Can't Get Guitar to sound right when recording

[Simplex09]

The playing is a bit rough, but your tone is better than some previous clips you put up.
So, there is improvement!

Actually it was the first time I recorded that tone in particular so I had no idea how it would come out, I'm doing some more messing around with the tone / playing and seeing if I can get it better. But towards the start of the post I understand what everyone was saying about depth.

 

[Simplex09]

Actually it was the first time I recorded that tone in particular so I had no idea how it would come out, I'm doing some more messing around with the tone / playing and seeing if I can get it better. But towards the start of the post I understand what everyone was saying about depth.

Here is a clip I did tonight with a bit more practice and messing a bit more around with the tone. Thanks for your help guys it defiantly sounds a bit better than when I started this topic.

 

[rob aylestone]

It's very sort of dark sounding - loads of energy at the bottom end, and less at the top? That's a bit unusual for this style. Playing is better - but if you don;t mind a suggestion - play with a click or a drum in your ears because you speed up and slow down quite a bit. I tapped my foot and then realised somehow I was on the off-beat. That's a really important thing for guitarists to do, because at some point you play with a drummer and need to keep up!

 

[Simplex09]

It's very sort of dark sounding - loads of energy at the bottom end, and less at the top? That's a bit unusual for this style. Playing is better - but if you don;t mind a suggestion - play with a click or a drum in your ears because you speed up and slow down quite a bit. I tapped my foot and then realised somehow I was on the off-beat. That's a really important thing for guitarists to do, because at some point you play with a drummer and need to keep up!

So would you suggest adding more trebble? Or eqing the lowend out at 90-200? I have been removing the eq at 90-120 but for this riff I left it in. Secondly I do like the suggest of the click/drum I learnt how to play this years ago but haven't touched on it for a while. I noticed when i first started to record the riff how poor the timing was. But I wanted to try something "new and different" by trying to get another tone.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

So would you suggest adding more trebble? Or eqing the lowend out at 90-200? I have been removing the eq at 90-120 but for this riff I left it in. Secondly I do like the suggest of the click/drum I learnt how to play this years ago but haven't touched on it for a while. I noticed when i first started to record the riff how poor the timing was. But I wanted to try something "new and different" by trying to get another tone.

Finally got a chance to listen to this - I got pretty heavily into the "shred" thing over time, but Cobain was the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. Always happy to listen to some Nirvana.

It could be some sort of a sampling rate issue, but it's happening both on my recording setup (where I have a proper set of monitors) and my work laptop (where it's just the internal speakers) so I don't think so - my biggest critique is you're significantly rushing the song. I'd say something like 30% faster than recorded, and i think that's where some of your timing issues are coming from, as the performance sounds kind of rushed. Your dynamics are a bit more heavy handed than Cobain's here too, with a firmer pick attack - the studio version has a fairly delicate touch to this part, which helps play up the contrast when the distorted stuff comes in.

The tone is actually pretty squarely in the right ballpark for this song - maybe a hair more gain than the studio version but I think that's your picking attack more than your amp. The studio version isn't really what most people would call a "nice" clean tone, but it's got this cool just-shy-of-grittiness to it that snarls a little when Kurt digs in, and I think you're a little further into that snarl territory than he is.

So, slow it down, play this with a lighter, more ethereal touch, and I think that will get you a lot farther towards getting this tone than fiddling with your amp or mic will here. In the mix, yeah I'd probably tuck back the low end a little bit, but only a little.

 

[Papanate]

So would you suggest adding more trebble? Or eqing the lowend out at 90-200? I have been removing the eq at 90-120 but for this riff I left it in. Secondly I do like the suggest of the click/drum I learnt how to play this years ago but haven't touched on it for a while. I noticed when i first started to record the riff how poor the timing was. But I wanted to try something "new and different" by trying to get another tone.

I would suggest you tune your guitar before going any further - and lighten up a lot - your playing is really edgy - but it seems like you want smoother - as for the sound - to me it sounds like you are going direct? Are you?

 

[Old Music Guy]

Try a tuner, and a metronome. Practice with the metronome until you can play the notes without thinking.
Also, learning how to play in "a studio" has it's own set of issues. Try not to think about the recording, and just play.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Also, learning how to play in "a studio" has it's own set of issues. Try not to think about the recording, and just play.

Noooooo shit, lol.

