The New Tone Thread

[ShanPeyton]

Thanks for the wisdom guys. I am going to make note of the settings i have right now to fall back on but i have a few things i want to try. I want to see if i can do something about the stiffness of the sound. Glad Greg heard that as well. I was at a loss for how to describe it. I want to see if i can push that thing a little harder as well.

In terms of sparkle how would you guys go about fixing that? Would you slide the mic a little more to centre (right now it is straddling over the seam of the dust cap and the cone 3/4's more over the cone if i recall) , boost some treble on the amp, or would i be better off adjusting the EQ?

 

[Lt. Bob]

In terms of sparkle how would you guys go about fixing that? Would you slide the mic a little more to centre (right now it is straddling over the seam of the dust cap and the cone 3/4's more over the cone if i recall) , boost some treble on the amp, or would i be better off adjusting the EQ?

I tend to reach for the EQ BUT ..... I don't record in a puter and all I do is grab a knob on the mixing board. You guys use plug-ins so I dunno if that's different or not.
I tend to regard 'sparkle' as around the 3-5k area.

 

[Greg_L]

yeah .... it just depends on how much you crank it.
I have a SWR head for bass gigs and a nice Ampeg 410HLF bottom but I don't always want to haul it around so I have a Gallien Kruger 2x10 cab that I would often use.

Now the SWR puts out 500 watts into 4 ohms and the GK cab is 4 ohms but only rated to 200 watts and bass is about the best at killing speakers.
But I used the head thru that cab for gigs for years even though it was grossly over-powered for that cab. ...... I always simply kept the volume down to moderate levels ..... loud enough for gigs but not TOO loud.

One night though, after years of no problems, a band kept asking me to turn up and I suppose I'd gotten complacent after no problem for so long and I did turn it up and ................ silence!
Just all of a sudden with no warning noises they were dead.
It was really that simple ...... got a little too loud and that was it.
But had I not cranked it they'd still be working today.

So it's all about how loud you go.

Lol. Damn. Did it blow both speakers? Did you ever fix it?

Thanks for the wisdom guys. I am going to make note of the settings i have right now to fall back on but i have a few things i want to try. I want to see if i can do something about the stiffness of the sound. Glad Greg heard that as well. I was at a loss for how to describe it. I want to see if i can push that thing a little harder as well.

In terms of sparkle how would you guys go about fixing that? Would you slide the mic a little more to centre (right now it is straddling over the seam of the dust cap and the cone 3/4's more over the cone if i recall) , boost some treble on the amp, or would i be better off adjusting the EQ?

If it were me, I'd record as loud as you can stand it. That will tackle the stiffness of a speaker not working as hard as it should. It will also get the amp cooking nicely. I know that's easier said than done, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I know there are many ways to skin a cat, but you're using a 30 watt head and a 4x12 cab. You gotta get that thing moving some air. Speakers tend to fatten up when pushed, but they also get a little better clarity IMO. A speaker jamming out some sound gives a thick but clear, punchy, 3D kind of quality to the track.

As for more sparkle, you could EQ it, change the mic position, and/or go louder. If you're going to re-track anyway, tweak some amp settings. I wouldn't go brighter on your mic placement. I think that dustcap/seam area is good and plenty bright enough. Closer to center can get fizzy/sizzly. That's not the kind of high end you want. Use your presence (if you have one) and treble controls. I like to trade one for the other, but I don't typically turn up both of them. You could also take some mids out. Don't go metal scooping the mids, but turning them down a hair can clean up the middle and let the high end shine a bit more.

 

[RAMI]

Hey guys,

OK, now that the mods have got rid of a very negative force around here, I've decided to end my hunger strike.

I hope you guys don't mind me posting this here. I was going to post it in the drum section because I wanted to get opinions on my brand new snare. But I also wanted to get some opinions on my guitar tones and slide playing here.

I just started using "FUSE", which is a software that works with my Fender Super Champ. It allows me to download sounds off the internet and load them into my amp.

