best technique/sound for recording guitars

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austexman

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I am using sonar 2 with MAudio delta 66 omni studio (2 preamped i/o's for 1/4"
or xlr) and was wondering if anyone had suggestions on obtaining best/cleanest guitar sound and where i should add effects.

I have a fender cybertwin amp with tons of preset effects (using gibson les paul)...should i run one xlr direct from amp to input and set up condensor mic
in front of amp and run that in the other input to get a fuller sound?

Should I use effects on amp or do it clean and then add effects with my plug
in effects (waves, soundforge, cakewalk effects)??

Thanks for any input guys!
 
like you said, run direct and mic,blend to taste.
if u encounter any phase problems because of the distance from source to mic on one,and no distance on the direct,nudge or delay the direct track back about 0.5 ms.
also if adding reverb or other effects to guitar on the mic'd track and it sounding muddy, putting em on the direct track will be cleaner.
 
also experiment with moving the mic around all the areas in front of the cab, on/off axis of the speaker cone(s) and all around. did u say it's an omni? move it all around the room too, try using it as a room mic.
experiment.
 
cool man

thanks for the feedback...yeah...using an omnistudio..about to convert
to an aardvark pro q10 w/ 8 preamped i/o's...can't wait...the delta has
done the job though i guess..

i have noticed the "muddy" thing on the mic'd track when i add verb so will
definitely add to the direct instead...thanks bro!
 
Good advice. I'd say keep experimenting. After all, you're not paying by the hour, and if you don't like something about the way it sounds, try to tweak the source before the recording. An amp that sounds great on it's own, makes everything else much easier.
 
God, I am so oldfashioned, you're killing me. The solution no one really wants-
1. Put the best cab mic you have on the amp in a good room.
2. Plug mic into best preamp you have.
3. Turn the EQ in your pre and recorder *off*
4. Put on good headphones
5. Move mic around while playing until it sounds good. Get *all* EQ and FX from the guitar/amp/pedals.
6. Record and playback through monitors, to verify it still sounds good.
7. Use EQ and panning during mixdown to shelve needless frequencies and optimize how the guitar sits in the mix.
8. Leave it alone, and let the nice mastering engineer do what he does- later.

Am I really the last person on earth who believes that doubled tracks and complex processing makes a well played guitar sound gimicky?-Richie
 
how do you record Direct in and use a mic at once.. what do you need?? will this be good for bass aswell... ive been looking to find how to do both at once??
 
Richard Monroe said:
Am I really the last person on earth who believes that doubled tracks and complex processing makes a well played guitar sound gimicky?-Richie
Click to expand...
Maybe. However, I think you are assuming he plays guitar well. :D
 
You might try getting a better amp.

Also, as far as using a mic and a D.I., I always use an A/B/Y box. Although sometimes, depending on the proximity of the mic to the source, you can get gnarly phase problems.
 
I agree with Richie. In my experience, nothing sounds as good as an amp miked up. As far as placement, you have to experiment with that to find what works for you. Try miking the front as you typicly would and also put a mic on the back of the cab about a foot away. You may have to flip the polarity on the back mic and mix to taste.
 
I don't use outboard effects on my guitar parts because I don't have any other than the amp's distortion. I even leave the reverb off. But everything else that is posted I agree with.
You can't get a decent sounding guitar track DI, no matter how expensive it is, or what it promises. I've tried. It just doesn't sound the same...
 
Skip the DI, mic the amp. A 57 in front to start, get it sounding as sweet as you can by moving it around until you find the sweet spot, then if you need more beef, try adding another mic at a distance. Track Rat is sopt on about miking the back of your twin. I like using an AKG D112 on the back sometimes.

Oh yeah, turn the amp up. You gotta have some air moving if you want a kickin' sound.
 
I also will use a D112 on the back of an open cab. And whether you crank the amp or not sepends on the sound you want. I know I am weird, because mostly I want squeaky clean, acoustic clean, power amp clean. I currently use the cleanest chain I can put together with the components I own- Les Paul/Tele/Casino > Avalon AD2022 > M-Audio SBX and SP5B (powered monitor and sub) > mic at about 2 feet (favorites are Shure SM7B, AKG C414B-ULS, Rode NTK, B.L.U.E. Kiwi) > into the other channel of the Avalon > Digi002. I understand this signal chain will not appeal to the cranked up amp people, but I'm liable to then go and play fingerstyle on that Les Paul. Each to their own. Occasionally, if I want distortion, I'll plug a POD Pro into a Carver PM125 power amp, then to a 1X12 cab with a Vintage 30, and mic that up. For that, I like Sennheiser e609s and AKG C2000B. This moves air, and beats the shit out of the POD as a direct box.-Richie
 
For crunchy guitar I like small amps cranked. Some combos I like are a Shure 545 (or a 57) on the front and a D-112 on the back (or on the front too for that matter). A 4033 about 6" off the grill sounds good. A recent discovery is an AM-52 in figure 8 right up on the grill but looking right and left of the amp. I pretty much rely on HHB mic pre's for this.
 
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