Help recording guitar

[DougieLove]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but...please humor me.

When I record my electric guitars (Strat, Tele & LP), I use an SM57 about 1-2" away from the cabinet grille, off-centered, but angled towards the cone. I use a Peavey Classic 50 Head w/4x12 cabinet.

When I record the guitars clean, it sounds great!!! BUT when I try to record a distorted track, it sound "CARDBOARDISHY"...that's really the best way to describe it.

The total signal chain is:
Guitar - Amp - SM57 - ART Dual MP - Roland VS-1680.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Doug

 

[NYMorningstar]

One idea is to try it with the cabinet sitting on a chair or something similar to get it off the floor and use less distortion than you think you need. Record a dry track at the same time and use a mix of the two to fatten it up some.

 

[Ronan]

This is probably not too helpful, but the 5150 is the only Peavy I have ever heard with decent distortion. The problems may be at the sounds. Does your classic 50 give you a sound that you like out in the room?

A couple things to try. Get the cab off the floor as already stated, move the mic back a few inches for a more open sound. Also with EQ try scooping our frequencies aroudn 250 - 600 Hz. play around and see what works best for you.

 

[DougieLove]

When I hear the amp, it gives me the sound that I want. But for some reason, when it's recorded, it sounds different...

As for the cabinet being off the floor...it's on casters, does that count?

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but I'm really new at this recording process and any help you all can offer is greatly appreciated.

Doug

 

[chessrock]

When I hear the amp, it gives me the sound that I want. But for some reason, when it's recorded, it sounds different...

That's usually the case when recording distorted guitar.

The problem is that our ears hear distorted guitar differently than the mic does -- Try sticking your ear right against the grille where your mic is, play and listen. Does that sound good to you? No? Didn't think so. Recording distorted guitar is not an easy thing, and requires a different approach, some creative listening, and lots of experimentation.

Your ears will play a lot of tricks on your brain when listening to a distorted guitar amp. What you may think sounds good to you, in the room, while playing might actually suck ass. I can name at least a dozen guys I've played with before as an example. Some of these dudes just crank it up and think the voice of god is coming out of their amps, when from my perspective it just sounds like a freakin' car wreck and I have to wonder if the guitar player has lost his hearing or portions of his brain or both.

. . . And the problem is that oftentimes the recorded sound will tell too much of the truth than a lot of us can handle. And sometimes the truth can hurt a little, but on a positive note it can be sobering.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some amplifiers just seem to record distorted guitar better than others. The Classic 50 -- just like it's Classic 30 sibling -- isn't one of them. I find it great for cleaner to bluesy tones, as you mentioned, but quite sucky on distortion of any kind. Basically a muddy and mumbled mush of a tone to put it kindly. On the other hands, some amps just seem to excel at it -- A few of the Marshall JCM models come to mind, as do just about any of the Mesa Boogies. Using a good amp that "does distortion well" will be about the easiest and most stress-free approach (if not the least expensive).

 

[Moonrider]

When I record the guitars clean, it sounds great!!! BUT when I try to record a distorted track, it sound "CARDBOARDISHY"...that's really the best way to describe it.

Go here, read everything. It WILL help.
Slipperman's Recording Distorted Guitars Thread From HELL

 

[Jimmie]

Try a Fender amp? hehe. I just can't stand Peavy amps. But that is just my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it.

Don't mean you shouldn't be able to get it to sound the way ya want tho.

 

[mshilarious]

As the proud owner of a modded Dual MP, which I use exclusively as my DI box, I have to say that nothing sounded great until I replaced the opamps in the dual MP with Burr Brown OPA2134s, and the tubes with vintage units. That really makes a nice improvement. Changing the opamps tightened up the lows and cleaned up the highs, and swapping the tubes gave me more and better-defined, better sounding harmonic distortion.

The opamp swap was pretty cheap and not too hard (I'm only OK at soldering). The tubes, well that's real easy, but I bought 7 different vintage tubes to find two I really liked. Generally I found old GE tubes to be the most consistent, even though I actually ended up with other tubes.

You can do this mod for about $25.

 

[Dani Pace]

Welcome to the world of trial and error. Rest assured you are not the first to experience the "sounds great when i play it, sounds like crap when I record it." Experimentation seems to be the only way to find a method that works, and there are plenty of variables to consider. A different amp is a good place to start, as already stated some amps "project" distortion much better than others. A different mic, or just tweeking the EQ can sometimes make a world of difference too. Mic placement can drastically alter what your recorder captures, even a few inches or a slight angle change may surprise you. Even things like amp placement in relation to the room where you are recording will alter what the mic "hears," the smaller the room the more obvious this will be. I could go on and on but i think by now you are getting the idea, if what you hear on the playback isn't what you want then readjust something. Little by little you will find the combination that gices you the sound you are looking for. Best of luck, don't give up, that sound is there...somewhere.