how do you record your electric guitar w/ distortion?

grn

grn

Well-known member
I don't think my results are very good. I am using a Shure SM57 and mic'ing a Crate Cabinet w/ distortion on ... crate is my favorite distortion. I have my mic placed about 6 inches away from the cab, facing downward towards one of the speakers in the cab towards the center of the cone. I turned my low almost all the way down so it's not boomy and I turned my distortion down much so that I could still hear the chord/notes... the solo's are turning out ok, but the power chords still sound too muddy to me. I'm going for a weezer sound.
 
here is an example of what I'm getting

tell me what you think of this sound...

especially the power chords in the background, panned 50% left and right double tracked... I'm having trouble distinguishing them over the solo. =\



or is this a good recording? who the hell knows anymore. I can't tell what's good sounding or not, I've been trying all day.
 
I record with a Crate amp with a 57 a half inch from the grill, parallel to the side, and pointing inward towards the cone. I record in a walk-in closet.

Having the mic six inches away from the cab might be part of your problem because it is picking up more of the room.
 
I listened to your mp3, and I really don't find anything wrong with the guitar sounds. However, judgements on whether something sounds good should always be made within the context of a mix of other instruments.
 
First try panning those guitars hard left and right. I listened to your MP3 on decent computer speakers with a sub woofer and they did not sound boomy at all, they actually sounded too edgy. I would put the low end back into the amp and scoop it out in the mix.

I am not sure I have ever met anyone whose fave distortion was from a crate amp, but if you like it, than go for it. A few things to keep in mind about micing distorted guitar. 57 is a good first choice. Micing on the cone will be brighter and edgier, micing out by the speaker edge will be smoother sounding. The closer you get to the grill of the cab the more low end you will get (thanks to proximity effect of a cardioid mic.)and it will sound "tighter" . Moving the mic further back will sound more open and a less pronounced low end.
 
I recorded the electric guitars in my song in the signature line with a Digitech RP50 with the cabinet simulation on, direct into the sound card.

What do you think? I'm pretty happy. I think it sounds good for a $60 box!
 
As far as the edgy sound goes... there was no bass included in that mix and had a bass been added, I think the lower frequencies would have smoothed it out a bit... or perhaps I can add some more low in, but I don't want to compromise muddiness.
 
Yeh the rythym guitar in the background is way back.

I agree with Ronan, pan hard left and right, mic the edge of the cone instead of the centre, and don't chop the bottom too much. You can always cut unwanted lows in the mix. Lift the cabinet off the floor. Don't use too much distortion - get it sounding about right, then back off the gain a tad to record
 
k, I'll try that. I like to get it to sound proper BEFORE it's in the mix, so I dont' have to edit much in the mix... because that takes away from it. but the cab is off the floor in a wooden chair. I'll try the panning and the different mic placement.
 
I know you said you liked the amp and all . . . but if it's not getting you the recorded sounds you like . . . maybe you really don't like it.

Kind of like saying: I like eggs and I think they taste good. But every time I eat them, I get the immediate urge to spit them out and/or throw up. Well, maybe I really don't like eggs. :D It's a novel thought, I know.
 
Pay attention to this line:

grn said:
I don't think my results are very good.
Click to expand...


And now this one:

grn said:
I am using a Shure SM57 and mic'ing a Crate Cabinet w/ distortion on ... crate is my favorite distortion.
Click to expand...

It should be obvious why your results aren't any good... Crate. UGH MAN!

If you want that Weezer sound maybe a Mesa/Boogie with a Marshall Shredmaster would be more your style. I may hate M/B's but Crate is worse than Peavey.
 
crates actually CAN produce a good sound.

Megadeth used them on most of their latter albums.

Try the above advice on mic placement. Also put a 31 band EQ in your effects chain. Crates have a problem on the bottom end. Either you will have to bost them via post recording processing or by catching them on the pre. A subtle level of compression doesn't hurt either.