Worse still is when you're playing pretty well, but you make a small mistake in a take so you stop, delete, and start over... and then suddenly you do the exact same thing on 20 takes within the first 30 seconds because you've gotten inside your own head and can't play something that should be doable for you. does anyone else do this or am I just that special?

 

[ecc83]

Noooooo shit, lol.

Worse still is when you're playing pretty well, but you make a small mistake in a take so you stop, delete, and start over... and then suddenly you do the exact same thing on 20 takes within the first 30 seconds because you've gotten inside your own head and can't play something that should be doable for you. does anyone else do this or am I just that special?

One word: Reamper.

Dave.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

One word: Reamper.

Dave.

Reamper? Doesn't fix performance issues, alas!

I've historically always printed amp tones to disc while recording but did switch to reamping for demoing a few years back, and after having a daughter last year decided to reamp all the guitars on the album I'm tracking now simply because that means I can record any time I want and not worry about waking her up.

Unexpected perk - being able to record 99% of a guitar part at conversational volume, but punch in the last note with my amp cranked WAAAAAY the hell up when I have the house to myself, to get a seamless guitar tone that decays into glorious feedback on that last note. It's so much fun.

 

[RFR]

So would you suggest adding more trebble? Or eqing the lowend out at 90-200? I have been removing the eq at 90-120 but for this riff I left it in. Secondly I do like the suggest of the click/drum I learnt how to play this years ago but haven't touched on it for a while. I noticed when i first started to record the riff how poor the timing was. But I wanted to try something "new and different" by trying to get another tone.

At the risk of being a bad guy……Here it comes.
You’re wasting your time with fiddling with tone knobs and mic placement. No amount of ‘eq fixes’ will fix the lack of confidence that comes through in your recordings.

You need to work on your playing. There have been plenty of of suggestions on what to do to better your playing in this thread.

You need to own it. You need to play it like you yourself wrote the guitar parts. Your track will then exude confidence and shaping the tone will be minor fixes.

Time to focus on practice.

 

[rob aylestone]

For years we have had questions on the same subject, from before the internet. People would ask (originally by post in a magazine) about recording guitars. They had the same guitar, plugged into the same equipment as a famous person, but complaining they didn't sound the same. Duane Eddy, Hank Marvin, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore, and the most often failed copy, Brian May.

The problem wasnt the kit, it was the person. People were buying Gretch, Gibson, Yamaha, Fender and the red specials, plus the authentic amps and processors. Did they sound like their heros? Rarely. I work on a lot of tribute shows, and even with the guitar and piles of AC30s, none sound like Brian May. They sound like somebody trying to play like him. Lots of people strongly disagree with this. They affirm it is just getting the exact chain correct, tweaking the guitar, but I believe it is the fingers and brain. Has anyone heard anybody do a proper Jeff Beck? I bought one of those dirt cheap chinese processors with loads of tweakability. I sounded as bad as usual on it. On ebay I watched a guy make it sound amazing. He was playing a strat. Damn!

 

[Papanate]

For years we have had questions on the same subject, from before the internet. People would ask (originally by post in a magazine) about recording guitars. They had the same guitar, plugged into the same equipment as a famous person,- and the most often failed copy, Brian May. - Rarely. I work on a lot of tribute shows, and even with the guitar and piles of AC30s, none sound like Brian May.

Brain Mays sound is very easy to approximate - his style of playing is not - Same with Eagles tributes - most miss the style but get the sound - Van Halen tributes - most of the top bands get the sound - almost all of them miss the swing and delicate pitching (drums too - most drummers in the bands are way too stiff).

They sound like somebody trying to play like him. Lots of people strongly disagree with this. They affirm it is just getting the exact chain correct, tweaking the guitar, but I believe it is the fingers and brain. Has anyone heard anybody do a proper Jeff Beck? I bought one of those dirt cheap chinese processors with loads of tweakability. I sounded as bad as usual on it. On ebay I watched a guy make it sound amazing. He was playing a strat. Damn!

There is a lot to be said of the mindset of the player - I’ve always been able to nail the sounds of whomever I want - but copying how they play is another matter altogether - so I don’t - rather I approximate the playing style as best I can and leave it at that - which BTW Jeff Beck is one guitarist who I can’t copy the sound or style - and I’ve tried - interesting enough Cream Era Eric Clapton is a cinch for me - and quite boring to do.

 

[Papanate]

At the risk of being a bad guy……Here it comes.
You’re wasting your time with fiddling with tone knobs and mic placement. No amount of ‘eq fixes’ will fix the lack of confidence that comes through in your recordings.

