[thedonutman]

SoundClick artist: Joe Kang - page with MP3 music downloads

There is a little recording I did, I get the general impression that the guitars sound very muffled, I'm not sure if it is my amp settings, mic placement, or the stuff I put on it in Cubase (compression+light EQ) I'm using a Sennheiser dynamic mic (I think its technically a vocal mic, since thats what I intended to use it for) through a M-audio USB interface into Cubase.

I can't seem to record the tone I hear from my amp, which is the main problem. Since I end up having no idea how a tone will fit until after I've recorded it and put all the other tracks on. Though I think it sounds like an improvement over the sounds I got from VST plugins.

Any tips on mic placement and/or EQing? I've been experimenting, but it isn't improving very much. Anyone got any ideas?

[Drew]

Great tutorial on recording heavy guitars

Start there.

Then, a few general pointers/comments.

-your mic is probably fine. A dynamic mic up close is the most time-honored way to get a good tone on tape. That said, if you want to throw money at the problem, grab a SM57, the industry standard cab mic.
-remember that you "listen" to your amp from about six feet up and maybe 10 feet back, in the room, while your mic is "listening" from an inch or two away from the speaker. In other words, what your mic is hearing is VERY different from what your ears are; you may want to consider EQ'ing your amp to sound good from right out front, and not from the room.
-always double track. At least. Two takes of rhythm guitar panned left and right will sound much bigger than one.
-likewise, cutting the gain a bit will make your doubled rhythm parts sound, unintuitively, even bigger.

[Sukotuso]

First of all, I listened to the track, and I love the riff; The music's there and that helps. It's my belief (Just an opinion of course) that people should to have their own tone, and forge their own 'colors'. In the end your recorded tone might be due to massive layering, panning, doubled lines, etc. A mixer really made my life a lot easier, as did one mic; Sure 57

I think the next step would be a decent mic preamp, and from there some really killer recording software (I'm using Logic 8 and it's awesome!)

So anyways, I think the tone on this is cool as is, but I really LOVE internet home recordings and I enjoy hearing the rawness people gt on the many,varied ways they record their stuff.

Good work, man! Looking forward to more!

[theunforgiven246]

keep messing around with mic placement, that is one of the biggest things that can easily change how your guitar sounds. my favorite is off axis slightly angled towards the cone.

[Sukotuso]

OOPS! I just re-read the thread, and looks like you're using cubase; killah recording app. I think you're well on your way to getting some cool sounds, dude so keep it up and keep posting, man...


Hey you know what I like doing? Take your main rhy guitar track that you record, copy nd paste it to another track, then pan the 2 tracks L and R. Anyhow, Lotsa extra gain, and added punch...

http://www.scottkerrmusic.com

[All_¥our_Bass]

Usually when I record guitar/bass stuff I put my mic about two feet away from the amp.

[FortePenance]

Originally Posted by Drew

Great tutorial on recording heavy guitars

Great guide but it's hard to follow IMO.

[John_Strychnine]

2 mics Per track!

I use an sm57 and an audio technica condenser for guitar sounds.
Ill upload some more soon.

[thedonutman]

I did some more recordings, they are up on my band's Soundclick

SoundClick artist: Lucrid End - page with MP3 music downloads

It's the 2 "Traitor's Gate" ones.

I've discovered what is actually meant by double tracking properly, I used to think that duplicating a track would sound the same as recording it twice, how wrong I was Most of the guitars are double tracked (properly), and that chugging bit in the "Chuck Norris Riff" is 4 panned left and right.

My playing is a bit sloppy in some bits, and I'm still not 100% happy with the guitar tone. But I think its getting closer.

[Shaman]

Well, here are some tips I have learned along the way.

When you are just starting out, forget using more than one mic, because using more than one can lead to phase issues. Using multiple mics is not going to make your recordings sound any more professional, but they can add a very nice flavour to the guitar tone. For example, the metal producer Andy Sneap usually uses only one SM57 on a cab, and I think he gets pretty nice results.

A good dynamic mic on the edge of the dustcap, depending on the speaker of course, very close to the grill will get you there. Some speakers are of course darker so then you might try moving the mic more to the center of the speaker. When you have achieved great results by doing that, then you might start trying out condenser room mics etc. to add some room or whatever you are after.

They key to a great guitar tone is, that you don't really need to do a lot to it after you have tracked it, except low pass at about 12khz and maybe some minor EQ:ing. Using compression on a high gain guitar track is pretty pointless, because the sound itself is usually very compressed. However, a good multi-band compressor is sometimes a good tool, when the low end of the guitar's is too boomy.

But the point is, get the tone as close to perfect as you can by tweaking the amps EQ, moving the mic etc. and then only do some minor adjustments afterwards.

When tracking metal rhythm guitars, it's usually 4 tracks panned left and right and the bass at the center.

But, in the end, there are NO rules when tracking/mixing, because "tone" is a very subjective thing, but those little tips might make things a bit easier for you.

And good monitor speakers are a good investment also. I remember listening to some stuff I had posted here, and being very ashamed, since the guitars sounded so goddamn shrill and harsh. I was using normal computer speakers then, so the guitar tracks sounded fine through 'em, but I didn't even imagine how terrible the tracks really sounded. No bottom end, only this shrill fizzy high. I wonder what people were thinking when I posted the Mesa cab/Orange cab comparison clips....