One thing to remember about recording distorted guitars, and no metal player ever wants to believe it - turn your gain down. It may sound perfect live, but there CAN be TOO much distortion for recording. Even I had to learn that lesson, but I'm glad I listened to the engineer that night 15 years ago. Actually, I didn't agree with him, but was just too damned tired to argue. Fatigue can be an ally I guess lol.

You'll find a balance. Experiement. I run an Ampeg VH-140C and a Gallien Kruger ML/S. It took a good bit of tweaking my settings to get the sound I was after when recorded. My settings would not be adequate for live performance, but they work perfectly for recording. :)
 
I dunno about Crates producing good sound.... I've yet to see it done.

Megadeth consistently have pretty nasty, scratchy guitar tones so I don't know if they are a good band to plug for using Crate. In fact, I'd be surprised if they actually did use those in the studio and aren't just saying they did to make that sponsorship dollar.
 
FRIEDMAN: My main reason for even having a primary setup was because I knew we were going to have to play this stuff live, and I'm definitely not into dealing with two refrigerators worth of gear every night on tour. I wanted a basic, identifiable sound in the studio. I used my Jackson signature guitar and my Crate Blue Voodoo amp as the basic starting point for everything on the record. Of course, we veered off that for the textured sounds, the acoustic parts and the backing parts to make it sound good, but live you're really going to play only the showcase parts. So I pretty much didn't stray from my basic rig for that in the studio, though I did use a lot of foot pedals. Dann came in with this anvil case full of pedals, and I was like a kid in a candy store, trying all the pedals and finding places for them on the record. My favorite pedal of all time is an Electro-Harmonix Zipper. I also used an Expandora, an MXR Phase 90 for the solo in "Almost Honest" and a bunch of things that looked like they were made in somebody's basement.
Click to expand...

Mustaine will use anything from Crate to vintage Marshall. What scares me si I know this and Megedeth is not even in my top 20 favorite bands lol.
 
i would try backing off on the distortion for the lead guitars, and possibly mid scooping them, then use a lot of mids in the rythym because you're right.......it has no punch at all.

maybe leave your settings the way they are for the leads, then turn your highs down a bit and your lows and mids up for the rythym guitars.

that's 2 things i would try if i was in your situation.
 
Yeah, I hear you about trying to work with what you got. Spending a little extra money wisely, tho, can make all the difference.

I didn't see a mention as to how big the amp was or a model, so I'm guessing it might be a little 10 watt practice amp, since you're placing your mic so close to the speaker to get the sound I heard. If I'm wrong, let me know. I know that all I had for the longest time was a little crappy Peavey 15 watter, and a slightly better Crate 10 watter, both the kind of amps you get with the Christmas guitar packages. Good for practice and fooling around, not good for much else that I've found.

I know a lot of people on these boards just kind of throw around the necessity to buy $500 pieces of equipment when you're really just trying to get by with what you got. In this case, tho, you really will benefit big time from a better amp. I finally got around to picking up a Peavey Classic 30, and I was simply astonished at the difference in sound over trying to mic my practice amps. I'm as amateur as they come, but even my n00b ears know a good sound from a bad one.

More details about your recording rig might be in order for better help, but I think the amp is the first place I'd look. The SM57 is capable of handling a bigger sound that what you're giving it. If you want equipment recommendations, you'll get an earful when you ask (and an earful when you don't :p). For instance, maybe what you really want (but don't know yet) is an amp modeler instead of mic'ing an amp.

-Afficianado

PS - Yes, I'm quite aware of my lingo choices when I choose to use "mic" instead of "mike" and "mic'ing" instead of "miking". :)
 
Crates can produce some good distortion sounds. I'm not sure which model it is, but one of the guitarists from a band called Noise Ratchet uses a Crate head. It looked like it had some kind of glowing face or something on the front...but that may have been added after market. Anyway he gets a great thick distortion sound from it...at least live.
 
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