Guitar tracks sounding chorusy

V

Vidko

New member
Hello everyone!

I am working on a song and got stuck at the guitar recording stage. The problem I am dealing with -at least that is what I think- is unwanted chorus-like effect that occurs when playing two individually recorded guitar tracks, both are mono and center panned. If my understanding of double tracking is correct, this shouldn't be happening. Right?

In the effort of discovering the source of the unwanted chorus effect I have tried all kinds of amp sim variations, but the problem persists. I am using Line6's Gearbox and a Toneport GX. I have also tried different amp sims - LePou, Guitar Rig. Same issue. Then I have tried the same setup, on a different computer with no success. I have jet to try a different audio interface and guitar, but I was hoping that someone might be able to offer some advice as to what might be the problem. Here is a clip that demonstrates the issue. The chorus is especially obvious at the end of the guitar phrase where a slide takes place.



Every bit of advice is greatly appreciated.

Regards
 
Sounds like two guitars recorded in mono and panned to the centre to me.

I've recorded singers whose pitching is so accurate that you get a phasey-chorus type sound when they double-track. It's what happens.

I expect you've got the tracks centred for testing purposes.

When you pan the apart you would get a much more pleasing sound. Double-tracked guitars that are centred will always sounds messy to me.
 
gecko zzed said:
Sounds like two guitars recorded in mono and panned to the centre to me.

I've recorded singers whose pitching is so accurate that you get a phasey-chorus type sound when they double-track. It's what happens.

I expect you've got the tracks centred for testing purposes.

When you pan the apart you would get a much more pleasing sound. Double-tracked guitars that are centred will always sounds messy to me.
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Hi Gecko.

Thank you very much for your reply.

To answer your question, I have recorded two tracks with different setups to have more material for the mixing stage. Speaking of which, the project hasn't progressed to that stage because I was under the impression that something is fundamentally wrong with all my guitar recordings and mixing could turn out to be a roayal pain in the ***. Anyhow, here are the two tracks panned 70L 70R. Maybe it' just a placebo consequence because I have been dealing with this issue for the past few days, but I can still hear some of that chorus :facepalm: Can you? Or anyone else?



Thanks!
 
Maybe you have ended up convincing yourself that there is chorusing there.

Perhaps if someone else has a listen they might hear it . . . or not . . . and offer an opinion.

If it is there it doesn't worry me.
 
Have you tried playing two DIFFERENT guitar parts instead of playing the part exactly the same both times? The idea of double tracking is the differences between the two takes makes it fuller. Your two parts sound so close there is no real difference.
 
If you are doubling the track in order to have two different amps at the same time, you might be better off reamping the same performance through the different amps. The chorusing wont happen that way.

Most of the time you would double the guitar track to get stereo, stacking performances always sounds like that. Pan them 100% away from each other and you will get a wide stereo field that leaves plenty of room for everything else in the mix
 
mjbphotos said:
Have you tried playing two DIFFERENT guitar parts instead of playing the part exactly the same both times? The idea of double tracking is the differences between the two takes makes it fuller. Your two parts sound so close there is no real difference.
Click to expand...

Hi mjbphotos. Thank you for helping out. Yes, I have tried that. The song contains sections where I play two different guitar parts, one on on top of the other, and the chorus effect doesn't occur. The reason I got worried is because I heard or read somewhere that one needs to make guitars work in mono before making any panning decisions.
 
Farview said:
If you are doubling the track in order to have two different amps at the same time, you might be better off reamping the same performance through the different amps. The chorusing wont happen that way.

Most of the time you would double the guitar track to get stereo, stacking performances always sounds like that. Pan them 100% away from each other and you will get a wide stereo field that leaves plenty of room for everything else in the mix
Click to expand...

Hi Farview. Thank you for the useful tips. Now I am convinced that this is normal behavior and -including your suggestions- I have enough different techniques to try out with my next recording. However, I will try to use wide panning with this one since everything is already recorded.
 
Vidko said:
Hi mjbphotos. Thank you for helping out. Yes, I have tried that. The song contains sections where I play two different guitar parts, one on on top of the other, and the chorus effect doesn't occur. The reason I got worried is because I heard or read somewhere that one needs to make guitars work in mono before making any panning decisions.
Click to expand...

The guitars do work in mono. It will always sound like two different performances, because it is. If your playing wasn't so precise, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. But since the guitars don't actually cancel out or anything, there is nothing really wrong with them.
 
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