Recording guitar

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oldmech

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Hi to everybody, New member and first post, I record my guitar to backing tracks via the original Pod Pro rackmount to a fostex 24 24 LV. The guitar sound seems good until recorded but sometimes sounds a little brittle.
Speaking to a local music shop they recomend a valve pre amp to fatten and warm the sound. The signal also passes through a compressor and fx unit.
My question then would a pre amp do the trick? also the guitar seems to get lost in the track unless it is pushed forward in the mix (then its to loud) hope this makes sense.Thanks for looking.
 
A couple of thoughts come to mind...

Are you recording distorted guitars? If so, try backin off the gain when tracking. Less gain than you'd normally use when jammin live.

Also, when I track guitar, I tend to hi-pass at around 100 hz up to maybe 150 hz. That could be why it gets lost. Lo mid mud. Try cuttin some of that low out and see what ya think.

As to the tube pre...I don't think that's gonna give ya what you're lookin for. It may help but...
The best sound I've got from micing an amp. I've gone with the DI from a stomp box and it was ok but kinda brittle, like you're sayin, and a bit lifeless. If you've got an amp and a 57 or somethin to mic it with, I'd go that route. Sounds better to my ears.

One other thing...my best guitar sounds came from double tracking the parts. NOT copy track one and paste it to track two but play the same part twice as exactly the same as you can. Fuller and fatter. ;)

Good luck dOOd. :D
 
Cheers DooD, I am recording clean guitar (Shadows style) and thats showing my age, double tracking sounds like a solution, as like most bedroom guitarists noise is a problem to mike up a live amp so will have to continue down the Di route.
Had crossed my mind to go down the PC route as the software is good now but its still nice to be able to twiddle a nob and press real buttons, regards o/m.
 
The words you're using ("brittle", and wanting to "fatten up" or "warm up" the sound), to me, reek of the side effects of DI.

I know there's not full consensus on this point, but in my opinion, mic'ing a decent amp will always always always sound better than DI for guitars unless you're looking for some specific "effect" that DI provides.

I understand that not everybody has the luxury of cranking up guitar amps to record, but you really should at least find a way of giving it a try before you lay out cash for other hardware, because my hunch is that you'll only be disappointed by the gains.

Also, as already mentioned, double tracking guitars can work wonders for making a track rock.
 
warm, fat, "real" sounding guitars are 100% attainable with direct recording
 
It's more attainable with an amp and a mic. I DI a lot of shit, and I rarely mic my amp cuz of noise complaints .... But I like my amp/mic tracks a lot more than my DI ones.
 
Hi there,

Double or multitrack recording is a solution. Nomatter how you record, DI or micing an amp, you should always do at least doubletrack to make sound of distorted guitar fat, especially on backing tracks.

Cheerz!!
 
With you mainly doin clean guitar sounds and goin DI, I'd start with the double track. It'll definitely help ya get a fuller sound.

Maybe do your first track on, say, your bridge pickup and your second track on the neck pickup. Blend the two to taste.

Or use different guitars, or different settings on your stomp box. Or one track totally clean and the other with a touch of chorus. But not much.

Even on my clean stuff, I'll hi pass at around 100 hz. Just take your EQ in your DAW, and sweep it over to around the 100 hz mark and cut out that low freq. That will help get rid of the crap that ya can't really hear, and adds nothing but mud and rumble and will clear up your mix as you add more tracks.

When ya pan the two tracks, just pan em to taste. Sometimes I'll pan em out 100% left and right. Sometimes only 50% left/right. Just whatever fits the song.

Hope it helps...
Kel
 
Though, did the Shadows even double-track? I feel like that didn't really start happening until maybe the mid-to-late 70's, and as I understand the Shadows are quite a bit earlier than that.

Is there any way you can share a clip or two with us, Mech? Distorted guitar is what I usually deal with and is therefore a little easier for me to diagnose through text, but hearing your problem I think would go a long way here.
 
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