Can't Get Guitar to sound right when recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simplex09
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One guitar. One mic. Advanced techniques get applied later IF, and only IF, it will make an improvement. You seem to have one area where improvement is needed, and its not technical. You need to be able to listen to a sound and compare it with another. Too bassy? Too trebbly? A really good thing to do is visit a busy guitar shop where people grab a guitar off the hangers, plug them in and play them through whatever amp is available, with no pedals. See if anyone even fiddles with the amp settings, or uses the one everybody uses to compare tone.

The record process is really simple and does not involve aiming for ANY dB value. Plug it in, twang it the loudest you will play, and set the input gain so it does not distort at that loudest level. Then press record and play the song. The level will be quite a bit lower than maximum, but with modern gear and digits, adding gain later isnt a problem.

You mentioned you used two mics and didn't notice one was reversed. Reversed or not reversed is a question for your ears. I have never needed two mics on a guitar cab, and am not a fan of two on a snare drum to be honest. I certainly understand why some people do it, but I am not one of them.

Red lights and distortion are bad. Hiss from too low a gain setting are bad, but it leaves you a huge area in the middle where gain simply means tweaking a knob with no ill effects.

As a side comment on amp eq, i am trying to sort out my store. Bursting at the seams and a real mess. I found 4 different amps. Two combos, and two heads and cabs. All just put away after a session or live event. Totally random tone control settings. Each one must have sounded ok when used. No idea what was plugged into them.

Well, the recordings do reflect the amp settings. Treble 10, mid similar, bass lower. Sounds exactly like that. It sounds like early punk rock tone just wants somebody yelling over the top. It is not remotely similar to the band who created that song.

In the first clip, the tuning is very, very obvious. The concern is that you cannot hear it. We know your playing is still a work in progress, but all the suggestions we make are because your current state of aural acuity is quite low. You are reading about techniques that your ears cannot evaluate. We dont mind listening to your stuff, but you need to also be listening yourself. Go back through the comments in this topic, and ask yourself if you can hear what we comment on?

You are on a train journey, avidly looking at trip advisor telling you about the wonderful places on the route, but you've not even noticed you got on the wrong train.

You need to train your ears to appreciate tone and tuning. You need to compare your sound with professional recordings. Until you can do this, do not even get a microphone out!
Thanks! I have to say that you wrote this very well! Over the last few days I have been doing what you have said and learn how to do it and done just that. And I think I'm starting to listen a bit more to the speakers as you said to trebbley or bassy or needs more and adjusting according to so. Thanks for your help I will post a update at some point.
 
I just want to encourage you to remember that so much people say on the net MUST be balanced against what you decide for yourself.

On her, for example - some people ALWAYS record a certain thing one way. It's how it works best for them. Ohters do totally different things. The only real vital thing is the end result.

I have always recorded grand pianos with two mics. I've told everyone it's the best and only proper way. I had a friend who has one nice mic ask if he could record a piano in mono, with one mic and if he put nice reverb on it, what would the difference be. My head says stereo would be better, but as I have never actually done the comparison - as soon as I have time, I am going to try it and hear the difference. It's against a rule I made up for myself.

Your guitar success gets a bit overshadowed by snippets of other people's advice. Things that work for them. I am one of those people who never change strings unless they break. All of my guitars are duller than real guitarists. So perhaps my amp settings have a bit more top to counteract it?? Possible, I suppose? all I can say is that when I plug a guitar into any amp, I twang it and instantly know what is missing, or over the top, and it takes maybe 30 seconds to fix it. I never pay attention to the knob settings - I have sort of a memory preset in my head. Get my preferred sound with nothing plugged in messing it up - then I can add gizmos if I wish.
 
Hey Guys,

I just wanted to quickly come back to this topic not because I need more help in this topic in particularly but because I wanted to quickly update everyone and say thanks for your help a few months back. I did what was suggested and start basic and add stuff in slowly especially when your starting out recording. And I think I'm getting much better results now, Something that might be worth listening to the whole thing and not 5 seconds and it becomes unbearable lol.

