How can I get the best sound out of my setup?

[TimLyons]

Hey, I figured this board would be a good place to post this. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to how to get the best recorded rock/metal sound (read: WITH mids) out of the following equipment.
Right now I have it set up as:

Gibson Les Paul Special SL--->Digitech RP200--->BBE 264 Sonic Maximizer--->Line in

Other stuff I have to work with:

Danelectro Fish and Chips EQ
Peavey Supreme Head (Hey, it's got a preamp out... I've considered using that)
BOSS SD-1
ANY cables, adapters, etc. I need

All my other crap doesn't really apply, so I won't go into listing that.

But, yeah... anyone have any idea as to how to get the best distorted tone out of that mess? Right now I get a really trebly, synthetic, almost papery sounding distortion (Damn RP200 cabinet sims SUCK, that's why).

Keep in mind I don't have any funds to work with... I'm 16, my parents won't let me buy any more stuff. They barely let me get the BBE...

[Wide Awake]

Try plugging your guitar into the SD-1 and then into the RP200. I use the Boss SD-1 SuperOverdrive pedal all the time with a Sansamp and I get good results. I absloutely love that pedal in conjunction with my Bass Pod and that is one reason I bought it....even though it's probably made for guitar it seems to work great on bass. Experiment with a clean sounds AND slighty distorted sounds on the RP200, but let the SD-1 supply most of the distortion or drive.

If you are getting too much treble or brightness, try to adjust the tone controls on your guitar to reduce it and give you the overall tone.

Good luck.

[BBB]

For what it's worth, I'm not a big fan of using the BBE on guitar. You can run into problems with it in that it can lose your guitar in the mix. In particular, it will boost your bass and treble. However, these frequencies are already occupied by your bass guitar, bass drum, cymbals, etc. Thus, you may record a good sounding signal from your guitar to begin with, but this signal will result in your guitar sounding weak because the boosted frequencies may be hidden by other instruments. This can also be a problem on smaller systems that may not reproduce the lower boosted frequencies.

Therefore, try recording your guitar without extreme bass and trebel boosts. Also, try recording doubled guitar parts for fullness. I.e., record multiple takes of the same part.

Matt

[hongteck]

Yes, I agree to running your SD-1 into the RP200 amp simulation. Do minimize effects from the RP200 and forget about the BBE Sonic Maximizer. Make your signal as dry as possible as I think effects add to making your track sterile and synthetic sounding. Play with the guitar tone control and SD-1 setting and just concentrate on getting a nice fat tone into tape first. After that you can add fancy effects during mixing if it is possible.