Switching from Clean to Distorted ?

[PinkFloyd]

Hiya

Can anyone tell me how to best switch smoothly between clean verses and distorted choruses?

The song I'm currently working on has a nice clean verse and after a little crescendo moves to a distorted chorus, but I can't quite the distorted sound quite right. Everything just sounds muddy.

The clean guitar has open chords while the distorted guitar is playing barre chords - is this the right way to go about it?

Does my problem lie with the EQ?

It just seems no matter what I do, all I end up with is a very messy sort of sound!

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Thanks guys! (and gals, of course)

[Son of Mixerman]

What exactly are you trying to do? Are you doing multitrack recording? Or is this live/rehearsal stuff? One hint, channel switching almost never works unless you use an A/B switch between 2 completely different amplifiers. If your recording it then set up the amp for the best clean part and record that onto 1 track, then set the amp up for the best distorted sound and record that onto another track. If needed I usually record a scratch track of both parts using a chanel switching amp as to keep continuity like a live performance, then I go back and overdub the clean and distoted onto their own tracks. Make sense to you?


SoMm

[PinkFloyd]

Thanks SoMm

I'm am doing multitrack recording.

The clean guitar is in track 1, whilst the distorted guitar is in track 2.

I guess this is might more of a mixing question, but what I'm asking is how best can the clean and distorted guitars complement each other, to create a nice thick sound?

Apologies if this is first grade stuff, but I've not long made the transition from drums to guitar, and I still kinda suck!

Thanks!

[Son of Mixerman]

If your using the clean gtr to compliment the dist gtr, meaning your playing the same basic riff, the chords have to be the same chords, not to mix power chords with bars chords. Also the clean gtr will have to be eq'd a little brighter than the eq for the dist gtr but not at the same level as the dist gtr. There is a balance you have to strive for. Bring up the fader for the dist gtr first, then slowly bring up the fader for the cln gtr until you hear it, then back it off about .5 to 1.5 db so its subtle. You also want to double those dist and cln gtr for a total of 4 tracks, then pan things left and right for clarity, this will thicken it up. Sometimes using an acoustic for the clean does the trick too.


SoMm

[PinkFloyd]

Thanks for the tips.

[Outlaws]

That about sums it up.