Recording Distortion Guitar

[Monkubus325]

I'm trying to get that crunch distortion sound like Weezer when I record. I hear it coming out of the amp when I play, but when I record it sounds muddy and lacks that bite to it. Any ideas? Right now I'm using a SM 57 about an inch off the grill and a beta 57 2ft off of the grill. Please help!


Monkubus


www.skyfallmusic.com

[chessrock]

What kind of amp is it?

[Han]

What happens if you only use the 57 on the grill?
Do you have other mics?

Wanna know all about distorted geetar recording?
http://recpit.prosoundweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=9419

[shackrock]

rule of thumb:
mic pointed directly at the cone = MASS high end/mid-highs
mic pointed at the edge of the cone = mass muddier and lower.

find a happy medium

also:
*try just the sm57.
*play the same thing twice and pan them 60L/60R or something.
*Turn your distortion gain down more than usual, otherwise it sounds really damn annoying recorded. haha.

[jazzrich9]

instead of the two mics like that... try the 57 on the magic guitar cab angle... and also DI from the output of the amp (depending on what kind of amp...) then mix to taste. (also if you can get a clean send from the amp, you could ad a differnt crunch to that, to accent what you get from the mic'd cab.

HTH

Rich

[Peter Lancaster]

The signals from the two mics will not be in phase. If there is a 23" (0.58m) distance between them then the sound will arrive at the distant mic about 1.7ms later. Try shifting the distant mic track forward (or the close mic'd track backwards) by this amount, or just line up the waveforms. You should hear the difference. It may not totally solve your problem, but it won't make it sound worse either.

Pete.

[Sonixx]

post a sample...

[Wireneck]

yes hit us up with some more details. When I think weezer im thinking a guitar set on the bridge pickup, ran through a fuzz box like the Electro Harmonix big muff. If your up for trying a different mic, i would take the Ev-635a over the shure sm-57 any day. Don't forget to wear your buddy holly glasses either.

[tubedude]

Do it right.... post the cabinet down the hall in another room with a friend and a pair of headphones. Use a better mic. A 57 sucks. Thats right, sucks balls so bad that you'll never get the sound you are looking for with that mic. (disclaimer: probably never)
But, after you;ve decided on a better mic, or the same shitty one, turn up your monitors, have your buddy move the mic around close, far, in between, near the edge, towards the center, to the side of the cabinet, behind the cabinet.... etc... when he finds something you like, you say WHOA FUCKER on the talkback and he doesnt move. You go in there and get the mic setup in that exact postition, record a couple tracks, if its not there yet, keep going.

You can also get a very nice sound if you have a totally dead or almost totally dead room and back the mic back about 2-3 feet and get more of the entire speaker in the perspective. But this does require a dead room or a GOOD room which we generally dont have.
This is the 1st step.

[Massive Master]

I'm sensing a pattern in this forum today... Tubedude doesn't like SM-57's... He REALLY doesn't like them...

I wonder if he works for Sennheiser...

John

[Monkubus325]

I've tried some of your different ideas. I'm using a 2x12 Fender Hot Rod DeVille with a Boss multi effects pedal? I don't really have the time to play around with mic position. I'm not doing this at my house, and I don't want to waste the other guys time. If you go to www.skyfallmusic.com and watch the videos on their, the sound on their was used recording just a video camera mic. It seems like having my mic right on the amp is giving the sound time to develop if that makes any sense. Even with my ear, the distortion sounds better 4 feet away from the amp than it does right up against it. Turning down the level of gain might help, I might try that out. Should I turn down lows, mids, or highs or anything like that? Thanks for your help.

Monkubus

www.skyfallmusic.com

[Sonixx]

I went there but I'd prefer not to have to hunt around on your site. point us directly to a clip that demo's the problem...

[chessrock]

Originally posted by Monkubus325
I'm using a 2x12 Fender Hot Rod DeVille with a Boss multi effects pedal?

That's the first part of your problem. I've never used a Fender / distortion box combo that recorded well. It may sound okay to you in the room, but it's going to sound thin and fizzy on a recording. Fenders tend to do two things really well: clean and mildly distorted. Not that heavier shit like you've got on those choruses.

Amps that I think do the heavier sounds well are Marshalls -- no, not the valvestates -- and Mesa Boogies. There are others, of course, but my point is that there's a difference between how an amp behaves in a practice space or live . . . and how it records.

I don't really have the time to play around with mic position. I'm not doing this at my house, and I don't want to waste the other guys time.

Then you need to accept the fact that you're probably not going to get a sound you like. Getting good sound takes time and experimentation. You rush it -- it sounds like shit. If you want something fast and of poor quality, go to McDonald's.

[Monkubus325]

Fair Enough

[Phosphene]

Slippermans post on prosoundweb made me shit my pants.

[chessrock]

Do you have a link to that thing? God, that was one of the best threads ever made. I wanna' print it out and post it on my wall.

[cellardweller]

Hans--Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

I think Slipperman might be a prophet or something...
FANTASTIC THREAD!!!!

I now have to go check my pants. I'm sure I crapped them laughing.

[tanlith]

Hrmmm... personally I record all my Guitar/Bass direct using a POD Pro...

My dirt is as dirty as I want it and my cleans are crystal clear...

.... course my final mix would probably sount WAY better if I had decent monitors...

- Tanlith -

[UtterNoob]

DAMNIT, I was wondering why my guitar sounded like complete crap when I recorded on it. Damn Fender Princeton Chorus amp. UGH, oh well. Would you say an Marshall G100R CD 100 watt Amp Head would be good to power a good 4x12 cab? I'd love to get a Mesa Boogie setup, but damn, it's so expensive :-\

[geet73]

DO NOT waste your money on that Marshall.. heh. HORRIBLE amps.

You'd be better off with a cheap Crate solid-state amp. Or even a "B-52".

That may be just my opinion.

[tanlith]

Originally posted by geet73
DO NOT waste your money on that Marshall.. heh. HORRIBLE amps.

You'd be better off with a cheap Crate solid-state amp. Or even a "B-52".

That may be just my opinion.

I remember way back when Marshall was THE amp... now they're junk... shame really!

- Tanlith -

[chessrock]

Which Marshalls are you talking about? If you're talking about the Valvestate crap or whatever, then yea, it's probably gonna' suck. But I'll take your JCM800 if you have a spare one lying around that you don't like. Seriously, I will. I'm that nice of a guy.

[UtterNoob]

Thanks for the heads up. In terms of Mesa Boogie, what would you recommend, for clubs, small shows, and recording?

[chessrock]

Originally posted by UtterNoob
Thanks for the heads up. In terms of Mesa Boogie, what would you recommend, for clubs, small shows, and recording?

Well, obviously, their dual/triple rectifiers tend to be the most favored for the heavy overdrive kinda' stuff. But hell, just about anything with a Mesa logo on it I've found to make at least very good recording amps. Not sure about one for live use. Keep in mind they tend to be expensive.

[cellardweller]

Where do you buy Mesa stuff anyway?