how can i get a high fidelity DISTORTION ?

[Derek Verner]

The only way to record distortion in Hi-Fi is to mic a small amp.

 

[BillyFurnett]

Maybe you can try rolling a hunk of that distortion off and double track the guitar part???

I can never really get my guitar tracks to sound as natural as my amp does (Getting better at it though thank God), but the first time I played back a double tracked guitar a light went off in my head and I said "Ohhh THAT'S how they get that BIG rock sound!"
It's not a solution and certainly isn't a practice meant to take place of gain structure, a clean signal path, or proper mic and placement (Or any of the other advice given here)..., but in my case I was fighting my gear for 1 big sound without knowing 2 smaller ones are what I was listening for all along.
(Your situation of course may be completly different, but
if it applys or you're interested, there are plenty of threads on the subject here.)

 

[bsanfordnyc]

Does anyone here ever record guitars without the use of an AMP?

My guitar goes into my pedal, which then goes straight into my digital workstation which also has effects, EQ, etc...

The sound coming out of my pedal is recorded straight onto digital, with nothing lost or gained, since there is no middleman like a microphone.

I'm a newbie, so maybe my method is wrong, but my recordings are absolutely crisp.

Anyone have opinion on this?

 

[Derek Verner]

Much of the distortion occurs in the speakers and not in the guitar so you need to mic an amp.

 

[moskus]

Much of the distortion occurs in the speakers and not in the guitar so you need to mic an amp.

... or an amp.simulator...

 

[cstockdale]

what exactly is gainstaging ?
sorry by the ignorance. my english is bad

in the console, anything is exactly touching the red mark, they are always in the middle, cause i'm afraid to get distortion in the digital recording, i always end normalizing the audio.

my post (*as has already been reposted) is just a few more up the page here: it was a response to your original question.

The point of gainstaging (Gain Staging... i.e. working with the GAIN at every STAGE) is to maximize your S:N ratio (Signal to Noise ratio). Your response shows me that this is the biggest problem you have in your recording. On your mixer you want to push teh signal as high as it can go without clipping (the highest peaks just touch the red). If you only go mid-way up your meter, you are getting unnecessary NOISE. If you are doing this at the mic preamp phase, at the mixer output phase and the soundcard mixer phase, each time you are amplifying your noise, and your S:N ratio is too low.

Your mixer should have a light on it on each channel. Re-read my post and follow it carefully. Push each stage as high as you can so it almost but not quite clips , this filters out any noise and maximizes your signal strength.

 

[mallcore pop]

. . .my recordings are absolutely crisp.

Anyone have opinion on this?

That crispness is usually the problem. Warmth and punch are found just off the axis of a speaker.

MP

 

[underp]

First of all, let me say thanks, for all those who are helping newbies, including me.

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Should i record from the "SUB" out or from the "MAIN" out ?

the MAIN out of my console is MONO, it controls the SUB1 & SUB2.

i have to check the red mark in the SUB out or in the MAIN out ?

 

[Rocket Boy]

you're guitar and amplifier are AWFULL. that's like your entire problem here... trust me...