Distortion Guitar Sounds Like Shite

[poo]

You guys HAVE TO help me! I can't get a good POWERFUL sounding distorted guitar sound. This is what I have available...
Delta 44
Three sm 57's
Tube MP
Autocom Pro
Traynor 80 Watt Tube Amp (the new series)
Fender Strat, american
digitech rp 100

everything I record sounds "distant" "gritty shitty" "lacks presence" isnt "warm"

I think I have sufficient equipment , but I lack technique on how to use it properly!

thanks

 

[jimistone]

for what its worth

whenever i have a problem with getting a good distortion sound on a recording 9 times out of 10 im using too much distortion. back off the drive and let more of the actual GUITAR sound through

i have found that a little distortion goes a long way on a recording

 

[poo]

I can see that working really well! I guess to much GAIN will make the guitar sound like it's choking or something. I thought of a great analogy, but it's not appropriate!

peace

 

[Hard2Hear]

less distortion, more tracks. When doing a crunchy distorted sound, I always use at least 6 tracks playing the exact same thing. Also, don't scoop out the mids, that's where the true frequency of guitar lives, when you lose mids, you lose guitar tone!

H2H

 

[matty_boy]

I agree about rolling off the distortion. Mine is never above 3. Also, sometimes mic placement is the big issue. Mess around with that a bit. Hope something one of says helps.

 

[poo]

thanks guys!

when you refer to "6 tracks of the same guitar part" do you mean layering them...like recorging the same part 6 times?

 

[detuned6]

powerfull dist.

well using a fender with a single coil, hmmm........ mic placement is the key, as long as you like the sound of the amp in the room before it comes thru the monitors. you should be close micing also,(i havent any luck with anything else) and get a humbucker!!(lol)

 

[Hard2Hear]

poo-

Yes, layering, recording the same part over and over. This technique is always used on recordings you hear on radio. My guitar sound quality at home jumped considerably when I started doing it. Try it using 4 parts. Pan 2 of them 100% left and right, the other 2 pan about 60% left and right. You have just created the wall of guitar distortion that so many people are looking for. It also helps to vary the distortion and tone just a bit, it thickens up the track even more.

Try it, I bet you like the results!


Oh, and remember that Jimi used a Strat, lots of other people with big distortion sounds, too..like Green Day.

H2H

 

[Lopp]

I agree with most of the posts above and I'll add/ephasize a few points.

1. While it's old and cliche, make sure you stick that SM57 right up against the speaker grill of your cab. You can experiment with the positioning, but that is a great starting point.

2. Yes, Strats can sound big, but generally not as fat as a Les Paul. Humbuckers really help. Les Paul warmth also comes from the shorter neck length and the mahogany body.

3. Effects can often make a guitar sound thinner and more distant in a mix. If using them, try easing off the chorus and reverb.

 

[UberGawkman]

Hey poo.... what kind of distorted sound are you going for? Name a few artists..... are you looking for rock distortion, or metal distortion?

For example, Hard2Hear defines as "big distortion" as like Green Day.

I would consider powerful sounding distortion to be Pantera/Fear Factory/Deftones.

Then you have something in between which would be like Hoobastank, Creed, Puddle Of Mudd, etc.

Little big of a gap there

What's your poison?

 

[poo]

Hey,

Right now i'm mainly working with a punk band similar to the musings of Rancid etc. The green day sound would be favourable!
I was listenining that that new puddle of mud song and there is a wall of sound, BUT the guitars are actually pretty quiet in the mix.
So basically I record a shitload of tracks, layer them, and then mix them quiet in the song, and voila?

 

[PeterKang]

i am in similar situation, my band would classify as pop punk/ power pop/emo or osmeting like that and i need a similar distortion, one similar to green days or maybe even somewhat like blink 182s woulod be favorable( althogh i do not like blink 182 because i think they are untalented dirtbags, but tahts besides the ponint)
thanks

 

[Hard2Hear]

poo and Peter.

I am going to put up a song tonight that I'm in the middle of working on that is kind of pop-punk (it's for a girl group, you may hate it). But I want you to listen to the guitar and tell me if it's anywhere close to what you're talking about. Give me a little bit to do a quick mix and I'll toss it up there. If you like it, I'll tell you how I did it.

H2H

 

[UberGawkman]

Hey,

Right now i'm mainly working with a punk band similar to the musings of Rancid etc. The green day sound would be favourable!

In that case... what Hard2Hear said


Another thing you might try is rolling off some of the hi-end that you can get when micing a cab, like everything about 6-7khz and up. I find doing this can reduce some of the buzzy, "gritty" quality I personally can't stand.

 

[Hard2Hear]

here's that song, I put it up just for you guys. It's a very rough mix and very rough scratch vocals on it, girls will sing it in reality. But tell me what you think of the guitar on it.
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/4/1071/singles.shtml

The song is at the bottom, called "Around"

H2H

 

[Lopp]

Nice clip. Very Green Day-ish. Good full guitars.

The bass is a bit too mid-rangey and possibly not compressed enough for my taste, but it works well in the punk context.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Do you have a humbucker for the bridge pickup? That's really the only way to get a good modern distortion sound out of a strat. Anything else will give you more of a dirty blues crunch.

Since I got my Les Paul my answer to any crappy distortion questions is get a Les Paul There's no substitute for the real thing.

 

[Hard2Hear]

Tex- I agree about that certian sound. Thats why I have Strats, Les Pauls, a PRS and a Tele, so I can get what I want when I need it. But for this genre specifically, a Strat can be really good. It depends on your amp to a great extent. A DOD American metal teamed with a Strat is how I made some of those punk sounds, then run clean through a class A tube amp. Plus it is 6 guitar tracks mixed in stereo. 2 are semi-clean, kind of Angus Young sidtortion, 2 are the American Metal sound, very scooped and heavily distorted, a very recto sound, 2 are ballsy JCM800 sound. You mix the 3 together and get one wonderful sounding guitar track, IMO. Of course, it would be better is I had even nicer gear, but we're talking a minimum setup here.

H2H

 

[foo]

Use the three '57s - two as a stereo - close mic the amp and pan one to each side (and if you have an open back cabinet, put them behind the speakers)

Take the third one back about 10 - 15 feet in front of and in the middle of the speakers and put it in the middle of the mix.

Just a little more info to muddy the water for you!

foo

 

[poo]

You know how on Strats they have the out of phase selections? They get rid of the noise, but sounds like shit. I think it sounds better without using those pickups....they have a quackier tone to them...but arent good in higher gain situations....