Improving My Guitar Sound...
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Posted on Mar 12, 2005 10:59 pm
Satellite Jack
Member Since: Nov 29, 2004
I just came up with a riff I like, but my recording set-up (especially for guitar) is so bare bones that I just cant stand the sound. So my question is what should I upgrade?
I mic up my amp for recording (I like the ambience), and I have a 25 dollar mic along with the standard soundblaster soundcard. Also... I'm only 16 so i'm on a budget lol.
I provided a clip of my riff so you can hear what I'm getting... maybe it'll help in making a suggestion...
www.purevolume.com/davidpaine
The track is "guitar sample"
Thanks!
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LokiCone PokerMember
Since: Apr 07, 2002
Mar 12, 2005 11:27 pm I didn't check out the clip cause I'm at work and don't have speakers but I'll try to help ya out.
First off, you are going to want to upgrade soundcards and mics eventually. While it is possible to get decent sounds with a SB, it's pretty hard. I know what it's like to have a slim budget though, trust me heh.
Alright, we're going assume that you have 250 dollars to work with, which may or may not be the case but lets pretend it is. First thing I'd do is upgrade the soundcard. Heres a nice little one that will get ya started for 99 bucks: service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear
Alright, so we got a good card with better converters... sweet. Now we need a mic. Well, it's no secret that the industry standard for micing a guitar cab is the shure sm57, so we'll pick one of those up too: service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear thats gonna cost 89 bucks... so the total so far (without shipping) is: 188 dollars.
Now, you can either use the leftover cash for cables and whatnot, or if you don't have a mixer or mic pre you can get a nice little one like this service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear for 49 dollars.
49 added to our 188 is 237. Cool, we still have money for shipping.
Alright, so the gears come in the mail and has been installed and whatnot, rocking, now we need to put it to good use. First off is get the guitar tone you want from the amp and guitar, get this as close to possible as you can. Secondly put that mic up to your amp and record, playing with mic placement. With the set up I outlined you'll have a better mic, better d/a converters, and a decent mic pre to start out with, and you can upgrade later. That should get ya off your feet though.
Mar 12, 2005 11:39 pm wow. You should write a book man! I owe you one... and I'm all over that 89 dollar mic. I just about sh@t a brick when I saw how expensive they could get.
Thanks a million!
LokiCone PokerMember
Since: Apr 07, 2002
Mar 13, 2005 01:55 am I posted the wrong link to the mic, heres the right one service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear the 57 rocks, and can be put right up to the grill of your amp with no problem, and can also handle vocals pretty well I hear. While flashy expensive gear is nice if you can make good music with the basics then that's all you need. Down the line you may want more mics and a better soundcard and mixer, and you're definatly going to want some good monitors, but those all cost money so It just takes time. I will warn ya though, you start getting into serious recording and expect to see all your money go bye bye lol.
But yeah, mics can be outrageously expensive. I personally use a bunch of cheap mics, I got three MXL's which rock to me for the price. That said, I'd love to have a nice nueman through a neve console.... never gonna happen though haha.
The most important thing imho on recording guitar is to get the sound as close to what you want as possible before it even goes into your sequencer though, nice mincs and soundcards will help, but if the signal coming out of the amp sounds like crap all you're doing is using nice gear to record crap.
There are a few articles on this site about rcording and micing guitars, I suggest reading em over.
And you're more than welcome
Mar 13, 2005 10:11 am hey I just listened, and I think there's nothing wrong with your sound right now, Of course there's ALWAYS room for improvement, but then I'd wait till you have a somewhat larger budget.. what you have now, will sound great when mixed and EQ properly, I couldn't hear it all that good, cuz the drums were kinda destracting but I think it sounds good...
when it comes to guitar's it's all about double tracking to get that nice sound
I do the same for my vocals sometimes I end up with around 10 tracks but hey, if it works :D
try double tracking and make sure you double track real tight, and then Mix those , pan them left and right, one center and lower the volume on that one, Eq them differently one with reverb other with..
Have fun
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Mar 13, 2005 12:02 pm I gotta agree with Loki,
Using any sound card or audio interface that is not specifically engineered for recording is like using a hose with holes in it. No matter how much you turn up the pump you just can't get all of water out of the end of the hose. Forty buck mic or 2k buck mic and neither will make it into the computer. Get that squared away first. Then any changes you make will make it to the computer. Until that if fixed any changes in mics, pre-amps, etc, etc, are only marginal.
Mar 14, 2005 05:38 pm Hey Satellite Jack, if you're open to the idea of an amp modeler and going direct, I just got the PODxt and it is AWESOME! I'm able to get guitar sounds that would easily rival your typical mic'd amp setup. It sounds just as good and just as warm. You can choose from several different amps, several microphones, and microphone settings and placements in front of the amp. The effects are endless. Why settle for just one amp when you can have twenty or thirty? My recordings almost sound live. I would recommend the PODxt to anyone who records guitar. I think it runs about $250-$300 and is worth every penny. I owned a J-Station and this thing blows the J-Station off the map. The possibilities are endless with the PODxt. It gave me the professional sound I was always looking for. BINGO! Check one out.