You need to work on your playing. There have been plenty of of suggestions on what to do to better your playing in this thread.

You need to own it. You need to play it like you yourself wrote the guitar parts. Your track will then exude confidence and shaping the tone will be minor fixes.

Time to focus on practice.

Somebody had to say it again.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

For years we have had questions on the same subject, from before the internet. People would ask (originally by post in a magazine) about recording guitars. They had the same guitar, plugged into the same equipment as a famous person, but complaining they didn't sound the same. Duane Eddy, Hank Marvin, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore, and the most often failed copy, Brian May.

The problem wasnt the kit, it was the person. People were buying Gretch, Gibson, Yamaha, Fender and the red specials, plus the authentic amps and processors. Did they sound like their heros? Rarely. I work on a lot of tribute shows, and even with the guitar and piles of AC30s, none sound like Brian May. They sound like somebody trying to play like him. Lots of people strongly disagree with this. They affirm it is just getting the exact chain correct, tweaking the guitar, but I believe it is the fingers and brain. Has anyone heard anybody do a proper Jeff Beck? I bought one of those dirt cheap chinese processors with loads of tweakability. I sounded as bad as usual on it. On ebay I watched a guy make it sound amazing. He was playing a strat. Damn!

None of this is wrong... but it's all a little besides the point for someone trying to get his first guitar recordings to sound better, and trying to approximate Kurt Cobain's sound, no?

I'll never sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan even if I play his main guitar through his exact rig (and I'd give a kidney for the opportunity to do either!), but that doesn't mean there aren't ways I can make a much better sounding recording of me sounding like me playing all of SRV's gear if I'm ever so fortunate to have the opportunity to do so in a studio. And if I didn't have a pretty good idea how to go about that already, I'm sure there are loads of pointers members here could give me, in that wildly-fun-sounding hypothetical.

 

[60's guy]

I'll never sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan even if I play his main guitar through his exact rig (and I'd give a kidney for the opportunity to do either!), but that doesn't mean there aren't ways I can make a much better sounding recording of me sounding like me.

I have never purposely tried to emulate the tones and styles of any famous guitar player simply because it's nearly impossible. For sure, though, players like Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Walter Trout have almost succeeded at sounding like SRV.
To what end?

 

[TalismanRich]

I have never purposely tried to emulate the tones and styles of any famous guitar player simply because it's nearly impossible. For sure, though, players like Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Walter Trout have almost succeeded at sounding like SRV.

To what end?

I would say "to make their music". Kenny's done pretty well for himself with lots of albums and tours under his belt. The same for Walter... he's done pretty well for himself. Heck he played for Mayall for about 5 years, and John was known for picking a few good guitar players in his time.

Robin Trower "sort of" sounded like Hendrix, but in the end, he just sounded like Robin. Petty "kind of" sounded like Roger McGuinn. Derek Trucks can do a pretty convincing Duane Allman.

Everybody has an influence.

But RFR's right... you gotta PLAY like your hero to SOUND like your hero! It's found not in the gear, but in the fingers!

 

[60's guy]

I would say "to make their music". Kenny's done pretty well for himself with lots of albums and tours under his belt. The same for Walter... he's done pretty well for himself. Heck he played for Mayall for about 5 years, and John was known for picking a few good guitar players in his time.

Yup

Robin Trower "sort of" sounded like Hendrix, but in the end, he just sounded like Robin. Petty "kind of" sounded like Roger McGuinn. Derek Trucks can do a pretty convincing Duane Allman.

Everybody has an influence.

Yes

But RFR's right... you gotta PLAY like your hero to SOUND like your hero! It's found not in the gear, but in the fingers!

I agree 100%. You gotta learn how to play like Cobain (or any other guitar hero) long before you learn how to emulate their tones. Yes?

 

[TalismanRich]

This conversation made me think of one time when you probably want to get the sound close, and that's in a tribute band.

This guy is pretty good at being a chameleon.



John's actually a professor of music, and works with several tributes, Asia, Tull, Zepplin, Genesis.

I know lots of musicians rag on tribute bands, but in a lot of respects, it's not much different from an orchestra still playing Mozart or Chopin, or a big band doing Benny Goodman. Especially, since a lot of musicians from the 50s, 60, 70s and 80s are dying off, it's good to keep some of this music alive. Our kids and grandkids didn't get to go see these groups, especially in their prime.

 

[RFR]

Here’s someone who has definitely mastered channeling the feel and tone of the original artist