boost around 4Khz for air and cut at 2Khz (tight Q) for crunch.
3. Reverb - Use a "ambient" patch with a lot of "pre-delay" (but not too much) - again, experiment with this until you get that "massive" sound (you'll know when you hit it).
Try these tips out and hit me back with your findings....
jues.
Feb 08, 2003 03:17 pm Thanks, I'll try that out...
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