Panning Guitar Distortion tracks

[amt7565]

Any recommendations ofor recording rythm tracks for distortion? Let's say I am recording in Mono a guitar rhythm part (all power chords) on one track. Is it common practice to copy this to another track and then pan each channel left and right?

Any other suggestions for rhythm parts?

Thanks.

 

[scrubs]

Don't just copy it and pan, that will only make it louder, but still in mono. Instead, track the part twice and pan them to opposite sides. Or, mic up your amp with two different mics and pan those for a nice big sound (be careful of phase problems with this method).

 

[amt7565]

OK-
That's what I have been doing seems like. Tracking 2 tracks at the same time by routing the Input to 2 buses and then panning them.

Thanks

 

[7string]

That's not what he said. He said to track the part twice. In other words, record the rhythm track and then go back and record it again. Putting the same signal to two separate tracks is not the same thing. It's basically the same as copying and panning. Use two slightly or radically different sounds on each track. THEN pan.

 

[scrubs]

OK-
That's what I have been doing seems like. Tracking 2 tracks at the same time by routing the Input to 2 buses and then panning them.

Thanks

No, that's not it. What 7string said. Record the part twice. Using a different guitar, amp, and/or effect settings can lead to interesting results.

 

[thajeremy]

he also said to record it instereo with 2 different mics. I did this just last night on a band I had here from 1 pm to 3am. anyway..I used an sm57 on one speaker and an AT3035 on the other and panned them. It gave it a much fuller sound. Its also nice that there are 2 very different sounds. You can tell the track is not doubled, but it still sounds really full.

 

[amt7565]

You guys are correct!
I just tried your method- I recorded the track twice- seperately by playing twice and panned it left and right and the sound is full and nice! I only have one mic though- a SM57.

Thanks for the tip. Please keep them coming!

 

[NashBackslash]

Also, I don't know where I picked this up from, but I do remember some people just recording a rhythm guitar track in mono once, then copy and paste the exact same track onto another track, on the exact same time.

THEN only record the same line again (so it sounds different), do the copy + paste trick.

Now pan the recordings hard left and right. So basically you have four tracks for the guitars.

I do know that merely copy+pasting the same track twice just makes the volume louder, but I kind of remember someone saying that it also makes the track sound "fatter".

Is that nonesense, or not?

 

[scrubs]

Is that nonesense, or not?

Yup, that's bunk. You can copy and paste all you want, but if it's the same exact track, it will never be stereo and will only get louder. You'd do just as well (and save hard drive space) by just turning up the volume.

 

[thajeremy]

if your song is symetrical, and you used a metronome, and you are lazy, then you can copy the second half and double it with the first, and copy the first half and double it with the second. This will work, and I have had to do it, for someone who (as bad as this is) couldnt play through THEIR OWN SONG twice with out messing up.

Unfortunatly, some people just cant understand why copying and pasting wont work but it will not fatten up or fill out a song. think about it like this...

mono = same sound out of each speaker....

copy, paste, and pan = same sound comming out of each speaker.

 

[jamking]

Don't just copy it and pan, that will only make it louder, but still in mono. Instead, track the part twice and pan them to opposite sides. Or, mic up your amp with two different mics and pan those for a nice big sound (be careful of phase problems with this method).

A trick I learned for this is to copy the track, pan them both all the way in opposites and than shift one of the tracks by a couple of milliseconds (10 or so). It won't give the same stereo effect as duplicating it on another track but it will save time.

 

[NashBackslash]

A trick I learned for this is to copy the track, pan them both all the way in opposites and than shift one of the tracks by a couple of milliseconds (10 or so). It won't give the same stereo effect as duplicating it on another track but it will save time.

Don't forget to reverse the phase for one of the tracks!

Also, for REALLY lazy people, there's a plugin that comes with Sony Soundforge called Multi-tap Delay. There's a preset that comes with that plugin that does exactly what jamking does.

When used as a real-time plugin, though, there is no way to phase reverse one of the tracks.

 

[jamking]

Don't forget to reverse the phase for one of the tracks!

Also, for REALLY lazy people, there's a plugin that comes with Sony Soundforge called Multi-tap Delay. There's a preset that comes with that plugin that does exactly what jamking does.

When used as a real-time plugin, though, there is no way to phase reverse one of the tracks.

Well, you don't have to reverse the phase if you shift it, right? That way, their no longer running parallel.

 

[gullfo]

or you could do something outrageous and instead of simply playing the same part twice, you could play two (or more) different parts! this way you have musical interest and dynamics...

right guitar - Part I
left guitar - variation of Part I or counterpoint - or just on chrous... could even be alternating parts

try different guitars/settings/amps/mics for each as well. sometimes even using an acoustic guitar can add volume and interest....

when you do this you get less chance of "Building Up" frequencies that can muddy the sound...

 

[Farview]

Well, you don't have to reverse the phase if you shift it, right? That way, their no longer running parallel.

This whole thing leads to enormous phase problems in mono. And, yes, that matters.


Why does anyone need to go through all this, just play it again.

 

[David Katauskas]

This whole thing leads to enormous phase problems in mono. And, yes, that matters.


Why does anyone need to go through all this, just play it again.

Hear Hear (or is that 'here here')...anyway...what Farview said. It shouldn't be that hard and you'll get much better results.

 

[jamking]

This whole thing leads to enormous phase problems in mono. And, yes, that matters.


Why does anyone need to go through all this, just play it again.

It only takes about a minute to do, just copy it and add some delay with 100% value. I've done it a couple of times. It doesn't sound nearly as powerful but when it's hidden in the mix, it won't really matter.

 

[Farview]

It only takes about a minute to do, just copy it and add some delay with 100% value. I've done it a couple of times. It doesn't sound nearly as powerful but when it's hidden in the mix, it won't really matter.

Why would you go through that much trouble if you are only going to bury it in the mix. You might as well leave it mono instead of introducing phase anomolies. It's just being lazy.

 

[jamking]

Why would you go through that much trouble if you are only going to bury it in the mix. You might as well leave it mono instead of introducing phase anomolies. It's just being lazy.

If you shift it, there in no phase because they are no longer in sync. The reason for doing this is that you will still get somewhat of a stereo effect and you won't have to crank the fader to 11 with two track going at once.

I have stated twice that this isn't as good as doubling the track bit it will save time......I guess

 

[Farview]

If you shift it, there in no phase because they are no longer in sync. The reason for doing this is that you will still get somewhat of a stereo effect and you won't have to crank the fader to 11 with two track going at once.

The fact that they aren't in sync is what cause the phase problems.