Play the part 2 times panning 1 hard left and 1 hard right.

Don't duplicate and then add effects to it. Always track at least one for each side. The bigger and crunchier you want it record more. On my band's last recording we triple tracked guitars on each side, plus accents placed closer to center. Plus when you do that you can EQ certain tracks to be more bassy or with more high's or mids.

yes and then some manley comp/eq to really fatten things up!

a vari-mu set to limit and a massive passive feeding some lo mids into them... (and some 2.5k) :twisted:

iznogood is right about the compression, tons and tons of it done right will make it sound massive

tune down to Eb and get the amps off the floor

~id

It does help to stack tracks but make sure that you get pretty dang close as far as rhythm. It gets sloppy sounding fast if you can't stay on with the other track(s). I've gone through sometimes and used VocAlign to line up the attacks a little better when they were so bad that it was distracting. I guess if you did it too much with the vocalign it could get too aligned but I have yet to have that problem.

It's pretty common though that I come across guitar players that can't double themselves.

If you have different amps/cabs, try double tracking into different ones. Usually works pretty nice. I also agree with the deal about getting the amps off the floor...it can help. Try a mic close and one further away. Try a room mic in the corner of a room - even try facing it into the corner. If you're experimentative and you have time you can come up with some really cool stuff.

I've also found sometimes that a smaller amp sounds bigger on the recording. Something to do with quantum physics I think. I'll get back to you on that one.

Also, try tracking a couple of the tracks with less distortion than you think you need. It can add some nice body to it. Compression is occassionally a lifesaver but a lot of times that electric guitar is so compressed coming out of the amp that there is no point.

I guess the best way is to is to use a md421 and a royer 121 through a Neve preamp sent to an 1176ln compressor and then into the massive passive or an API EQ. Then make sure you are tracking with a vintage amp and it is going directly to 2" tape. And also, if you have all that gear...just go ahead and send it to me. Thanks.

ybmvox wrote: iznogood is right about the compression, tons and tons of it done right will make it sound massive

Perhaps, but all that compression removes all of the dynamics and leaves a big mass of white noise ala many of the nu metal acts. It gets difficult to listen to. "Hugeness" is created as much if not more with dynamics. I offer John Bonham's drums on Zep albums as example. On When the Levee Breaks his drums seem massive in that track because of the space in the track, not the compression. Same with Page's guitar. The guitar tone itself isn't over the top massive but because it has space in the mix it has a lot of power.

I usually use Waves Doubler which if you use subtly doesn't go too chorusy, or track the parts twice on seperate passes.

Can anybody tell me why I can't make duplicating & then shifting one part slightly work?

It just goes out of phase immediately and horribly. Which is what I would expect it to do. I've never managed to make it sound anything other than terrible..dumb I know

Try flipping the polarity on that track when the phase gets too goofy. May help. I wouldn't really do the duplicate track scooting trick on rhythm tracks, though. Sometimes it can sound OK on leads that are too difficult or random to doubletrack. Perhaps you should try pitch shifting a few cents instead of scooting the track in time. Or both.

1 guitar + 2 different amps + 2 different mics in one take = thick guitar

In areas of the song that need that extra "punch" (like choruses), layer a second part, but swap which mic is on which amp. That'll give you a slightly different coloration to help distinguish b/w the layers and a boost in perceived level b/w 3 and 6 dB for the part.

In other words, always track two signals...and use the layering as a compositional/production tool with respect to dynamics.

I always track 4 mics for any guitar part. I find that once set up and checked for phase (or sometimes using phase creatively), adding and removing these tracks can, much like pickup selectors, give me plenty tonal palette to work from within the song. Stereo panning to 4 positions is grand too, as is autopanning one of the tracks within the field.

What I was hoping is that I'd then be able to move a couple of them slightly and thicken everything further as/when. But it doesn't seem to work that way, even with 2 muted.

Don't forget to double the guitar with a BASS for a fat sound!

Some people cut the mids on the amp when their going for crunch but I've found that pretty much never translates in a mix. So I keep the mids on the amp. For a really heavy sound try picking up a cheap baritone guitar. We have a Danelectro that we use that works wonders for heavy stuff.

awesome feedback gents!

thank you all kindly...

Jeemy wrote: I always track 4 mics for any guitar part.

don't forget that it can create a lot more mess than make it a thicker tone....less is more

oh.... and i forgot....

buy a sleipner xl 8 string guitar from this guy.... http://www.nevbornguitars.com/

tunes in F! :twisted: :twisted:

I-Quality wrote: [quote=Jeemy]I always track 4 mics for any guitar part.

don't forget that it can create a lot more mess than make it a thicker tone....less is more

Thanks for that. Did you think I did it for no reason? Or anything constructive to add??

Jeemy wrote: [quote=I-Quality][quote=Jeemy]I always track 4 mics for any guitar part.

don't forget that it can create a lot more mess than make it a thicker tone....less is more

Thanks for that. Did you think I did it for no reason? Or anything constructive to add??

I don't think anything I'm just saying from my experience that 2 mics is usually enough to get THAT tone.....now if you like more i've got no problem with that... ;)

But I was saying that if you add and remove them you can get different tone palettes for parts of the song...not use 'em all at the same time.....

I know it's kinda late to be adding to this thread but I just saw it and better late than never, I guess.

Using 2 mics will yield great results. One up against the grill and one in back, if it's an open-back combo. Or one on the grill and one room mic if it's a stack or half stack.

Also, EQ'ing the doubled track differently than the original makes a huge difference. Different EQ and different compression settings. Maybe bus the doubled track off to an Aux bus, boost the lower mids and compress them in that bus. Don't forget how much of a friend the Aux buses can be for shelving, boosting and compressing.

Also, sometimes when you double a guitar track that has a lot of distortion with a track that's playing the same part clean you can add some clarity and richness.

And if it's a part in the arrangement that's an instrumental run/groove, you can double one of the guitar parts and run it right up the middle to fill in where the vocals have dropped out.