How to get in-yer-face presence for distorted guitar

[downonthestreet]

I've been adding bass parts in CEP to multi-track analogue recordings done a decade ago, and have been getting good, gutsy end-product remasters on CD. Problem is, I have recently recorded 2 songs from scratch in CEP, with the same wall-of-sound distorted guitar, basic root-chord-hugging bass and Alesis drums as features on the old analogue recordings, and the result is nowhere near as "present" or blasting as the digitised analogue remasters with added bass.

Has anyone got any tips for getting a loud, upfront distorted guitar sound and overall slamming mix using CEP from scratch? I used a compressor/limiter with the analogue recordings and I'm thinking maybe this is why they have ended up sounding so in-yer-face and aggressive (which is exactly what I want - don't have the compressor any longer, though). Can't seem to duplicate these results using only CEP, but I'm thinking it must be possible. In fact, I imagine CEP should be able to do the task better than analogue. IF ONLY I knew what to do! Any tips gratefully accepted.

 

[lpdeluxe]

The problem isn't the software. It only reproduces what you plug into it. The solution is always the same: record something that sounds really good, with mic placement that helps it sound really good. Experimentation is the key. There are a lot of tips available but it all comes down to what works with your mics and your ears.