advice for recording line 6 spider II

[ripingitar]

My band is in the process of recording our first full length cd ...
On a previous demo I was not satisfied with my guitar sound from
my spider II ... which I attained by micing my 4X12 Celestion cab with an
oktava condenser mic. I ended up borrowing a carvin tube combo
and used the same mic to get a warmer sound..
We play hard rock ..drop c tuned .. Ive heard recordings with Pods and such that are really good but the spider being a stripped down version has no speaker or mic sims and such .... ?? anyhow not being able to afford
any new equip im lookin for advice on how to get the best guitar sound possible ... I do have an old peavey triumph 60 tube head with OLD tubes ...and a solid state crate combo ... thats what I have to work with...
I have 57s and oktava condenser mics ?

[apl]

You should be able to get very workable tones with the headphones/line out of the Spider II.

[ripingitar]

ive done that ..its sounded o.k. but a bit direct sounding ..?

[Cyanide-Depende]

Originally Posted by ripingitar

My band is in the process of recording our first full length cd ...
On a previous demo I was not satisfied with my guitar sound from
my spider II ... which I attained by micing my 4X12 Celestion cab with an
oktava condenser mic. I ended up borrowing a carvin tube combo
and used the same mic to get a warmer sound..
We play hard rock ..drop c tuned .. Ive heard recordings with Pods and such that are really good but the spider being a stripped down version has no speaker or mic sims and such .... ?? anyhow not being able to afford
any new equip im lookin for advice on how to get the best guitar sound possible ... I do have an old peavey triumph 60 tube head with OLD tubes ...and a solid state crate combo ... thats what I have to work with...
I have 57s and oktava condenser mics ?

use the liine out, and mic it the amp in a few different places, use the 57 up close, just off center, and at least 1 oktava a foot or so away, put on headphones and listen to the mics as you place them, you want to get a good, full frequencey range ( as good as you can get) and mix the 3-4 tracks together to whatever sounds best to you.

-C$

[ripingitar]

problem is when you use the line out on the spider II it cuts off output to your speakers....??? so you only get direct out or speaker ..not both ...??

[apl]

Originally Posted by ripingitar

problem is when you use the line out on the spider II it cuts off output to your speakers....??? so you only get direct out or speaker ..not both ...??

That's true.

One common error when micing is playing the guitar at gigging levels which makes it sound a lot different to your ear while playing and your ear while mixing. Have you tried recording at lower levels?

[ripingitar]

I have but probably not enough .. Now that you mention it it does kinda
thin out at high volumes ........ Im debating on tweaking a sound outta my
spider or investing in an Inexpensive pod or even a v amp ..I really want
a top notch sound for my cd ?? but dont have alotta $$$$ want as good as possible sound on a budget..

[apl]

Originally Posted by ripingitar

I have but probably not enough .. Now that you mention it it does kinda
thin out at high volumes ........ Im debating on tweaking a sound outta my
spider or investing in an Inexpensive pod or even a v amp ..I really want
a top notch sound for my cd ?? but dont have alotta $$$$ want as good as possible sound on a budget..

I think you should spend some time trying to tweak the Spider, especially if you don't wanna spend $$$$.

[ripingitar]

I agree ... im gonna try to experiment with different mics / placement / volume /presets ..... maybe 2 mics ...? any other ideas ...?

[soundchaser59]

Originally Posted by ripingitar

I agree ... im gonna try to experiment with different mics / placement / volume /presets ..... maybe 2 mics ...? any other ideas ...?

Rent a small tube amp for a week and record that..... or use a footswitch/splitter to record a rented/borrowed tube amp and the spider DI at the same time.