Distorted Guitar

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EightMilesHigh

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Good afternoon everyone. I have recorded multiple takes of some distorted guitar over the last couple of days which I am reasonably proud of. The style of music is not really punk or metal though, it’s more of a singer/songwriter cut with an edge, it has what might be termed “light punkish overtones.” Distortion is only most prominently used in the choruses to make them more exciting. Here is my question:

What kind of guitar parts do you layer in to sweeten a distorted chorus? I often hear in professional recordings other guitar parts, not just the distortion of the top two guitar strings (power chords, which I recorded). What kind of playing do you know of that meshes with distortion? I was thinking of layering some high end chords or just regular chords lightly distorted. Also, I have acoustic guitar chords strumming in the background which I could lightly add to the mix. Without some sweetening, it sounds a bit too metalish, almost like the boxy And Justice For All… sound! (lol) A good record to be sure, but not by a long shot what I’m trying to achieve. I am about to embark on some experimentation, so any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Just for the record, I have a Mexican Strat, and also a Line-6 Pod. My parts of the last two days were carefully recorded from my Peavy Bandit 112 amp, however (low end I know, but save the tomatoes, it actually sounds pretty decent with the settings used!)
 
Guitar Styles.

I personally dig thinner/grittier tones on guitar, I think it opens up more space for other things to be going on, but it really reveals any fluffed notes and the sustain of the notes is considerably less. Most of the records I like sound like they were recorded with a Telecaster, or a hollowbody with a lot of pronounced midrange snarl by gently distorting the preamp.

If you are chunking along with powerchords, and it's not doing your thing, lots of my guitar playing buddies believe in doing simple melodies that are repeated - generally higher up on the neck to stay out of the vocal range, ie. sweet child of mine(gnr), Staring at the Sun (U2), most CCR stuff.

I also like to play open chords while powerchord riffs are happening, and keeping it relatively clean but using more left handed (Fret) muting to keep rhythm stuff interesting and give it a dirtier/funkier sound, along with trying to get more pick sound cutting through and keeping that a little farther back in the mix. I think Lou Reed gets this tone nailed alot.

Ever since I've been really focusing on guitar tones that I like, I've realized most amplifiers I play through at the store just have way too much low-end. It's kind of cool to stand infront of your amplifier and feel it move air and to kill small rodents... but its not going to make your friends with your bassist, and it just doesn't translate that well on record.

I dunno. I'd appreciate hearing others opinion on how to write contrasting parts.
 
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