Bad Guitar Tones

R

RTWmaniac

New member
I'm a newbie here, so excuse the ignorance. I've been slowly getting better but I can't seem to get a good guitar tone in my mixes. Sometimes I play through a Fender combo and mic it for recording (with a cheap mic) and sometimes I'll go directly from the amp to the USB interface. I'm assuming it's not the best idea to plug a guitar directly into my USB interface for recording.

Recently, I've been reading about multi layering guitar tracks with panning and the like. So I'm about to dive head first into that.

Any general tips? Am I at least on the right track here? Thanks for any help!
 
When you say your tone "is not good," what do you mean? How does it sound right now? How would you like it to sound? And what style of music are you playing & recording?
 
Do you like the tone you hear with your ears, and just can't get it to mix well? If you don't like it at the source, I'd start there. After that, I'd get a decent mic (57 is great). I'd also check to see if you're using the eq section of your usb mixer, it might suck and you probably want to avoid it if possible. Do your eqing in the box.

But yes, it's become popular to double guitar tracks if you are very precise. Here's what I've found doubling tracks:
- tune your guitar meticulously after EVERY take
- use different tones and/or mic placements for different tracks, it will help add to the effect (I often do humbucker on a track and another with a single coil)

Good luck.
 
I can't really add much to what these guys have said but...

When I track guitars for metal, I turn down the gain first. I've found that I get it to sit better in the mix and it actually sounds better when recorded. If I normally play with my distortion cranked, I'll back it off to, say, 6.5 or 7. I'll also hi pass when EQing. I'll cut out the lows down around 150 hz or sometimes up to 250 hz. Just whatever the tune needs. Play around with it and you'll find it. Keep in mind tho, that it's

how the guitar sounds.......... In The Mix, NOT how it sounds solo'd.........

But yeah...get the tone/sound you want at the source. A 57 up on the grill has been my "go to" mic for awhile. I'll sometimes use a second mic, usually an LCD, out 3 or 4 feet from the cab and then play with the placement til it sounds good.

Good luck man......Kel
 
What do you mean "eqing in the box?" As far as I know, my USB doesn't have an eq at all.

I play a mixture of heavy rock (maybe a Tool like distortion) and a lot of experimental stuff. Lots of phasers, pitch shifters, delays, flangers, etc. Note that not all of it is heavy.
 
By eqing in the box he means to use an eq in your DAW after you have recorded the track.
But your tone coming out of the amp has to sound how you really want it to sound before you mic it up. Experiment with where you place your mic but if I were you i would place it close to the the edge of your speaker and right up against the grill cloth.
 
Welcome to HR. You're in the right place.

Let's start at the beginning.

What kind of guitar is it? What kind of amp is it?

Next, what do you want it to sound like? Give us some examples.

We can't guess what you sound like, but with that information we can get a pretty good idea.
 
RTWmaniac said:
I've been slowly getting better but I can't seem to get a good guitar tone in my mixes... Recently, I've been reading about multi layering guitar tracks with panning and the like. So I'm about to dive head first into that.
Click to expand...

if you are unable to record what you consider a good tone with one mic, then adding more of the same will not help.

having the ability to reamp is a great way to learn how to mic the speaker. reamping allows you to send the amp a recorded gtr DI and you can then concentrate only on dialing a tone and mic positioning.
 
Thanks for the replies. And sorry, I didn't realize I was being so vague.

The guitar I mainly use is a Dean EVO-FTX. I use a Fender combo piece that's pretty decent. Sometimes I also use a Marshall Valvestate head and use the speaker of the Fender combo. Sometimes I only use the Marshall head and go directly from that into my USB interface (with no mic). I realize the Valvestate isn't the best but I like the distortion on it.

Again, I'm an experimental musician, so I don't have an exact sound I'm aiming for. I just sometimes end up with tinny tones that are especially annoying in the higher octaves. But it's more of a problem at the source than it is with my DAW.

Maybe what my main dilemma is, I'm not sure if I need to just figure out what I'm doing wrong with the settings on my current eqiupment, or if I should get better eqiupment.
 
RTWmaniac said:
I use a Fender combo piece that's pretty decent.
Click to expand...

And that Fender combo is a....?

It sounds like this is a gear problem and not neccesarily one borne of bad playing or recording technique.

For instance, you mention Tool. Adam Jones uses Les Paul guitars with a Seymour Duncan Jazz pup in the neck and a JB pup in the bridge.

He uses multiple Marshall, Mesa, and Diezel amps.

I think the pickups and amplifiers probably do a lot of the heavy lifting.

In any case, I think you should be looking at a solidbody guitar with good humbuckers and a tube amp suited to heavy guitar work, such as Mesa produces. It's not my style, so many here can point you to some budget-minded alternatives.
 
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