For this tune, I used an "Angus Marshall" setting for my rythm guitars, and a "Clapton Sunshine Love" setting for the slide parts.

How does it sound overall? Don't mind the intro. That's my bass through some Ozone mangler of some kind.

(besides the regular parts, there's a slide solo at 2:57 if you want to skip through this thing:

 

[Lt. Bob]

I hope you guys don't mind me posting this here.

we want MORE tone postings so you're good ..... post more please.

I like the slide sound quite a bit but there's something about the rhythm distorted git that bothers me but I can't quite put my finger on it ..... it doesn't sound bad, mind you, but it just sounds kinda dead to me.
greg'll be along to get specific ...... overall though, it all sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Lol. Damn. Did it blow both speakers? Did you ever fix it?

yeah .... it blew them both and it was instantly too. Sudden silence.

No I haven't fixed it though I will eventually ..... I'll pick up a couple of 300 watt 10s from Carvin giving the cab a 600 watt rating so that'll take care of that problem for all time.

 

[Greg_L]

Damn Rami, that sounds pretty awesome.

The snare - It definitely seems to have more body to it than your previous snare sounds. It's tight though which is kind of your "signature" sound so it doesn't sound too different from your previous drum tracks. I'd personally like the snare tuned a little fatter myself, especially for a song like this, but it definitely doesn't sound bad. It sounds great, actually. That's just my personal preference and I know that snare can do it. You really do have pretty much a perfect blend of attack, body, and just enough snare sizzle happening there.

The guitars - I think the slide sounds real good. Seems just about right to me, but I wouldn't know slide guitar from a slide whistle. The wide rhythms are pretty good for what they are, but I'm not hearing "Angus Marshall" if that's what you're actually going for. They seem a little darker than an Angus type sound, but they're good for rock rhythm guitar tracks that stand on their own. I'd say bring those rhythms up more in the mix. They seem a little subdued. Let em be big.

 

[RAMI]

we want MORE tone postings so you're good ..... post more please.

I like the slide sound quite a bit but there's something about the rhythm distorted git that bothers me but I can't quite put my finger on it ..... it doesn't sound bad, mind you, but it just sounds kinda dead to me.
greg'll be along to get specific ...... overall though, it all sounds pretty good to me.

Damn Rami, that sounds pretty awesome.

The snare - It definitely seems to have more body to it than your previous snare sounds. It's tight though which is kind of your "signature" sound so it doesn't sound too different from your previous drum tracks. I'd personally like the snare tuned a little fatter myself, especially for a song like this, but it definitely doesn't sound bad. It sounds great, actually. That's just my personal preference and I know that snare can do it. You really do have pretty much a perfect blend of attack, body, and just enough snare sizzle happening there.

The guitars - I think the slide sounds real good. Seems just about right to me, but I wouldn't know slide guitar from a slide whistle. The wide rhythms are pretty good for what they are, but I'm not hearing "Angus Marshall" if that's what you're actually going for. They seem a little darker than an Angus type sound, but they're good for rock rhythm guitar tracks that stand on their own. I'd say bring those rhythms up more in the mix.

Awesome, guys. Thanx a million.

I'm beginning to think I need to look at my micing technique, because I seem to get a rather "dark-ish" rythm sound no matter what. I don't think it's the patches, I think I might need to move my mic closer to the middle of the speaker. Maybe, maybe not, but I get that darkness almost no matter what sound I use, so it's probably worth looking into.

As far as the snare, I think I just naturally gravitate towards that tightness on the top head and it gives me that "pop". But, like you said, I think I have more fatness in this snare, so I can get away with it. I'll try tuning it down a bit for other tunes, just to see.

Thanx a lot dudes!

 

[Greg_L]

Are you using that P-90 SG? That thing should have some inherent brightness to it. It could very well just be your mic spot.

 

[RAMI]

Are you using that P-90 SG? That thing should have some inherent brightness to it. It could very well just be your mic spot.

