Something wrong with my guitars

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White_Devil

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Hello, i've asked this sometime ago with no luck, i hope somebody can help me now :(.

My problem is that my guitars sounds horrible always, i'm trying to record some metal songs but my guitars are really bad, sounds like with too much bass or something like that.

Here are some examples i recorded to show you (didnt record solos, i recorded just for this post):







As you can hear, the guitars sound so bad (and in the car stereo sound even worst!) and i dont know what to do..

I've tried EQ'em compression, differents guitars, differents settings and nothing.

Actually im using Guitar rig 4 for those tones and the guitars are :
- BC Rich Virgin
- Epyphone Les Paul Studio

Any help please? :( how can i get a more professional sound from my guitars?

Are my guitars the problem?

Thank you in advanced.
 
Sad But True sounds fine to my ears. (on headphones. I should probably point that out.).
The Pantera stuff is pretty bass heavy though :(
 
I would whine on bass sound, but everything other seems pretty okay.
Maybe you can post a sound clip how do you want to sound like?
 
Hey, thank you guys for your replies!!

Actually i would like a more defined sound, (am i crazy for wanting something like Metallica sound's ??) but i dont know what i need for that?? a more clear and defined sound.

Maybe i just dont know how to EQ the bass and those things?? as you have been saying, maybe its the bass the problem and not the guitars?

Thank you!
 
I'm at work so can't listen but a lot of the time the problem with distorted guitars is too much distortion. Maybe crank back on the gain to where it doesn't sound as heavy as you'd like then double track them (for the rhythm parts anyway)
btw...not just copy/paste...double track em.
 
White_Devil said:
Maybe i just dont know how to EQ the bass and those things?? as you have been saying, maybe its the bass the problem and not the guitars?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Getting the bass to sit right can be a bitch. Especially getting the bass and kick to play nice together.
Are you boosting any bottoms anywhere? Check those and see if you really need a boost on that particular track or if it's really a cut on a different track ya need.
Running any hi pass filtering? A hi pass (lo cut) just may be your friend here.
If I've got an instrument (like guitar) that doesn't contribute anything to the low freqs...like around 100 hz and below, I'll just roll those off completely.
Just may help with the boom and mud.

Peace-n-shit.
:drunk:
 
Hey Dogbreath Thank you for your tips!

The guitars are all doubled tracked (not copy/pasted) even i used one guitar for L and another for R, to add some "dynamics" as the Les Paul humbuckers has a little more bass than the BC Rich's.

I'll try to reduce the gain i haven tryied that! :D

And for the bass, im not using any hi pass filter and also im not boosting any bottom and definitly i'll try cutting guitars low freqs! (like 100hz as you say)

Thank you very much, im at work now, but as soon as i get home i'll try those tips and let you know the results :D
 
Glad to help man. ;)

Ya might try a hi pass on all of the tracks that don't need the bottom too. Bass buildup comes into play everywhere. I roll off my vocals, guits, some snare...pretty much any track where the main freqs are not the bass freqs.

:drunk:
 
How are you recording the guitars? It is amp/mic or some software rig? It could just need some better mic technique.
 
he said he's using guitar rig 4, so that could suggest that he could try micing an amp to get the sound he wants
 
ollie99 said:
he said he's using guitar rig 4, so that could suggest that he could try micing an amp to get the sound he wants
Click to expand...

Oh yes, i've been thinking a lot on that, but im affraid of buying some mic and everything keeps the same :(

And to be completely honest, i have a Fender Acoustrasonic amp (yes, an acoustic amp that i play with distorted guitars :P) so i dont know how that affects the recording sound quality.

What do you think? is it a very drastic fact?
 
yeah, in that case you probably want to buy a decent amp - for that, go into a store with your guitar and play on every one possible within your budget and get your favourite
 
I don't know that your problem is in using a sim vs. a real amp. They vary just as much as their amp counterparts.
I love hardware/software sims and real amps.
Sims are quite capable of wonderful tones. Guitar Rig especially.
I mean Stephen Carpenter from Deftones has been using Guitar Rig recently and those are some of the greatest tones I've ever heard.
And this is all Guitar Rig too

Also, while finding and dialing in a good tone on a real amp is muchhhh easier and more enjoyable than on a soft-sim because of the tactility, actually micing is just as big of a craft to develop. You need the right mic, the right preamp, the right room, blah blah, blah blah, the right placement, the right processing, etc.


Oh, that reminds me. You said you're going for a metallica tone. It's no secret that our buddies in the Metallica camp like to compress to death (magnetic!). So try some post processing on your tone with other compressors, eq, and stuff. As they certainly have some pretty serious post processing going on.
(And that's not a knock on metallica either. I'm a huge fan. and believe or not, I actually think the best tone they had was on st. anger because it actually felt like natural tone)
 
ollie99 said:
he said he's using guitar rig 4, so that could suggest that he could try micing an amp to get the sound he wants
Click to expand...

Hehe sometimes my reading comprehension skills are subpar :D


OP, I don't use GR4, but is there some kind of tone adjustment in it? Those guitars on the song are just really bottom-heavy...it's either the Rig or the guitar knob itself.
 
guitaristic said:
Hehe sometimes my reading comprehension skills are subpar :D


OP, I don't use GR4, but is there some kind of tone adjustment in it? Those guitars on the song are just really bottom-heavy...it's either the Rig or the guitar knob itself.
Click to expand...

yes, there are tons of options, like real amps (as it is an amp simulator) but now that you say so, if the guitar has too much bottom, its a knob problem or humbucker problem?

thank you!

by the way, im applying the tips everybody posted in here (thank you again to all!) and ill post the results as soon as i can :)
 
Hey i did your tips and i think it sounds a lot better, please let me know what do you guys think and thank you all again!

For the moment i've only done Cowboys from hell, here's the link:



What i did:
- Apply high pass filter to everything except bass guitar at around 200Hz
- Apply low pass filter to bass guitar at arround 250Hz
- Reduced the bass guitar volume a little bit and compressed it a little more
- More ambience sound for drums (for hi hat, cymbals, etc)

And did my best try to reproduce the cowboys from hell intro effect..

What do you guys think?
 
guitaristic said:
I like it better than the 3rd song you posted in the original post, but it still has a little too much mid-low in it for me! You're getting there though :)
Click to expand...

Good, thank you!! but do you mean the guitars or the mix??

I'll try removing some bottoms from the mix, i dont think the guitars have any mid-lo freqs left lol :P
 
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