Multiple mics, one guitar

A

agrafuese

New member
Hello everyone,

I recently recorded a guitar using 4 different mics on the cab (Marshall 4x12), because I felt that one mic was not enough to capture the true sound of the source (I varied the distance of the mics as well to capture more room sound, etc...). I made sure to avoid phase cancellation, and have been very happy so far with the results of the recording. However, I now have about 20 guitar tracks (multiple parts, stereo stuff, etc...) and would like to start bouncing each group of 4 down to one track to make my life easier. So here are some questions for those of you who may have used this technique before:

1. Should I bounce the tracks to one mono or one stereo track?

2. Should I pan the tracks or leave them centered?

3. Should I mess with the EQ at all on the tracks yet, or wait until later?

I realize that the answers to these questions are all personal preference, and there's no "right" answer, but that's okay. I just want to see what you all think :D

Thanks!

-agra
 
I would bounce each 4 track guitar part down to one mono track

panning the tracks before bouncing would be pretty much pointless (if you're bouncing to mono)

I would definitely reccomend you do any necessary EQing before bouncing the tracks, that way you can be more selective about which frequencies you want from the different mics

.....unless all 4 tracks playing together sound good without any EQ, in which case leave them...lest audio disaster ensue

that at least would be my route
 
What software are you using? I know in Cubase you could each of the 4 guitar tracks in a folder track so they don't clutter your screen as much. Then take each different guitar part and put it on a group. This gives you the option to pan and EQ your guitars individually, or to treat the guitars with compression and EQ as a whole. If you do decide to bounce I foresee you having to rebounce many times over since you are obviously not quite sure yet what and how you want to treat the various tracks. In the end, I would find constant rebouncing far more annoying than just having too many tracks. I guess I am just one of those guys who loves having options, but at the same time I have no qualms with cutting tracks during mixdown. Remember, just because you used 4 mics on the cab does not mean that you have to use all of them in the final product.
 
Render them to mono and pan them in the mix. You can create a blurry image if different mics pan around too much in the spectrum. However, if you want a blurrier "wall of sound" approach pan the mics.
 
Excellent suggestions all around!

To xstatic: In regards to what program I use...I am using ProTools. Admittedly, I am fairly new to it and I'm learning new things every day. I am almost positive that there is an option much like the one you're speaking of in Cubase, but ProTools (I'm using LE) also has a nasty little restriction on the number of "Voices" (active audio tracks) I can have running at once. I never figured out if this was due to my system or just a general quirk in ProTools LE, but the number of simultaneous "Voices" seems to be around 20 or so. Seeing as how I have 10 drum tracks, 3 bass tracks, approximately 20 guitar tracks, and a few other extra tracks here and there, ProTools forces me to temporarily disable some of my tracks in order to run. So as you can see, it would be more convenient for me to just bounce the tracks down, even if I have to go back and mess with each individual track again. It's terribly inconvenient...I might not have something configured right...hmm, I smell a new thread coming ;)

Thanks again guys - any more suggestions are welcome too!
 
agrafuese said:
I recently recorded a guitar using 4 different mics on the cab (Marshall 4x12), because I felt that one mic was not enough to capture the true sound of the source (I varied the distance of the mics as well to capture more room sound, etc...). I made sure to avoid phase cancellation,
Click to expand...

Rather than put 4 mics on the amp, I would first try to move one mic around to get the best sound. The next thing I'd do (if I had the option - and with 4 mics you do) would be to try different mic.

You avoided phase cancellation? That might be difficult with 4 mics. How did you verify you avoided it?
 
As Cloneboy said before, sum the 4 tracks down to a mono track.

As for ProTools LE, it allows 32 voices (a stereo track counts as 2) and is not inclusive to buses.
 
If I needed the tracks, i would do two passes, summing two of the mics left and two of the mics to the right, then do it opposite for the second pass (the right mics on the left, and the left mics on the right).

I usually dont bother with more than one mic per amp, regardless of the cabinet, but I will print a single performance of three or four amps and pan them around and not have to EQ...

Like a princeton, a dual rectifier, and a champ, along side something elese, like a pro junior with a pedal or something (for heavier stuff), and use the inherent tone of the amp for "eq" rather than EQ...

I mix on a console, ALWAYS, so sometimes i will just send the 4 tracks out a stereo pair of channels.....
 
Angusdevil said:
As for ProTools LE, it allows 32 voices (a stereo track counts as 2) and is not inclusive to buses.
Click to expand...

You're right, it's 32. Unfortunately, I'm over that mark already and still have about 3 keyboard tracks and a ton of vocal tracks to lay down before the project is complete. So, bouncing is inevitable if I want to hear everything at once...unless someone has some magic advice for me...

Joel Hamilton said:
I usually dont bother with more than one mic per amp, regardless of the cabinet, but I will print a single performance of three or four amps and pan them around and not have to EQ...
Click to expand...

That's some good advice. I may have to try that on a future project...when I have the money for more than just one amp, or assuming my client does ;) Question though: You said it was one performace - does that mean that you split the signal of one guitar four ways? Kick ass portfolio ya got there by the way Joel! :D
 
agrafuese said:
You're right, it's 32. Unfortunately, I'm over that mark already and still have about 3 keyboard tracks and a ton of vocal tracks to lay down before the project is complete. So, bouncing is inevitable if I want to hear everything at once...unless someone has some magic advice for me...



That's some good advice. I may have to try that on a future project...when I have the money for more than just one amp, or assuming my client does ;) Question though: You said it was one performace - does that mean that you split the signal of one guitar four ways? Kick ass portfolio ya got there by the way Joel! :D
Click to expand...

Hey thanks....

You are right, "performance" as opposed to "track" because one performance may go to as many as 5 tracks! (that would usually be 4 amps and a DI for later use via reamp or even [gasp!] amp farm depending on the project/song/circumstance of course).

I like to get one HUGE performance, and MAYBE two if we are getting really nutty. Stays huge and tight that way.... Of course, sometimes ya gotta brute force it and put down like 6 performances for the epic giant last chorus....
 
Joel Hamilton said:
Hey thanks....

You are right, "performance" as opposed to "track" because one performance may go to as many as 5 tracks! (that would usually be 4 amps and a DI for later use via reamp or even [gasp!] amp farm depending on the project/song/circumstance of course).

I like to get one HUGE performance, and MAYBE two if we are getting really nutty. Stays huge and tight that way.... Of course, sometimes ya gotta brute force it and put down like 6 performances for the epic giant last chorus....
Click to expand...
neat, thankx man. :)
 
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