recording clean electric

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giraffe

giraffe

i love negative rep
much ado is made of recording distorted git (and rightfully so)

but what about clean electric? it seems a big pain in the ass to me to get a clean electric sound i like, maybe even harder than a distorted sound.

so.... does anyone have any tips for recording clean electric git?
mic's that you like, amps and guitars (or combinations of the two) that work for you. eq problem areas you notice time and time again, any thing.

the only thing i've got is that it seems to me that tubes are even more important for a clean electric sound than a distorted one. (maybe that's just me) and a poor player is even more evident without distortion.

anything appreciated.
 
Really? I'm the opposite. I can usually get great clean tones, but my distortion isn't quite as good.

I do very well with the cliche stuff, 57 on the cone off axis, blah, blah, blah. I have also gotten some great sounds using an LDC on the cab almost like I would a 57.

giraffe said:
the only thing i've got is that it seems to me that tubes are even more important for a clean electric sound than a distorted one. (maybe that's just me) and a poor player is even more evident without distortion.
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+1
I think tubes are equally important for clean and dist.

My combo that I generally use is a Crate (yeah, yeah) Vintage Club 50 (all tube, and excellent, if I might add. Of course, its not Fender Twin or a Dual Rect., but I like it!) with either a 57, an LDC (for me either a Rode NT1000, or an Oktava MK319). I don't really know what else to tell you. I just got lucky with my clean sounds, I guess. :)
 
...

Plug yer guitar directly into the board. EQ to taste.

Then, place a mic about 6- to 9-inches off the body of the guitar for ambience, and mix the close-mic sound with the DI guitar sound.

Record both guitar source sounds (DI+mic) onto one track. ;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Plug yer guitar directly into the board. EQ to taste.

Then, place a mic about 6- to 9-inches off the body of the guitar for ambience, and mix the close-mic sound with the DI guitar sound.

Record both guitar source sounds (DI+mic) onto one track. ;)
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this could be cool all but recording them to 1 track. You can always bounce them down to one track later....id make it 2 seperate tracks and blend later.
 
I'm with you Giraffe. I tend to have a much harder time recording clean elec. than distorted.

I like to use two mics on most guitar cabs in most situations (usually a Shure Unidyne 545 or Sennheiser MD421 in conjunction with an AT4033), and I've found that I tend to use more of the condenser signal for the clean stuff. I usually place it 1-3 feet back.

Depending on the cab a 57 can sometimes sound brittle and harsh up on the grill for clean. Maybe use one backed off a bit, or in between the two speakers of a 2x12 as opposed to directly on one speaker.

Good luck.
 
Dude, I'm analog.

I'd typically get the elements mixed and send it to one track on the first pass. It's economy of scale.;)

If you have extra tracks, you may record them separately, & that's cool too. Whatever floats your boat!

In my own case, given my track limitations, I feel I can get a satisfactory sound to one track, and that's keen.

Anyway, that's my 'stealth' technique for your guitar & bass tracks. I almost always track electric guitar/bass in this fashion. I dig it. Can ya' dig it?!;)

C'ya!
 
A Reel Person said:
Then, place a mic about 6- to 9-inches off the body of the guitar for ambience, and mix the close-mic sound with the DI guitar sound.
Click to expand...

i positively hate a straight di sound, but have mic'd the body of an electric before and really like it, i'll try blending the two and see what's up. (neat idea)
 
I'll second or third whoever said to place a condenser 1-2 feet back from the cabinet (I've had good results with the uber cheap MXL 990 on this job) and blend that with a close mic. I'm also liking the Nady RSM-2 on guitar cabs (both clean and dirty) for a nice smoothness.
 
EleKtriKaz said:
Depending on the cab a 57 can sometimes sound brittle and harsh up on the grill for clean. Maybe use one backed off a bit, or in between the two speakers of a 2x12 as opposed to directly on one speaker.

Good luck.
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maybe i need to remember to back off and not default to my distorted mic'ing ideas.
it's the top that usually sucks, the hi-end is either not their, or to "chimey"
i'm sure this starts on the amp, but i have this problem on other peoples setups as well not just my own.
 
I hate the DI guitar sound by itself, too, which is notoriously dead sounding,...

but I've had very satisfactory results mixing DI and close-mic on electric guitar. You can dial in a righteous clean sound, and even with distort-o pedal, it can liven up the snap of the "dirty" guitar sound. The close-mic livens up an otherwise unsatisfactory DI sound. No amps necessary.

I'm tellin'ya dude, I don't leave home without it. I swear by this technique.;)
 
I've mic'd my amp (a cheap 10-watt practice amp) with an Audio Technica Pro 100 dynamic and gotten good tones (and a little help with very sparse boost in the low eq at the 250 range), and by using a DI'd guitar processor and mixing the two signals. I have never gotten a good tone DI'ing the guitar into my mixer. It always sounded fake, and no amount of eq or effects could make it sit in the mix. I am a fan of mic'ing your amp/cab...
 
A Reel Person said:
but I've had very satisfactory results mixing DI etc....;)
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about whare on the body do you usually aim the mic?
 
Maybe about 45 degrees off the area just right of the bridge,...

but I try to use my ears to find the sweetspot. (Headphones required). ;)

A few inches back & forth with a mic on high gain makes a huge difference,... as does turning the guitar to different angles. :eek:
 
here's my 2 cents from a recording session yesterday

Gibson less paul (not epi) into tube peavey reissue something-crap (any pickup)

strat style carvelle (not jakson, older), same amp, massive improvement. (neck)
i don't think les pauls do good clean sounds. the difference was huge.
 
We got one of the best clean sounds I've ever heard out of an '01 USA strat straight into a Peavey Classic 30 (with Greenback speaker), and a Beta57 right on the grille-cloth and a little off-axis. It depends entirely upon the mic, amp, room, and alignment of the stars.
 
I've had some great luck, actually, with a Peavey Classic 20 or 30.

They're kind of a one-or-two-trick pony. And clean electric is something they do really well.
 
chessrock said:
I've had some great luck, actually, with a Peavey Classic 20 or 30.

They're kind of a one-or-two-trick pony. And clean electric is something they do really well.
Click to expand...
They rock for distorted tones with the right stompbox in front of the clean channel.
Anyway, I just got a ShinyBox 23 ribbon mic (similar to the Nady) and although it's partially due to the new toy syndrome, I am REALLY liking the guitar tones I'm getting from it. Much rounder and smoother than a SM57.
 
chessrock said:
I've had some great luck, actually, with a Peavey Classic 20 or 30.

They're kind of a one-or-two-trick pony. And clean electric is something they do really well.
Click to expand...

My friend is getting a Classic 30 soon...can't wait to record it. Layers baby...oh yeah!

Also, I mentioned using a vintage Shure Unidyne 545 III earlier on guitar cabs. I can't say enough about how great this mic is. I find it much easier to use on electric guitar (especially clean) because it has a smoother frequency response than a normal 57. It doesn't roll off all that bottom end like a 57. They're awesome on toms too.
 
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