recording Indie rock

[emomusician]

I'm doing some solo indie rock stuff and am having some trouble getting a good overdriven guitar sound.

I have a V-amp.. if I wanted to go direct.

or I have a Mesa Dual Rec if I want to mic.

cleans are sounding fine.. just the parts that have slight distortion that are giving me problems

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by emomusician

I'm doing some solo indie rock stuff and am having some trouble getting a good overdriven guitar sound.

I have a V-amp.. if I wanted to go direct.

or I have a Mesa Dual Rec if I want to mic.

cleans are sounding fine.. just the parts that have slight distortion that are giving me problems

I have just what you need, right here!

[timthetortoise]

Usually a Mesa Dual Rectifier isn't going to be your best choice for getting indie rock sounds. Closest you're gonna get is cranking it up to tube saturation with the gain barely up.

[giraffe]

agreed, the mesa doesn't exactly give the "indy rock" vibe.
dam good amp all the same.

try it on classic, and with a little less gain like has been said.

but all are just guesses with out hearing it.

[Adam P]

Any particular artist(s) you're looking to emulate? The "indie rock" coin can get tossed around pretty liberally.

[ecktronic]

Originally Posted by emomusician

I'm doing some solo indie rock stuff and am having some trouble getting a good overdriven guitar sound.

I have a V-amp.. if I wanted to go direct.

or I have a Mesa Dual Rec if I want to mic.

cleans are sounding fine.. just the parts that have slight distortion that are giving me problems

Go with the amp, not the V-amp.
PLay about and use little amount of gain.

Eck

[scorpio01169]

Originally Posted by ecktronic

Go with the amp, not the V-amp.
PLay about and use little amount of gain.

Eck

agreed ....hate the v-amp

[LeeRosario]

try out the mesa...

You concern yourself first with capturing a good and lasting reproduction of a sound.

An amp alone has little to do with the genre of music when you put it into context with the entire picture.

[Good Friend]

How to get a good indie/emo sound in a few simple steps:

1. (the most important step) steal 1970s haircuts and rename the look "emo" even though anyone with a brain knows its just a 70s haircut.

2. cover up your inability to write good songs with alot of overly emotional strumming and singing.

3. call your music "indie" and it will make people think that being independent has an effect on whether or not your music is any good. God knows that no good music ever came from major labels in the entire history of music.

4. wait a couple years until the next trend comes along and then jump on that bandwagon.

5. and lastly, flame this post with things like "who asked your opinion?" and "go listen to so and sos new emo album and tell me its not great" and so on. Maybe even "the poster asked about a recording technique, not a music genre critique". Any of those will work.

[ez_willis]

He's still reading my link.

[JuicyDbase]

I'm doing some solo indie rock stuff and am having some trouble getting a good overdriven guitar sound.

Here is your problem.

I have a V-amp.

Save yourself some time trying to get that piece of junk to sound like something descent and get something like a Line6PODXT. I had a v-amp2, had to service it once and then myelf equaling twice. I switched to a podXT and I have never been happier, just take the time to mold your tone into whatever you want and you'll never go back to the v-amp.

Also just a tip. NEVER BUY ANYTHING MADE BY BEHRINGER!

[ridgeback]

Oh yes. You will definetly need to use fake modeling type of devices to get that great indie rock sound

Uhmm, what guitar are you using? Pretty darn important to know. What mic are you using?
No offense but Indie Rock isn't a sound. Granted the term gets shoved around quite a bit but I really don't think it's a sound. Like someone said above, what are you aiming for in tone, sustain, bottom end, brilliance....?
I don't see much that the Mesa can't dish out if it's dialed in correctly. Try giving us a little more info.

[ecktronic]

Originally Posted by JuicyDbase

Here is your problem.




Save yourself some time trying to get that piece of junk to sound like something descent and get something like a Line6PODXT. I had a v-amp2, had to service it once and then myelf equaling twice. I switched to a podXT and I have never been happier, just take the time to mold your tone into whatever you want and you'll never go back to the v-amp.

Also just a tip. NEVER BUY ANYTHING MADE BY BEHRINGER!

No.
Use a good real amp over any fake amp modeler.

Eck

[cusebassman]

Originally Posted by ecktronic

No.
Use a good real amp over any fake amp modeler.

Eck

I second that motion.

There is a wealth of information here about recording amps, and I've gotten great sound even in a shitty room with a Sennheiser e609 and a condenser on my Fender Blues DeVille... but yeah, you have to find a good sound live with the amp before you can get it on tape... and then it has to be altered slightly to go in sounding decent (lower the gain, and in my case, turn up the bass from what it is normally set at).

Not sure what you are looking for that the Mesa cannot provide, but I don't think you'll ever be truly happy with a modeler's sound... at least for up-front tracks. They work for creating differently colored sound for background sounds and maybe some lead solos and things, but for the straight rhythm track I've never had success. Just my two cents, as I don't know the full situation (don't have your setup specifically, so I can't be overly specific, sorry )

[emomusician]

Originally Posted by Good Friend

How to get a good indie/emo sound in a few simple steps:

1. (the most important step) steal 1970s haircuts and rename the look "emo" even though anyone with a brain knows its just a 70s haircut.

2. cover up your inability to write good songs with alot of overly emotional strumming and singing.

3. call your music "indie" and it will make people think that being independent has an effect on whether or not your music is any good. God knows that no good music ever came from major labels in the entire history of music.

