help me with guitar tone

[slayer666metalica]

I've basically just double tracked these guitars, a sample clip i have for you all...

i'm playing an ibanez rg 550 with stock passives, through a peavey 6505+, gain at about 6 and on the red channel, through an avatar 4 x 12 with vintage 30s.... all with a single sm57 slightly off axis into presonus firepod and using reaper...


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3684629/sample.wav

what do you all think of this tone?

Myself, i have been comparing to Lamb of God's isolated tracks, but even more so, to devin townsend... and i know both of those are mesa tones...

i'm curious if i'm just better off getting a mesa? Or is there something else i can do to get a more cutting/searing tone that breathes? I'm sorry if this sounds so vague, but when i compare these to other tracks by bands like Behemoth [Demigod tone], i feel like my own are lacking in the area of "liveliness," ...when you listen to these other artists, the tone is very up front, and in your face,

my own... well, it just is kind of... there? It's "rocks," but just doesn't "roll" i suppose is what i'm getting at


tell me what ya'all think, and what i can do to improve the sound!

 

[Calippo Tecks]

I think your tone is quite alright, but u didn't use any HP/LP and Eq-ing?
Anyway, I did some for fun and this is the result:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/970622/sample%20edited.mp3

I would say for recording use a bit less treble or point your mic just a little bit more off axis
Don't fool yourself with listening to other guitar tones, actually you should work on drums first and later on recording guitars that 'fit' with your drumtone, after that I'd work on the bass tone (that's how I work...)

HP on 8500 hz *edit* switch HP and LP, woops */edit*
LP on 110 hz
Eq -9 db on 600 hz
did a small compression from 0 to 220 hz
also used a bit of maximizer

 

[slayer666metalica]

hey thanks man, yeah,

i DID in fact cut the lows, but no eq for the actual tone itself, basically i cut off the flabby low end that masks the real guitar tone [mids ]

I took a listen to your sample edit, and that doesn't sound half bad, thanks for tweaking it,

i'm always curious what other people are doing to their guitar tracks besides just the regular mic placement/guitar/cab/hp/lp process,
if they're doing anything at all even...


haha, i suppose it's all in mic placement and gear still, because i've read countless times that getting good guitar tracks is no amount of studio magic....



and for tone, you are very right, normally i DO have a drum sound to compare to, mix wise...

but unfortunately, my drummer is lazy, and never sends me tracks... so i'm stuck basically uh... "imagining" what something sounds like....

i've heard numerous times that a guitar tone by itself can sound like absolute shit but sound rediculously awesome when stacked up behind all the other instruments....

it's just when i hear songs like "supercrush" by Devin Townsend [the intro guitar chugs ], and Before Aeons Came by Behemoth,

where there's that moment of PURE isolated guitar, where you really can hear what is really going on with guitar tracks, that makes me really get self conscious about my own work, and wonder hmmm... just how "good" is this.. really?

But i suppose with my equipment, i am doing ....okay? at least? haha..

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Try moving mic back to clean up low end and a little more off axis to smooth out highs

 

[guitarguru777]

The only post processing I do on my guitars is HP / LP thats it .... let em breathe baby!!

and +1 on the Drum sound first!

 

[Calippo Tecks]

Well yeah, Devin Townsend, Behemoth, ... but buying another amp won't really make that much of a difference, I have 3 amps and I can't even do what some other guys in here do with a small setup.
In the end it's all about practice and experimenting hours and hours but you're on a good way!

 

[Masticore]

In reference to the intro of the song that is solod, They may have taken a huge guitar tone, then automated it to duck when the rest of the band cuts in. I have heard this done alot in other bands. When there is nothing else playing you can have the luxury of really cranking the volume to fill the rms hehe.