Looking for a solution to "too perfect guitars & synth"

[Metal Marc]

Hey, everyone.

When I record my guitar and keyboard tracks, they come out sounding "too perfect". Here are some details:
- I am recording digital on to my computer using Cakewalk 9.0.
- The guitars are all recorded using a direct recording device (Johnson J-Station; I get the same results with a POD Line 6)
- The synth is recorded direct.
- At the moment I have NO amps so I can't mike any amps.

Anyone have any ideas or tips? Any help is appreciated.

Lost in Oklahoma,
Metal Marc

[Tim Brown]

How about this one.

Play the guitar tracks alone through your monitors, and stick a couple of mic's out in the room, and record (without sending these tracks to the monitors.)

That way you'll get some "room" tone to your tracks, and it will give you more of a "mic'd amp" sound.



Tim

[Metal Marc]

Thanks, TB. That should work.

I love, love, LOVE miking up a good amp or a big cabinet because nothing beats that miked-up sound. However, no matter how many blankets and cushions you cover all that stuff up with you can still hear it all over the house. I think your idea will work well and not blow everyone away.

Again, thanks.

[Tim Brown]

Marc,


Another trick, is go and buy a little 4" Radioshack speaker. It's a "cube" speaker for surround sound, and sells for about $20. Get a roll of 50' of speaker wire, and put a couple of mic cables together, and you can put the speaker and mic in almost any room in your house for different environments.
Say, in the bathroom for leads, in the living room for Rhythm, in the kitchen for another Rhythm track, etc.
Then you can set these in different areas of the stereo field.

btw, it's not just for guitar....you can use this for your drumtracks as well...say run the snare track into the bathroom to get that kind of natural reverb on the snare track.

You've got to think outside of the box.

Hell, you could even put that little speaker inside the oven, or inside the clothes dryer and mic it to pick up a strange reverb sound.


Just remember - there is only 1 rule to recording:
as long as it sounds good, the end does justify the means!




Tim