Yeah, the SG. I used the SG with the P-90's for the rythms and the Strat for the slide. Pretty sure it's my mic placement. I'm so scared of "fizz", that I might be moving it too far away from the center of the cone.

 

[Greg_L]

Where do you usually put the mic?

For real keeper guitar tracks, I usually use a two mic setup. I put one right at the dustcap/cone seam, and one way out near the edge. One is bright, one is dark. Then you can blend for taste. If the sound is too bright in the mix, I just drop the bright mic some and let the dark mic do more work. Or vice-versa. I like doing this better than reaching for an EQ. It's like organic EQ'ing.

 

[jonny deep]

Where do you usually put the mic?

For real keeper guitar tracks, I usually use a two mic setup. I put one right at the dustcap/cone seam, and one way out near the edge. One is bright, one is dark. Then you can blend for taste. If the sound is too bright in the mix, I just drop the bright mic some and let the dark mic do more work. Or vice-versa. I like doing this better than reaching for an EQ. It's like organic EQ'ing.

You might call it your "to go" eq.

 

[RAMI]

Where do you usually put the mic?

For real keeper guitar tracks, I usually use a two mic setup. I put one right at the dustcap/cone seam, and one way out near the edge. One is bright, one is dark. Then you can blend for taste. If the sound is too bright in the mix, I just drop the bright mic some and let the dark mic do more work. Or vice-versa. I like doing this better than reaching for an EQ. It's like organic EQ'ing.

Cool. I'll definitely try that. Right now, I have the mic about 2 inches away from centre (10" speaker). I'll try the 2 mic thing. You use 2 dynamics?

 

[Greg_L]

You might call it your "to go" eq.

Lol! Ba-dump-tsssss

Cool. I'll definitely try that. Right now, I have the mic about 2 inches away from centre (10" speaker). I'll try the 2 mic thing. You use 2 dynamics?

Yup, two dynamics. Just make sure you get the phase right...or slide one track to line up precisely or it can get weird.

 

[RAMI]

Cool, I'm going to try that next time. I'm going to leave this sound for this tune. I think it's not bad enough to warrant re-tracking, but I'll see once vocals are down, etc....

 

[Greg_L]

Cool, I'm going to try that next time. I'm going to leave this sound for this tune. I think it's not bad enough to warrant re-tracking, but I'll see once vocals are down, etc....

Yeah see how it goes. I personally don't think these guitar tracks are bad. You just got "Angus Marshall" in my head and these are darker than that, but that doesn't mean they're bad.

 

[minerman]

Hey guys,

OK, now that the mods have got rid of a very negative force around here, I've decided to end my hunger strike.

WTF did I miss??? I saw the "eq guy" got his panties in a bunch, is that what you're talking about???

I hope you guys don't mind me posting this here. I was going to post it in the drum section because I wanted to get opinions on my brand new snare. But I also wanted to get some opinions on my guitar tones and slide playing here.

I just started using "FUSE", which is a software that works with my Fender Super Champ. It allows me to download sounds off the internet and load them into my amp.

For this tune, I used an "Angus Marshall" setting for my rythm guitars, and a "Clapton Sunshine Love" setting for the slide parts.

How does it sound overall? Don't mind the intro. That's my bass through some Ozone mangler of some kind.

(besides the regular parts, there's a slide solo at 2:57 if you want to skip through this thing:

I agree with the rest of the bunch here about the rhythm tones, they need a little more "oomph"/volume in the mix, & they are just a little dark, but I tend to like bright-ass tones too...Greg has pretty much walked me through the same thing using 2 mics dude, & what he's telling you will work, you just have to get them both in phase, which is something I still struggle with at times myself...The re-amp box is your friend for this dude....

On the slide, I don't hear anything wrong with your playing or the tone myself Rami, but, I'd bump the gain up just a little for a tad more sustain....As far as the playing, the only thing I can hear you might wanna try is some vibrato with the slide, like the old blues players, but that's just me...

