I neeeeeeeed a list here...

[Syco4369]

All right, hi, I'm new to the forum. I found this place, because I have a Yamaha AW16G, and I was researching some tips for it, because I can NOT get the sound I want. When it comes to guitar, I hate their built-in effects. They just sound so grainy and non-professional. Granted, it is a little workstation, I shouldn't expect amazing quality, but it's just not cutting it for me. So, here's the run-down. I've been trying an Epiphone Les Paul and a cheaper Ibanez to run it through the workstation itself. As I said before, I didn't like it too much. My favorite effect is probably "stack lead", but it still sucks to me. I tried messing with the Dynamics, EQ, and Speaker Sound, but still nothing. Then, I mic'ed them up to the my Crate 120-watt amp, using a Shure ASX-1 dynamic mic. Still, didn't like it. Then I routed the external speaker part of the amp into the AW16G, but nothing of great achievement. So, basically, here I am stuck asking somebody if they know exactly what I need to do to get a AMAZING distortion, rythym, and clean sounds? I want to know every new piece of equipment I should buy. Be it mics, guitars, amps, pre-amps, cables - whatever. I need to know. Plus, I need to know if I can achieve that perfect sound with the stuff I have now. If so, how exactly step-for-step what I get that? I am very desperate for the best answer so somebody pleasssssse for the love of all humanity, help me. I beg you most knowledgeable people of the Recording forum.

 

[laststartoshine]

well, i would definately say that the qaulity of guitar tone, is that of the gear.

if you want good sounding guitar tone on a recording, i would recomend upgrading your guitar setup, preferably to something tube. you'll get a rich, solid tone...get something thats versitle if you want lead/rythm/and clean. depending on what kind of epiphone you have, i'd consider upgrading that as well...maybe to an epiphone les paul custom? we sometimes prefer the tone of that over the other more expensive..."nicer guitars" we have. if you have good guitar gear(and know how to use it) it'l make recording it easier 10 fold.

 

[Syco4369]

Yeah, but can you list like by price estimate and equipment wise on everything that would go perfect for it? I don't want to buy like the wrong equipment together and have to keep rebuying stuff on my wrong mix and match.

 

[laststartoshine]

honestly, it comes down to what you like, go to guitar center, or wherever.... you can spend anywhere between 1,000 for a good setup, to 5,000 for an amazing setup.

it's all about good gear, with a sound you like =) go play a ton of different stuff, and decide what you like.

 

[ridgeback]

All right, hi, I'm new to the forum. I found this place, because I have a Yamaha AW16G, and I was researching some tips for it, because I can NOT get the sound I want. When it comes to guitar, I hate their built-in effects. They just sound so grainy and non-professional. Granted, it is a little workstation, I shouldn't expect amazing quality, but it's just not cutting it for me.

The AW16G is actually a pretty nice machine but stay away from the onboard stuff when it comes to guitar. We need to concentrate on the old GI/GO theory here. (garbage in garbage out)

Then, I mic'ed them up to the my Crate 120-watt amp, using a Shure ASX-1 dynamic mic.

It would be helpful to know which crate you are using. I'll assume it's a GT1200H. Crate makes some interesting and decent entry level gear but that head doesn't do it for me. Maybe a decent back liner for live but not for recording.

So, basically, here I am stuck asking somebody if they know exactly what I need to do to get a AMAZING distortion, rythym, and clean sounds?

First off, for the best of all worlds one amp is a pretty tall order. Your Epi LP should do you just fine. My vote is stay away from the modeling amps. I haven't found one that sounds real to me. A few amps to try out would be the Fender SuperSonic 60W all tube, Peavy ValveKing 50W A/B Tube, or the newer Peavy Penta. The Fender SS has 2 footswitchable channels with a clean and a beefy high gain mode. The Valveking boasts about the same but at a smaller price tag. The Penta is a 5 mode single channel but the tube presets are real and pretty broad in choices. Also the presets are tweakable. Also 140W all tube. If you don't get the combo versions, make sure you get a quality cabinet to match. Don't just take my word though, go check these out and see for yourself.

I beg you most knowledgeable people of the Recording forum.

You're far too kind
Good Luck!

 

[orksnork]

Having gone to school, for any number of years, I find myself troubled trying to read that initial "paragraph". Does he mention what type of music he is playing? That would certainly help in advising new gear.

 

[Rokket]

I would also say that you should stay away from the onboard effects and DI (directly pluggin in) the guitar. Once you get it tracked, it's hard to get it to sit right in the mix. And as someone stated, most onboard effects are crap.

I have also heard time and time again that Crate amps don't record well. I don't know too many people who even use them.

If you are serious about your music, you may want to look into renting some good amps and trying them out to see which one will give you the tone you are looking for.

A couple other tips:
1. Mess around with mic placement. Sometimes even a crappy 10 watt practice amp can sound great if you place the mic in the right spot.

2. Turn your gain or distortion knob down much less for recording than you would for live use. Too much gain or distortion will give you a fuzzy tone.

You can hear what the mic hears if you put headphones on and listen to your guitar amp as you move the mic around and adjust your gain/distortion. The key here is to experiment. It will take some work on your part, but it will be worth it in the end.

 

[David M]

I have also heard time and time again that Crate amps don't record well. I don't know too many people who even use them.

I have a crate bass amp and it sounds great for recording. I would not know for guitar. My guitar amp is a Fender Blues Jr. and It is a fantastic studeo amp. Generally I'd stick with a small tube amp for recording.

 

[Rokket]

I have a crate bass amp and it sounds great for recording. I would not know for guitar. My guitar amp is a Fender Blues Jr. and It is a fantastic studeo amp. Generally I'd stick with a small tube amp for recording.

Yeah, I haven't heard anything bad about the bass amps. I have a Gallien Krueger RB700, but don't really use it to record because my mic selection is pretty sparse. I usually use my SansAmp Bass driver DI.

 

[orksnork]

i know a pretty good producer who uses a crate combo/DI mixture for 95% of his bass tracks...

he has an amp he just loves


crate guitar amps are absolute trash

 

[David M]

Yeah I do the crate combo/DI mix on my bass as well. Then I do my mixdown through a Joe Meek compressor. The Joe Meek compressor and EQ works really well on bass.

 

[ridgeback]

My guitar amp is a Fender Blues Jr. and It is a fantastic studeo amp. Generally I'd stick with a small tube amp for recording.

Another great amp to try for sure!

 

[ridgeback]

crate guitar amps are absolute trash

I've always thought that as well but I just scored an 805 and it's actually a pretty cool little amp. There's some mods I'm going to try but bone stock it sounds pretty nice. The factory gain stage sucks pretty bad but the mod is supposed to help that a bit.