Not happy with guitar recordings (need help)

  • Thread starter Thread starter BjoernarMo
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BjoernarMo

New member
Hi!

I'm not happy about the way the guitar sounds on the recordings I make.
I wish I had a sample right now, but I can tell you that I'm using:

- Cubase LE 4
- Guitar Rig 3/4
- B.C Rich Warlock
- Guitar Rig Session

I'm not editing the audio track at all at Cubase, may that be the problem?

Hoping for response :)
 
Just generalizing here:

Seems lately every time we have a "help with my guitar tone" thread it turns out somebody is using an amp sim and not an amp.

To the O.P.:
What do you sound like right now?
What do you want to sound like?
Have you tried using a microphone and guitar amp?

We can't help you get someplace unless we know where you're headed and where you currently are.

And no, editing the sound in Cubase is almost certainly not the answer to the problem for 99.95% of guitar sounds you might be looking for.
 
The other huge wildcard here, arguably even more than the sim/amp one, is HOW are you using those pieces? What models, with what sort of amp settings? What pickup are you using on your BC Rich? Are you recording one track, or are you multitracking? Are you auditioning clips solo'd, or are you unsatisfied with how it sounds in the mix? When you record, how 'hot' is the signal? I.e, where does it peak when it's coming into your sound card? And how are you getting the sound from your guitar into the computer to apply Guitar Rig models?
 
First thing to try: Mic the friggin amp! Pick up atleast an sm57 for 100$ bucks. That right there will put the punch back in your sound. I know there's probably tons of awesome preamps and amp sims but I've never heard DI match the power of a mic. I personally can't stand that harsh brittle DI sound. For example, the solo in sympathy for the devil ..course technology has come a long way, who knows what they stuck the guitar in for that!
 
You need at least "Insert Some Number Greater Than One" tracks of rhythm guitar to get that thick tone. I used 8 on my last song and other than drop outs in Sonar, it sounds good.
 
Wow his post is extremely vague! There are so many things that can screw up the sound of the guitar track. What kind of guitar tone are you trying to get.
 
Don't like muse... but I gotta ask -

I've only recently learned about double tracking - and have been playing with it a lot. I can't believe the sound I'm getting from my guitar! it's so rich.

Muse doesn't double track?
 
BjoernarMo said:
Hi!

I'm not editing the audio track at all at Cubase, may that be the problem?

Hoping for response :)
Click to expand...

There should be very little editing once it's in the box.

Mic and Amp are good. New strings, good amp, and decent mic are great.
 
I agree on the mutiple rythem tracks but that's not all that's important. The raw first take should sound good on its own.
 
Dark Imagery said:
First thing to try: Mic the friggin amp! Pick up atleast an sm57 for 100$ bucks. That right there will put the punch back in your sound. I know there's probably tons of awesome preamps and amp sims but I've never heard DI match the power of a mic. I personally can't stand that harsh brittle DI sound. For example, the solo in sympathy for the devil ..course technology has come a long way, who knows what they stuck the guitar in for that!
Click to expand...

The OP was so vague, it's almost impossible to help. It's like me saying "I don't like the way my spaghetti turns out. I can't give you a sample. Please advise".

So I'm gonna talk about the guitar on "Sympathy for the devil" instead. I think it's a fantastic piece of guitar. I would never have known it was DI'd and I've been listening to it since 1976. And though I'm primarilly a 'mic the amp' man, I don't care. I love it to the max ! "Eooww eeoooww eeeooooowww ! Weeeooowww weeooow ! Nnniiingi nniiingi peeooww peeoowww !!". It's a booming song from start to finish. I wouldn't mind a few guitar tones like that in a song or two.
 
miroslav said:
Do you think a Palmer might do the trick? :laughings:


;)

Sorry...couldn't help that, Drew. :D


AFA the sim/amp thing...I ain't gonna' say a thing..... :)
Click to expand...

:lol:

DI works phenomenally for some stuff - my old Marshall TSL100 had what was actually a remarkably good emulated out (it was post poweramp too, which really helped), and while there's a whole slew of reasons why I was never REALLY able to rip off Meshuggah for reasons mostly having to do with technique and creativity, part of it too was the DI - when I tried running through the emulated out rather than micing up, suddenly the attach just started working. It wouldn't be my first choice for a blues album, but for the percussive "djent" thing, it seems the way to go.
 
Hey, woah now! Never said the song or the guitar playing doesn't rock! Just don't like the guitar tone. The Stones :spank: and make me like it.
 
Dark Imagery said:
Hey, woah now! Never said the song or the guitar playing doesn't rock! Just don't like the guitar tone. The Stones :spank: and make me like it.
Click to expand...

I actually perceived that you do like the song, it came through in the way you wrote about your dislike of the guitar tone. It was one of those "I like this in spite of the tone" kind of feels. You've kind of sparked something for me, actually. In the guitar/bass forum there was recently a "What was your guitar or bass epiphany - how did you get interested ?" thread. I could remember clearly how I first noticed the acoustic and the bass. But though I spent about two weeks trying to remember the first electric guitar to really make a dent, I couldn't for the life of me. Your comment has just unlocked that door, right this moment. It was Keith Richards on "Sympathy for the devil" and Brian May on "Bohemian Rhapsody".
 
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