C
chessrock
Banned
Hey right on, man.
Ya know ... if you listen to that track, you'll probably notice there are several layers going on. If you focus on what's coming out of the left speaker, you might notice some high end harmonics going on, similar to what you hear on Eck's examples.
What happened there is that I made a compromise with the guitar player. I let him track with his tone ... but with the understanding that we'd do at least a few more layers with some other tones -- namely the ones that I would dial in / recommend. Ultimately, the ones that I recommended were a combination of a very midrange-oriented tone -- kind of like a "pignose" kinda' deal out of a smaller amp with very little highs or lows ... sort of the opposite of his tone, moreless.
This allowed me at least some flexibility at mixdown to kind of lightly mix in the second tone if it needed more midrange -- without having to resort to EQ.
Similarly, we also did a few tracks with the Mesa, but with the presence and gain turned considerably down; more to my own taste. Again, this just gave us more stuff to work with and balance out come mixdown. Overally, if you think the tone is too scooped out and lacks any midrange definition ... then you bring in just a hair of the "pignose" track (or rather, small combo amp track). If if it sounds too thin and hashy, then you bring in just a little more of the "lower-gain, no-presence" (chunky) track to breathe a little bit of dynamics and less fizz in to the mix.
In regards to this whole "presence" deal ... I just have very strong feelings about it all, because I think that any time you're dealing with artificial high end harmonics ... you're getting in to dangerous territory. Basically, any presence knob is going to attempt to accomplish the same end as a BBE sonic maximizer or an aural exciter. And the reason this stuff is dangerous is that it can very quickly seduce you in to over-use by throwing off your perspective. Seriously, after listening to stuff that has enough of the exciter in it ... your ears grow accustomed to it. Sometimes in a matter of minutes ... and then, you don't realize it's there. And obviously, it's happened to a lot of folks in this forum ... just as it's happened to the two guys at the local Music-go-round that I frequent on Milwaukee Ave.
But we won't get too much in to that right now -- subject for another thread.Basicall, "for most people" ... and there are exceptions, mind you, but they're rare ... but FOR MOST PEOPLE ... it only takes about 5 minutes of listening to anything with jacked up high end harmonics ... to completely throw off your ability to accurately listen. It's like you become deaf to certain frequencies, and before you know it ... you're turning it up because you think it sounds great that way. But give your ears a day or two of rest ... listen to it again, and at a reasonable volume, and suddenly you're hearing it for what it is; a pile of crap with a layer of squealy high end harmonics that drown out any definition; a problem that only compounds as you layer additional tracks on top of it.
So I'm not saying never to use any of it ... simply to use a lot less than you "think" you need or like. Turn it down to where you don't think there's nearly enough ... and you've probably hit on just the right amount. Similarly ... crank the gain until you think you're "almost there," and you're probably right on the mark. It's a psychology that can take some getting used to, obviously, but you can adjust.
.
.
Last edited:
