HI! i'm new here...and i need help to record guitar. i play in a metalcore band (you know...TRIVIUM, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, AS I LAY DYING. ) and I need to reach a very big, compat and hard guitar tone. there's my gear:
epiphone les paul standard ----> POD 2.0 ----> Behringer 31 band graphic rack equalizer ----> Yamaha rack compressor/limiter ---> an old laney linebacker 100 w single cone.
now i use all this gear in this order:
guitar - pod - graphic eq - comp/lI'm - amp (in the effects return input just to bypass the pre).
Is this right ? or no ? ( i think no ! )
Shure sm57 - Shure sm58 and a Tascam us-122
i would like to know: should i go direct into the Tascam ? should i use all this gear ? should i mic the amp or not ? should i use the eq and the compr/lI'm direct in the chain or after the mic ?
i'd have a lot questions more...but i know I'm annoying you
i hope your great experience can help me through this !
thank you very very much
Comments
since you posted it twice....I'll paste my response on the other
since you posted it twice....I'll paste my response on the other one here also...
since I know what you are going for....I don't know what you have in regards to mic's but here are a few ideas for you....
PREFACE- Turn the gain down...oversaturation will actually make it sound less full recorded...find where it kind of pumps when you hit it hard and where if you hit it soft it sounds a lot cleaner....then play the Sh!t out if when you record it....
another little trick..even though distorted guitars naturally compress, turn the gain down to where you think it sounds full....then turn it down again slightly (less pre gain more post gain basically) then when mixing...throw a decent compressor/limiter on it and start with a low ratio maybe 2:1 and then experiment with different ratios until it you find where it pumps the overdriven sound but doesn't sound over-compressed and push the threshold pretty hard at first and back it down to taste...this will give it the sound of a little more gain without sounding as thin and oversaturated....
1) Skip the pod, use 2 mics making sure they are equal distance away from the speaker so that you don't have any phase problems. or if you want to get more depth you can stagger them, just make sure the 2nd mike is 4 times the distance from the speaker than the 1st mic.
I would use if you can get ahold of them a Shure SM57 and a Sennheiser MD421.....(or if you can get ahold of a Royer 121 those are RAD)
Don't listen to the sound of the amp in the room, you have to listen to it from where the mic is going to be picking it up. Try to get a nice flat response on the amp...It is better to remove frequencies in mixing than trying to add them back in....so if you can get a good balance to where the freq on the amp is full, then that is a good start.... then when mixing, you can remove any frequencies that you want if the main focus is guitar and carve everything around that, or it gives you the ability to make it fit because since you have all frequencies present you can really make it find it's spot in a mix....
2) Use an AB box and send one signal to your amp and then send one to the pod....you can do above with the amp....or just use a 57 and go direct with the pod (skip the graphic eq, you shouldn't need it for recording.....) and then you can mix them as needed or try panning one left and one right.....
also, remember that a lot of times the guitar you are hearing is tracked multiple times with performances panned to fit and make it full.....so you can also try 2 performances with slightly different mic placements, different mics or different amps and pan them left/right....if you do too many tracks of the same parts though you can make it muddy and sound out of phase......
Also....where are you placing the mic? try one inch from the grill placed center and turn it slightly to shoot at the edge of the cone...
Hope this helps...feel free to email me with any questions....
PickMan
Jeff@Soundedgerecording.com