4. wait a couple years until the next trend comes along and then jump on that bandwagon.

5. and lastly, flame this post with things like "who asked your opinion?" and "go listen to so and sos new emo album and tell me its not great" and so on. Maybe even "the poster asked about a recording technique, not a music genre critique". Any of those will work.

That was actually pretty funny, however unhelpful it was.

I assume that by combining my name with the topic at hand you made a few assumptions. Well I will direct you to the old saying..

You know what happens when you assume right?

and for the record.. if you listen to or write any form of music.. it all has some sort of emotion. Take it for what you will.

I thought pretty much everyone was openminded here.. Guess I was wrong.

feel free to post the genres of music you listen/write.. I'll be glad to take a stab at those if thats what your after.

Otherwise thanks to the other helpful posts that saw the question for what it was..

I'll try micing my cab.

I have a few guitars I can use.

Gibson SG (reissue), Gibson Les Paul Studio

I am in like a metal/hardcore band.. so normally when we play live the mesa is set with high gain.. and not much in the way of clean or overdriven. The solo stuff I am doing I want to have a Oasis/Jason Mraz/Hootie feel to it.

[cusebassman]

Originally Posted by emomusician

and for the record.. if you listen to or write any form of music.. it all has some sort of emotion. Take it for what you will.

I thought pretty much everyone was openminded here.. Guess I was wrong.

Yep, there are some here who will spit in your face for no apparent reason.

I definitely agree that a portion of most musical styles could be considered "emo"... a decent portion of the music I listen to / play is directly related to the loss of a lover and being alone... the fact that it is pop or folk doesn't really make it any less emo than a hard-rock/metal band singing about the same stuff... "emo" just has so many definitions these days, its become almost meaningless (in my mind, anyway).

I'm not a teenager anymore, which is where (I think in part, at least) the term really comes from... teen angst + apathy = emo... I call my occassionally dismal attitude "depressed". No bones about it... of course, if I set my lyrics to hard rock, it'd probably be called emo... I hate labels, they make things too complicated

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Regardless of the music style, I call it the blues .

Not to be confused with The Blues, which is the ol' I IV V, woke up this mornin, my baby left me stuff .

G.

[emomusician]

lol yeah...

I tend to try to not classify things when I can. It causes problems.. like the one already started above.

Music is Music.. you either like it or you don't.

Sometimes it helps to specify a genre to distinguish what one is talking about in terms of "sound"... indie rock guitar does have a certain "sound" to it.. just like any other type of music does.

I listen to everything from..

The Pixies, Hootie, Gavin Degraw, Thrice, Finch, Thursday, Bush, Silverchair, Hanson (yes.. dudes can sing), A Static Lullaby, Bullet for my Valentine, Edwin Mccain, Underoath, Unearth, DragonForce, Dream Theater, Matt Nathanson, Jason Mraz, Oasis, Chiodos, Alexisonfire.. etc


I'd call that pretty out there.. I say people can dress how they want, listen to what they want, and shouldn't have to care nor worry about what others think about it.

Music is Music.

[giraffe]

also, if your room doesn't suck completely, try getting the mic off the amp a little.
personally i don't really like that slamed in the grill for what i consider "indy"

[fretwire3d]

Originally Posted by emomusician

The Pixies, Hootie, Gavin Degraw, Thrice, Finch, Thursday, Bush, Silverchair, Hanson (yes.. dudes can sing), A Static Lullaby, Bullet for my Valentine, Edwin Mccain, Underoath, Unearth, DragonForce, Dream Theater, Matt Nathanson, Jason Mraz, Oasis, Chiodos, Alexisonfire.. etc

Am I the only only one that thinks the pixies really stick out?

Let's play "one of those bands are not like the others".

[giraffe]

bush and silverchair are half way there.......

but yea, kinda.

[rory]

The pixies and Gavin Degraw or Hanson?! I'd love to hear that explanation. Music is not simply Music.

[emomusician]

sure it is..

classifiy what you want.

its all notes, its all lyrics, its all a way of expressing those notes and lyrics.

You may not LIKE said music.. but its still Music..


I for one despise country music and rap in all its forms.. But do I condone others for liking it?

Never.. its still art, and its still music regardless of whether I like it or not.

Just because "YOU" don't care for it, does not mean its not music. Thats like me saying.. I don't like onions. therefore its not food.

Pay attention to the good in things, and don't just focus on the negative.

Sure, there is "bad" in everything.. but it really all boils down to the opinion of the listener.

I think Coldplay bites monkey balls.. but hey, 1,000,000 other people love it. So, yeah I may not like it.. but that doesn't make it "not music".

I hate to say it.. but opinions are like assholes.. everyone has one.

[rory]

I think you misunderstand my comment. Gavin Degraw, Hanson, Hootie, Bush, etc... are JUST music. They are either piggybackers on a trend or created for the sake of making money. They play music, but generally lack any cultural or societal or musical meaning. Then we have the pixies. They are more than JUST music. Would Nirvana have been nirvana without the pixies? What about Radiohead? I don't care that you listen to those aforementioned bands, but to say that music is just music I feel is incorrect and extremely limited in scope. To say that all music is art is also, in my consideration, incorrect.

[fretwire3d]

and the human body needs an asshole to survive. So everyone needs an opinion and should have one.

Ha!