Mixing distorted guitars Rick Rubin style

Not sure if anyone mentioned this but a good way to get a thick modern distortion sound is to put compression on the guitar before it hits the amp. The end result is a very smooth, thick sound. You can even make it pump a little with the beat if you want.
 
Some real advice.

Here's the kind of response you were probably actually looking for.

First off, compression is a very good thing. It gives guitars punch and clarity. It tightens up the low mid frequencies as they are usually the most prone to fluctuating. For punchy, "Rick Rubin" style guitars (do you mean Weezer, Slipknot?), you're going to want to set you're compressors to a pretty slow attack and a relatively fast release. This preserves the initial attack of the guitars but evens out the dynamics of the following signal. I can give you exact numbers and ratios if you want, but try experimenting first. In addition, use multiple compressors if possible as all the guitar tones mentioned here are HEAVILY compressed.
Now for EQ. This is the really difficult part. While compression is just a methodic standard, eq can vary quite a bit. Here are some guidelines though.
Cut off everything below around 95Hz. This low end is not "guitar" low end. This is where the bass and kick drum will be sitting in the mix so by cutting it from the guitar, ur making room for those instruments to be heard. The bulk of a guitars low end is around 120Hz. You can try boosting and cutting here accordingly. If the guitar sounds "cheap" or too "pawn shoppy", give it a gentle dip-down around the 500Hz. If the guitars do not have enough bite, you can boost em around the 5-6KHz range ever so slightly. Adjust the Q control according to preference. Last but not least. Cut everything above around the 12KHz range as this space should be reserved for the cymbals in the mix.
These eq tips are not meant to alter the sound of the guitar (because as acknowledged by yourself, you should be tracking a good sound anyways) but to make room for the other instruments in the mix. By limiting the frequencies that the guitar takes up, you are actually freeing it to be more forward and present in the mix as it is not arguing and competing with other instruments for sonic space. By compressing it, you can make the guitars louder PREDICTABLY. Hope this was helpful.
 
Any folk out there got pro experience with mixing distorted guitars?I have two guitars and used a 57 and a 58 on different speakers for tracking. Used a marshall dsl100 tube amp with 1960 4x12 cab. The two guitar tones are quite different but both play major parts in the mix. Both rythym alot of the time.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips atall on this matter of mixing.
I amnt sure whether to use a little compression or not yet. I have heard that if you dont hear a visible difference from using an effect, then dont use it, but when listening to commercial CDs like System of a down they must use some compression to give more body to them. The guitar tracks have good levels. By this i mean that when the guitars are heavy they are at a pretty consistent levels. Compression is not needed to bring down some parts of the waves and because of this i am confused as to whether i should even use compression.
I know that i should just listen and hear what is best, but i aint a pro, so any info from experience would be of a great help to me.

Heres a pretty safe bet with a two guitar part song:

0) Record both guitar parts on the the same amp and settings, and use the sam guitar
1) track the guitar 1 and then dub it
2) track guitar 2 and then dub it
3) pan one track of guitar 1 hard left and 1 track of guitar 2 hard right and leave a track of 1 and 2 in the middle
4)balance the volume between the 4 tracks so that nothing is dominate and it just has a good mix
5) cut 5000k all the way around (this is the one that hurts at loud volumes the most - to me at least)
6) cut around 6oohz the tracks for one guitar part
7) cut around 400hz the tracks for the other guitar part
8) cut somewhere around 200-250 all the way around to make room for a good bass sound
9) Open two more tracks and over dub the chorus pan these hard left and right - you can fill out and balance between the panning on the core tracks - usually sounds pretty good on the chorus (I mean if guitar one is panned left on the core track, then pan it right on the chorus dubs.)
10) Dub in a cool effect on the bridge
11) Over dub any lead parts with a thick bassy sounding guitar and mix it in good (cut the highs so that its not missed when the freqs disappear.)

I would use your availibility of gear combinations on the over dubing. It sounds like theres alot of oppertunity for cool sounds, but I definately would not try to over complicate it. Good with all the same stuff on the 1st 4 tracks.

please note that all the cuts that I suggested are to take place in post production
 
Tight tracks, less gain, layers, lowcuts. The magic happens in the midrange. Only mix guitars with everything else, they're probably gonna sound not so good solo'd.
 
i dont know how to mix "Rubin style".....but when i mix my distorted guitars....

i do add compression. Most of the time if im close micing my amp, it will always pick up a very dark, bassy sound (proximity effect), ............and by adding some compression...it will shave of some of the very low-low bassy stuff going on. BUT i only add VERY LITTLE compression (4:1) ratio and set the threshold so reducing only about 1-1.5 db of your guitar (and then again, that may be too much still). The end result is very inaudible....but you should notice the low end mudd will be slightly gone now....

then ill add some EQ, and boost about 8k quite a bit.....unitll the guitar starts to "shine/polish" and is bright enough in relevance with the other instruments.

if it lacks "bite/cut/edge", ill slowy add in some 2.5k

Always double track the guitar parts an layer them, 2 tracks per side of the stereo filed is a must. EQ the double track so instead of boosting the 2.5k, boost 4k (or something different) ......to make that double sound different....
 
Considering the OP posted this 4 years ago, I'm hoping he already has his sound down by now....or else.
 
You would need both the Marshall and a Mesa for the rhythms and a 57 and a U87 on the cabinets. Run that through a couple of 1176's.
 
In my opinion, I think a heavy, distorted guitar tone is accomplished by tight playing and less gain. Turn the gain knob to half of what you want it to sound like. I record the rhythm parts for my band. I record two takes and pan one hard left and the other hard right. I then record another take and put it smack in the middle. The key here is to make sure they are very tight takes.

I also focus on having a good bass tone, as well. I do not add compression as a distorted guitar is already heavily compressed.

I roll of a lot of low frequencies (<1500hz) and slightly boost (3dB at the max) the mids (2000hz-4000hz). I try not to screw with the high frequencies.

Hope all of our advice is helping you.
 
My recipe for Reuben style...

The thousand-island dressing has to be thick and rich. The cheap, thin stuff just does not stand up to the sauerkraut well enough. Don't skimp on the quality of the swiss cheese, and - here's the secret - Beefsteak Rye bread fried in butter on the outside.

G.
 
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