guitar gain question

P

p.babs

New member
Hey there, I just wanted to ask a quick question.

When recording your guitars, do you guys simply record with the dirt that your amp produces? or do you make your amp come out cleaner and add gain/distortion afterwards?

I've always been someone who loves the sound of a amps natural gain/distortion, so I'm attempting to use as much of the amp's natural sound as possible rather than touching up later.

Anyways, i was just wondering what the rest of the world was doing

(I hope this belongs in the recording forum and not the guitar forum).
 
I get the sound I want at the amp...there's no adding anything later in my SOP.

One thing though...when it comes to distortion...find what you like from the amp...and then back OFF the distortion about a 1/3.
It will record much better that way. It's something about a mic that makes it sound MORE distorted than it really is, so if you just go by the sound at the amp with a lot of distortion, it could be a bit mushy when recorded.
 
You get the distortion from the amp. It's the only way to go. What makes it easier for me is I always have a cabinet in another room and the amp in the control room with me. That way, I'm tweaking the amp based on the sound that the mic is picking up.

It really doesn't matter what the amp sounds like in the room, there is no one in there to hear it. The rest of the world is going to hear that guitar through the mic. Even when the band plays live, chances are the audience will listen to the guitar through a mic and the PA. Getting the amp to sound good through the mic is much more important than getting it to sound good while you're standing next to it.
 
Farview said:
You get the distortion from the amp. It's the only way to go. What makes it easier for me is I always have a cabinet in another room and the amp in the control room with me. That way, I'm tweaking the amp based on the sound that the mic is picking up.

It really doesn't matter what the amp sounds like in the room, there is no one in there to hear it. The rest of the world is going to hear that guitar through the mic. Even when the band plays live, chances are the audience will listen to the guitar through a mic and the PA. Getting the amp to sound good through the mic is much more important than getting it to sound good while you're standing next to it.
Click to expand...

1. The amp in the control room idea is stellar, and I'm going to try this from now on.

2. I recently saw a show of mine from the audience's perspective via a digital camera-I was blown away. I thought my sound was to thin on stage, but once it made its way through the mic and PA it came out perfect (for what I was looking for). Just a nice crunch! So I agree with the statement about working on your stage sound rather than your 'jamming with the buddies' sound.
 
Farview said:
What makes it easier for me is I always have a cabinet in another room and the amp in the control room with me.
Click to expand...

Yeah..that's a cool approach if you have that capability.
My "control room" IS my studio. :)
I got all my amps in there, and everything is wired and set...so too much hassle to drag a cab to another room.
I do it the old-fashioned way: Record a practice track --- listen to the playback --- make an adjustment to the amp and/or mic.
I maybe repeat that a couple of more times, and then the guitar sound is set.
It takes only about 10-15 minutes and easier for me than taking the cab to another room.
Plus...since I'm the guy playing, I have to start/stop anyway, as it's not easy to make adjustments while I'm playing. :D

So Jay...are you using one of those Radial rigs (Radial SGI sudio guitar interface) that allow you to run the amp long distances from the cab...or are you just using a long speaker wire to the cab?


To the OP.
One thing about getting the sound at the amp...
...it's good to put your ear where you plan on putting the mic...or, put the mic where it sounds right to you. Cabs are funny...you could stand in front of one and it sounds totally different than if you take one step off to the side. Same if you close-mic...4" off axis will sound different than right at the center of the cone...so mic placement and what you are hearing need to "come together".
 
miroslav said:
So Jay...are you using one of those Radial rigs (Radial SGI sudio guitar interface) that allow you to run the amp long distances from the cab...or are you just using a long speaker wire to the cab?
Click to expand...
That Radial unit allows you to run the guitar long distances from the amp. There is no problem running hundreds of feet of speaker cable (of the right size).

I have a room with a 4x12 cab in it miced at all times. Clients are welcome to bring their own cabinet to put in there as well.

Since I do mostly rock and metal, a 4x12 is appropriate. When some one comes in with an old Fender combo, they end up in the other live room with the amp and headphones.
 
Yeah...I got my apples-n-oranges mixed up. :D
The Radial device is not for what you are doing...but it too is also a cool studio gadget for letting the player be in different rooms than the amp/cab.
 
Step 1 - Throw on headphones and place mic in front of amp.

Step 2 - Play with amp settings and mic placement til I find sound I like.

Step 3 - ??????

Step 4 - Profit!

But seriously throw the headphones on and then decide on your tone/gain/distortion since it will sound differently through a mic.
 
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