DI guitar recording

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lightsandshapes

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Hi there, I've just began to start recording a few idea's of mine and have ran into a few problems (and probably a lot more to come) and the main one for now is guitar tone. Right now, im playing a PRS se 25th anniversary edition into a M-audio fast track pro and then using Amplitube software with some guitar hack impulses and the distorted tone is harsh and barely listenable.

I've experimented a lot with how i actually play to change the sound, and noticed some pretty considerable differences but nothing comes close to a lot of the demo's i've heard of people using amplitube with impulses. I imagine EQ and compression would help but i wouldn't even know where to begin with that.

Heres a short track i made showing my problem:
Chirbit - Breakdown Song - LightsAndShapes - share audio easily

PS: if you happen to pick up on this recording and/or my others yes i realize im horribly sloppy and and not tight at all, beginning to record has put this in perspective for me and im working on it. Also, i dont really like breakdown driven music... It's just really easy to write and is good for the high gain context.
 
Less gain is more during recording. Use less gain and double the parts. I get great sounds out of amplitube. Try rolling off a little of the highs.
 
by double the parts, do you mean just make an exact copy of the existing track? and what do you mean roll of the highs? sorry about the questions but im pretty clueless lol
 
Don't worry about being clueless. When I say double, I mean play the parts again.
When I saw roll of the highs, I mean roll OFF the highs. There is a knob in amplitube in the eq model that says high. I tend to cut this a little.

There are many youtube videos on amplitube sounds. Just watch until you find a sound that you like and copy their settings and save it as a preset. This will give you a good starting point and you can tweak it to fit your recordings.

For example:
 
That doesn't sound to bad at all. There are a few things to take into consideration as well. He may of been playing through a $15,000 guitar into a countryman DI box. But, with some drums and bass guitar, that ill be a workable sound. A little compression and some eq to make it sit in the mix well.
 
Okay, cheers for that, I'll go look up some compression and eq tutorials then
 
Youtube will be a great help when starting out. It makes it easy because you can see and hear what is going on.
 
Although I can't play the file right now (work), I do agree with Socks info.
Less gain is more and double tracking.

In fact, I'm working with a guitarist now that uses waaay too much distortion and it's about all I can do to get him to back it off. :rolleyes: And then when he did back it off to a useable level, he cranked up the phlanger and reverb. :spank:

Also, on the panning of the double tracked guitars...just place em where they sound best. Sometimes I'll hard pan L/R, sometimes at 9:00 and 3:00. Just whatever works.

Luck man. :drunk:
 
oh yeah....I wouldn't worry about compression too much at this point.
Distortion IS compression.
Just shoot for tracking levels between -12 and -18 so they're not too hot, and go from there. You can learn comp n shit as ya go.
:)
 
thanks for the advice dogbreath, i really wasnt considering my levels so that might help. If anyone here records DI, would you mind sending me a recording of a completely uneditted track of one of your guitar riffs (something for high gain)? then i can take than and edit it to see if it is my guitar and interface thats making the difference
 
lightsandshapes said:
thanks for the advice dogbreath, i really wasnt considering my levels so that might help.
Click to expand...

Glad to help man. ;)

Tracking levels are important. If you push it too hard at the very first stage of the game, you're eating up headroom that you're gonna need later in the mixing and mastering processes.

You'll also end up with more punch and clarity if you track lower.

:drunk:
 
Also, I know some bands like to mix a high gain track with say like an orange or fender blues style track. The gain gives you the crunch and distortion while the cleaner signal gives you the clarity.
 
sockswithshoes said:
Also, I know some bands like to mix a high gain track with say like an orange or fender blues style track. The gain gives you the crunch and distortion while the cleaner signal gives you the clarity.
Click to expand...

Troof :D

I'll blend either different guitars, different pickups of the same guitar, mic a different amp, or a blend of DI and mic'd amp.
Experiment dude. :)
Ya never know what might work out for ya.
 
lightsandshapes said:
thanks for the advice dogbreath, i really wasnt considering my levels so that might help. If anyone here records DI, would you mind sending me a recording of a completely uneditted track of one of your guitar riffs (something for high gain)? then i can take than and edit it to see if it is my guitar and interface thats making the difference
Click to expand...
Possibly post a DI of yours and maybe some will reamp.
 
Dogbreath said:
In fact, I'm working with a guitarist now that uses waaay too much distortion and it's about all I can do to get him to back it off. :rolleyes: And then when he did back it off to a useable level, he cranked up the phlanger and reverb. :spank:
Click to expand...

Do you just want to thump them sometimes?? I mean I'm a guitarist myself, but I've learnt over the years that less is more with all "effects" including distortion... must be painful to have to educate everyone all the time.... "just do as I say punk!"

Just tell him "Dude, flangers are so, like 80s..." :D
 
Armistice said:
Do you just want to thump them sometimes?? I mean I'm a guitarist myself, but I've learnt over the years that less is more with all "effects" including distortion... must be painful to have to educate everyone all the time.... "just do as I say punk!"

Just tell him "Dude, flangers are so, like 80s..." :D
Click to expand...

I know, right? :laughings:
Especially flangers cranked up to 11.
:laughings:
 
Sounds like everything i was gonna say has been said already.

Turn the gain down.


And i started tracking at lower levels and the results have been positive. I track my guits at around -12 -10. It's still kinda encroaching on that hotness. But i found in my case to serve its purpose well.
 
What issue does turning down the gain solve?

I understand setting the gain for the desired tone or for context, but not blanket statements about reducing gain.
 
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