How do you mix impulse guitars ?

[LeSedna]

Hello,

I have discovered some months ago on this forum the existence of guitarcab impulses, so thank you so much about it !

My question is : when I use the impulses in SIR or other plugin, I always get a sound that sort of need breathe. It feels already like a realistic sound with not so much glitches in it (like many things like podfarm that I still think fantastic for some specific use), but it's not a balanced sound. That can't be let as is like a true recording. So how do you tweak them, I mean, what do you do to make them sound natural before starting to apply the mixing needed for the song ?

 

[RiF]

How exactly did you record the signal that you are running through the cabinet impulses? I had decent results by just applying the cabinet impulses without major EQ (just a the usual high-pass). Try different impulses, too. I have a lot of them and they all sound totally different (from too boomy to too fizzy and everything in between...). Some work very well with the rest of my mix, some don't.

 

[LeSedna]

Hum I record the dry signal from line6 toneport GX or UX2, then apply wagner and kefir impulses. Do you often use 2 different impulses in the same mix ?

 

[LeSedna]

Here is an example of my impulse guitars. It's gone through only wagner mkII and kefir with Recabinet impulses, and nothing is mixed yet. Btw, it's one of my band's song !

http://demonje.free.fr/sound/guitartest.mp3

When I compare with the demo file "melodic metal" that you can find here http://recabi.net/site/media/ ,even if of course there's mastering and all mixing that lacks my mp3, I just feel something is missing in my approach of that guitars, no ?

 

[mick thompson]

yea lesedna i agree something is missing from the tone. it just sounds i dont know...dead or something. i think it could use more high end and less gain. (the gain sounds like its compressing your mix so dial it back a bit) and eq it up higher to get some high tones in there.

what gear did you record that with?

preamp / guitar / pickups?

 

[RiF]

I compared your mix to one of mine and I think it is pretty good. I would tame the bass a bit but it's good already. To liven it up a bit, you could use different impulses on the left and right side.

 

[LeSedna]

Hum thanks but... it's not even already really mixed aha. I mean, I've premixed it so it's listenable but I'm still searching tones that feel realistic, a little bit more natural. Maybe a bit more low/mid.

The bass is a programmed one, that has the gun effect (I just can't find any bass that can read a repetitive line without this gun effect automatically) because my bassist will record his part soon. It may be bad mixed in the bass cause I just have shitty speakers and good headphones.

I thought having different impulses from R to L a bad idea ? I am used to use 2 impulses, both R and L, one for external guitars, one for the 80% panned guitars. So you propose me to use 4 impulses ? I may try that next time (have to go now but coming tonight).

 

[LeSedna]

yea lesedna i agree something is missing from the tone. it just sounds i dont know...dead or something. i think it could use more high end and less gain. (the gain sounds like its compressing your mix so dial it back a bit) and eq it up higher to get some high tones in there.

what gear did you record that with?

preamp / guitar / pickups?

Yeah I agree. I'll lower the gain. I've tried quickly but I may have not played tight enough, I'll see, that's just a tone test.

That doesn't sound live as you say. I may make a screenshot of my wagner mk II settings ?

 

[Ermz]

I don't. There's no way to get the impulses sounding as natural as a real cab. Once you start to apply EQ, it all falls apart. The ONLY hope is to quad track and apply multiple different types of impulses to fill the inherent gaps in all of them. I've tried too many times and been disappointed in the end. There is always some cloudiness and fizz in the impulses that refuses to be EQ'd properly.

 

[LeSedna]

http://demonje.free.fr/sound/mk.jpg

EDIT : hum Ermz I see what you mean, these are that fizzes that I just hate. I'm also interested in Revalver mk III because I've heard good tones out of it when used with good impulses but I'm not sure I could get such good tones if already just with impulse I can't get a "good" tone.

 

[RiF]

I thought having different impulses from R to L a bad idea ? I am used to use 2 impulses, both R and L, one for external guitars, one for the 80% panned guitars. So you propose me to use 4 impulses ? I may try that next time (have to go now but coming tonight).

I use different L/R-impulses but they are not very different, I just use different ones to get the effect of TWO guitars instead of ONE thick, wide one. I use quad-tracking only for the icing on the cake, the double-tracked guitars should sound OK on their own. For quad-tracking, you have to play very tight (I do not play very tight, so I usually stay away from it ), if you don't, you might make things worse ("worse" like in undefined, sloppy).

 

[LeSedna]

I tried other impulses to check, and I discovered that Poidaobi's ENGL V30 are really interesting cause they bring more midrange tone to the sound. So I'm trying different sounds now. I've also lowered the gain from 7 to 5 (as an order of idea).

 

[LeSedna]

I add something : if you bought Recabinet, just try the D6 microphone impulses, there's one for each setting. It's a kickdrum mike and it adds only the bass sound of the amp that could lack from the impulses. It adds a bit of warmth.

 

[Via Noctis]

Ermz I have had decent results. I compaired a track I recorded with My mesa rig and a 57 to my mesa recto recording pre and "GH between" and after a tiny bit of eq I actually thought the impulse was better. but maybe I suck at micing?!?