And sorry dude, I can't give any advice on the snare because I use fake drums & basically try to make my drums sound like recordings that I like, but I think it sounds pretty good...

 

[RAMI]

WTF did I miss??? I saw the "eq guy" got his panties in a bunch, is that what you're talking about???

No, not the EQ guy. Just someone who keeps posting frickin' "tutorials". Not important.

I agree with the rest of the bunch here about the rhythm tones, they need a little more "oomph"/volume in the mix, & they are just a little dark, but I tend to like bright-ass tones too...Greg has pretty much walked me through the same thing using 2 mics dude, & what he's telling you will work, you just have to get them both in phase, which is something I still struggle with at times myself...The re-amp box is your friend for this dude....

On the slide, I don't hear anything wrong with your playing or the tone myself Rami, but, I'd bump the gain up just a little for a tad more sustain....As far as the playing, the only thing I can hear you might wanna try is some vibrato with the slide, like the old blues players, but that's just me...

And sorry dude, I can't give any advice on the snare because I use fake drums & basically try to make my drums sound like recordings that I like, but I think it sounds pretty good...

Thanx, man. I've played with the rythms a bit. I think I managed to brighten them up a bit.

For the slide, I'm going to try putting a virtual overdrive pedal on that track to see if if gives it a bit more sustain. But since an over-drive pedal usually goes before the amp, I'm not sure if adding it to the post-amp sound will work. I'll find out later.

Thanx a lot, Miner.

 

[ShanPeyton]

Rami: Your snare sounds really awesome. It is tight and in my face. I am anything but a drummer or overly familiar with your previous snare but i hear nothing wrong with this one. Only thing i would change if i was at mission command would be ad a bit more space around it but, only my personal flavor that i am currently struggling with finding my own balance. As this is it sounds deadly. I want to hear it on my monitors. on ear buds currently.

I freaking love the sound of P90's, so i am rather smitten with your guitar tone. I'll be honest i was pleasantly surprised this is a modern Fender 'sim' type amp. The downloadable preset type of thing never wowed me, but then again my last dealing with something similar was User submitted preset via Line 6 for the PodX3. I Found a "Social Distortion tone" once for the POD, downloaded it and it sounded like reverb drenched hippo fart. This is an infinitely better example what a downloadable tone can be.

The slide guitar is super slinky and dirty. That little metallic 'clank' it has in some spots does it for me. I dig it man. And also high five on a stellar performance.

Will this have words at some point or is it just an instrumental.

 

[RAMI]

Rami: Your snare sounds really awesome. It is tight and in my face. I am anything but a drummer or overly familiar with your previous snare but i hear nothing wrong with this one. Only thing i would change if i was at mission command would be ad a bit more space around it but, only my personal flavor that i am currently struggling with finding my own balance. As this is it sounds deadly. I want to hear it on my monitors. on ear buds currently.

I freaking love the sound of P90's, so i am rather smitten with your guitar tone. I'll be honest i was pleasantly surprised this is a modern Fender 'sim' type amp. The downloadable preset type of thing never wowed me, but then again my last dealing with something similar was User submitted preset via Line 6 for the PodX3. I Found a "Social Distortion tone" once for the POD, downloaded it and it sounded like reverb drenched hippo fart. This is an infinitely better example what a downloadable tone can be.

The slide guitar is super slinky and dirty. That little metallic 'clank' it has in some spots does it for me. I dig it man. And also high five on a stellar performance.

Will this have words at some point or is it just an instrumental.

Hey thanx a lot Shan.

I'm not finished mixing this, so the snare might end up getting more room in the end.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Fender Super Champ X2, but it's a modelling amp. It is a tube amp, though. This was the first time I ever downloaded other users' sounds. There are a lot to choose from, and a lot of them are crap.

This already has vocals about 90% done. I just didn't want to post it with the vocals until they were all done.

Thanx a lot, man.