I am just not understanding this electric guitar business...

[gtrplyr]

So I am desperately trying to get a decent electric guitar sound...

I'll tell you my setup and then ask my question.

Various guitars > Peavey 5150 > SM57 > Firepod > Adobe Audition 2.0

Ive tried all kinds of mic placements. I think I'm confused about the levels. If I crank the amp, I can leave the trim on that channel of the Firepod at practically -20db (all the way down) and the levels in Audition are between
-16db and -12db which I am told is an appropriate level to be recording at.

It just sounds like garbage upon playback. Thin, weak. definitely not acceptable and I'm really not sure what I'm doing wrong. I have a feeling I don't fully grasp the concept of the levels. Is there another level monitor I'm not seeing? Even if I record multiple guitar tracks and pan them, etc.. it just doesnt sound "right".

I'm just recording rock guitar...not metal...not even that crunchy really...but it seems to come out crunchy...almost distorted. Am I overloading the SM57?

Help!

 

[Farview]

You should post an mp3 of it. That will go a long way towards a diagnosis.

Are you sure the amp sounds good in the first place?

 

[DAS19]

I dont know much about your amp but I dont really like peavey amps soo you might not be able to get a good sound becuase your amp might not be up to par but I could be wrong. It very well could be the room your in.

But dont go into a recording thinking your gonna get the sound you want from one mic just cuase people say they get a good sound it. Like the 57 and guitars. People like myself commonly have made the mistake of thinking that you can just mic an amp with a 57 everytime and it will sound good, but thats not the case a 57 does not always sound good and imo alot of the times it doesnt sound good no matter what you do. Try using a good dynmic or the 57 if thats all you have and a condensor. And blend them together.

Expierent getting the phasee minimal.

Oh yeah and the levels you should be recording at are as high as possible with out peaking. There is no set db level like you siad you thought. The levels should just be bouncing as high as possible without clipping.

 

[Farview]

I dont know much about your amp but I dont really like peavey amps soo you might not be able to get a good sound becuase your amp might not be up to par but I could be wrong. It very well could be the room your in.

Eddie Van Halen seemed to do OK with that amp. How he has the controls set might be an issue, it's not an easy amp to tame.

Try using a good dynmic or the 57 if thats all you have and a condensor. And blend them together.

A 57 is a dynamic. I've miced several 5150's with a 57 and it sounded great.

Oh yeah and the levels you should be recording at are as high as possible with out peaking.

I can't believe people still say this. It is about the worst advice possible. It completely ignores proper gain staging, which will screw you at every step in the process. Getting a distorted electric guitar to peak anywhere near 0dbFS will be recording up to 12db too hot. The cheap preamps in the firepod will not take kindly to being run out of headroom like that.

It is always best if you know what your converters are calibrated at. But a safe record level is -18dbfs average level. (not peak level or average peak level)

 

[gtrplyr]

Eddie Van Halen seemed to do OK with that amp. How he has the controls set might be an issue, it's not an easy amp to tame.

A 57 is a dynamic. I've miced several 5150's with a 57 and it sounded great.



I can't believe people still say this. It is about the worst advice possible. It completely ignores proper gain staging, which will screw you at every step in the process. Getting a distorted electric guitar to peak anywhere near 0dbFS will be recording up to 12db too hot. The cheap preamps in the firepod will not take kindly to being run out of headroom like that.

It is always best if you know what your converters are calibrated at. But a safe record level is -18dbfs average level. (not peak level or average peak level)

And thats how I understand it. However, say I record with it peaking at -18dbfs....upon playback, its so low that i cant really hear how it sounds, you know?

 

[Farview]

You shouldn't be peaking at -18dbfs, you should have it average at -18dbfs. Hold a power chord and set the level of that to -18dbfs.

If you can't hear it, turn up the monitors. If it's too low compared to the rest of the tracks in the mix, you must have recorded them too hot. (and should turn those down)

 

[mixsit]

Agreed. Your tone is from a) guitar and amp settings b) mic position (and choice, but a 57 has plenty of potential to get you 90%), c) digi record level -minimal.
Go for a good clean capture with tone as close as your best guess, judge it within the mix.
As for a bit of distance to mimic some room tone, maby go to a flatter mic that doesn't drop lows out past 6".

 

[gtrplyr]

speaking of distance...a lot of the time when i play back...the guitar sounds like it was recorded from across the room, even if the mic was right up on it. theres just this...distant...sound about it.

 

[Farview]

What part of the speaker are you pointing the mic at?

 

[mixsit]

speaking of distance...a lot of the time when i play back...the guitar sounds like it was recorded from across the room, even if the mic was right up on it. theres just this...distant...sound about it.

That's a bit odd. No other cross sources? Bouncing off a way small hard room?

 

[JCM900]

If you are recording with reverb on... turn it off, recording with reverb will give you a distant sound that you cant repair.

 

[Cyrokk]

Is the amp on the floor or elevated? Elevating the amp can make an improvement in sound as well.

 

[Nightfire]

I usually dont place the mic right in the middle of your amp cone, but on the outside perimer of the cone.
Might make a diff for you, I know it has for me.


Mike

 

[kubeek]

gtrplyr: Could you post some mp3 for us to hear the sound you get?

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

Don't take this the wrong way, as it is meant to be an honest question, but do you have any experience at all recording overdriven/distorted electric guitars? If not, the problem may be that you're simply unfamiliar with how they sound by themselves! A big, huge, mean electric guitar tone will sound thinnish and small by itself sometimes, and you also have to take into account that you're pumping the crap out of a 4x12, then listening back on much smaller, quieter speakers. It will always sound different by itself in monitors!