Guitars - I just don't get it (stems link)

[Disfunctional]

I just can't seem to get the guitars to sound or sit right in the mix. They always sound too fizzy or like they have just been recorded off a gritty amp.

I use Pod Farm 2, always high pass to around 100hz, low pass off 12khz-ish and knock out a large cut around 4khz to get rid of the Pod Farm fizz.

Here is a song as an example:



The guitar I use is a PRS Custom 24, but as you can hear from the stems below it sounds dead. Is it my interface (UX1) or is it just I'm not mixing them right? Any pointers or advice would be great.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3995418/gt-1-l.wav
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3995418/gt-2-r.wav

Thanks

 

[Morgan C]

I use Pod Farm 2

There's your problem right there. If you can do it with your interface, record DI's and use some of the free software amps available (x50, Lecto are two really good ones).
Of course if you have access to real amps and cabs use them, but since you're using Pod Farm 2 I'm assuming you don't.

 

[zirkonflex]

Typical bad POD sound, you can get much better with it though, there's a tutorial on how to get the good Cali Treadplate sound on here (Sturgis style).

Here it is.

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...y-sturgis-pod-patch-preset-settings-here.html

Its obviously not the holy grail of guitar sound but it should help you get some better tones going.

 

[Disfunctional]

Thanks for the replies - no access to record real amps, as much as I would love to.

The tone I used is a variation of the POD farm preset above. It just sounds like crap. The Lecto one I tried too and it just seemed to not bite enough - muddy sounding. I wasn't sure if that was due to my guitar again?

Is there anything I should be doing to my raw signal before I re-amp it via Pod Farm? Can anyone have a listen to the raw stems and see if there is any issue there?

Thanks guys.

 

[Icee]

With LeCto you should use a booster in front of it like TSE 808 or TSS. I also recommened trying TSE x30 and TSE x50.

 

[onetruth]

With LeCto you should use a booster in front of it like TSE 808 or TSS. I also recommened trying TSE x30 and TSE x50.

+1. if recording a real amp isn't possible then ditch pod farm and go with onqel's amps sims, or lepou's or nick crows 8505. get hold of a shit hot cab IR and load that using kefir or something similar. it'll sound much better! you're doing the right thing with the HP and LP filters......probably worth using sneaps C4 settings to control the low mids and also some kind of saturation like psp vintage warmer in the chain.

 

[onetruth]

also, the bass sound is the key to getting the guitars to sound beefy. take a look at ola's guide to recording bass (1 track for low end, and a copy of the track running some distortion for the mid grit). getting the bass sounding killer will improve the overall guitar sound no end.

 

[Disfunctional]

Are they only available on PC? I am on a Mac unfortunately - can only see the LeCto AU when I search for these.

On a side note, would it also be worth upgrading my interface? Was thinking of an Apogee Duet 2 or an M-Audio ProFire 2626. Would any of these help with the tone?

Just trying to get to the root of the problem, or is it literally Pod Farm 2 is cack in the wrong hands/my mixing sucks etc?

 

[oroinvictus]

Your mix and guitars all treble, man. Everything sounds harshly scooped and bassless. There are some good points that have already been said.

 

[zirkonflex]

Thanks for the replies - no access to record real amps, as much as I would love to.

The tone I used is a variation of the POD farm preset above. It just sounds like crap. The Lecto one I tried too and it just seemed to not bite enough - muddy sounding. I wasn't sure if that was due to my guitar again?

Is there anything I should be doing to my raw signal before I re-amp it via Pod Farm? Can anyone have a listen to the raw stems and see if there is any issue there?

Thanks guys.

I actually never gave a shit about PODfarm because I thought it sucked as much as all the crap Line6 has blown out, but I tried that preset yesterday.


OMG.
Such a piece of shit sound, im kinda sorry I recommended you to try that out, it really sounds like your clip, and the problem really lies withing podfarm.
I have no idea what sturgis does to his audio clips (I know, full mix and mastering, but that aint gonna make your palm mutes sound any better), but I swear that guy can make a chainsaw sound like blues solo if he can make that preset sound any good.
I've had two instances of EQ's, PSP comp and warmer, 4 metal guitars with different PU's and it still sounded like poop. Absolutely no chug on the rythms, just horrible.
I have no idea how someone could favor this over the (imho great) Revalver or any of the free stuff thats out.



Go get yourself the TSE 808 first in chain (either everything to noon or gain at nine, volume at 3), then use the TSEX30 (Engl) or TSEX50 (5150) as your main sound source (you can nearly leave those on 12 really) and LeCab2 with some of the common impulses.

Or i'd really suggest you to download the Revalver demo, get some 6505 with TS greener going and run it thru the british 2000's cab (SM7 b).
You can bounce your guitars multiple times and replace the parts where the annoying "sssshhhh" comes in and see if you like that better.


/ I see you are on mac, that makes matters quite complicated for you.

 

[Disfunctional]

I guess I need to find something other than Pod Farm then I did try AmpliTube 3 FREE, but that didn't sound great either.

oroinvictus - I totally agree, but as soon as I add any low end in it starts to muddy up considerably. Any pointers on how I can remedy that? I've only high/low passed the guitars as my original post with a small notch here and there.

I will go and grab the demo of Revalver and see how that pans out. Failing that, I may re-consider and try to record an amp. Yesterday I was offered the use of a Marshall amp with SM-58 and SE2200A mics. Would either of these mics work or give me a better result for guitars - or is that a silly question?

If not could anyone recommend a cheap/reasonable mic for this?

Thanks again.

 

[oroinvictus]

To me, it sounds like you might benefit from starting from square 1 in an empty project. That's what I do if I get stuck on a mix. Pod farm isn't bad, I've gotten some okay sounds with it, but I don't know much about pod farm 2. I wouldn't recommend the 58 for recording guitars, the SE2200A could do well though. Mic'ed guitar tone depends on a lot. The SM57 is a cheap tried-and-true mic. It's easy to get great sounds from them (it's also easier to get terrible sounds from them) and they usually go for around 80-100 bills.