Thanks again.
 
Hey Guys,

I just wanted to quickly come back to this topic not because I need more help in this topic in particularly but because I wanted to quickly update everyone and say thanks for your help a few months back. I did what was suggested and start basic and add stuff in slowly especially when your starting out recording. And I think I'm getting much better results now, Something that might be worth listening to the whole thing and not 5 seconds and it becomes unbearable lol.

Thanks again.
WELL MATEY! We'll be the judge of that!! Not me of course, mutton. But seriously, post a clip.

Dave.
 
The other problem of course is no matter how good you get at it, you're never going to be completely happy with your guitar sounds. :ROFLMAO: The sounds I'm getting these days would have blown me away even as recently as a few years ago, and I'm STILL not totally happy!
 
The other problem of course is no matter how good you get at it, you're never going to be completely happy with your guitar sounds. :ROFLMAO: The sounds I'm getting these days would have blown me away even as recently as a few years ago, and I'm STILL not totally happy!
Yeah* I am not REMOTELY any kind of guitar payer (but I can do yer wiring and tune one for you!) but in over ten years on audio forums, this question..."how do I get a good e guitar sound?" has been around for ever. I have gleaned a few "truths" in that time, many of which have been covered already but, for WIITW here's MY take.

Bit of a swerve but "they say" to make a great recording of ACOUSTIC guitar, start with a great guitar and a great player!
For electrics I would interpret that as needing a good amplifier, a well setup instrument and decent chops....many believe "it's in the hands".
The above implies using a microphone on a cab. I am sure you CAN get great sounds "in the box" but getting a good tone in the room seems to be a shortcut to good results?

Don't run too loud.

Don't run too distorted.

Know the sound you want and if asking on a forum give examples. Very often the guy or gal you are trying to emulate has a special rig which you are ignorant about? Someone might eventually say, "Well Old ****face had a battery of XYZs and 18 100W Marshall rigs setup round a 28 room castle in Sctlnd!

Whatever the guitar sound you get in isolation that you are "quite" happy with is likely to disappoint when put in a mix (mainly will be too distorted)

Bottom line? Sounds easy, from everything I have read, it ain't!

*30 or so years ago son had me soldering and swapping components in a Dommy clone (Mersey Super 15) at all hours searching for an "Angus Young" tone. Two weeks later he wanted Brian May!

Dave.
 
Yeah* I am not REMOTELY any kind of guitar payer (but I can do yer wiring and tune one for you!) but in over ten years on audio forums, this question..."how do I get a good e guitar sound?" has been around for ever. I have gleaned a few "truths" in that time, many of which have been covered already but, for WIITW here's MY take.

Bit of a swerve but "they say" to make a great recording of ACOUSTIC guitar, start with a great guitar and a great player!
For electrics I would interpret that as needing a good amplifier, a well setup instrument and decent chops....many believe "it's in the hands".
The above implies using a microphone on a cab. I am sure you CAN get great sounds "in the box" but getting a good tone in the room seems to be a shortcut to good results?

Don't run too loud.

Don't run too distorted.

Know the sound you want and if asking on a forum give examples. Very often the guy or gal you are trying to emulate has a special rig which you are ignorant about? Someone might eventually say, "Well Old ****face had a battery of XYZs and 18 100W Marshall rigs setup round a 28 room castle in Sctlnd!

Whatever the guitar sound you get in isolation that you are "quite" happy with is likely to disappoint when put in a mix (mainly will be too distorted)

Bottom line? Sounds easy, from everything I have read, it ain't!

*30 or so years ago son had me soldering and swapping components in a Dommy clone (Mersey Super 15) at all hours searching for an "Angus Young" tone. Two weeks later he wanted Brian May!

Dave.
Oh don't worry, I've been doing this a VERY long time, lol. I have a good sense of what I'm after and how to get it, and I'm probably 98-99% there, and from 90% 5-10 years ago that's a huge improvement. That last percentage point is where the madness lies though. :lol:
 
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