How long do you spend dialing in tones?

[illuminatingsun]

I know there are many variables affecting the time it takes to get the right guitar tone, but, how long does it generally take you to find a sound that works?

In my case, I haven't recorded a real amp for years, so I've been relying on amp simulators and speaker impulses. Sometimes it takes me days to set the amp simulator and find the right impulse to match it. I can never tell whether I'm spending too long - perhaps due to a lack of experience - on this stage and always find myself wondering whether getting a real amp would makes things a lot easier.

 

[Cryo114]

I don't know about finding a good tone but, going towards a good tone for me involves tweaking but committing to a tone slightly/well before i'm really ready to. That gives me time to rest and listen back to the mix later and make notes with clear ears. Personally I find the window where I can really hear things clearly, relative to tones I have in mind, to be very short.

 

[Old_Gregg]

How long do I spend? Approximately always I guess...to be fair I only have a pod x3 so theres only so good a sound I can get, but whenever I find one that I think sounds good enough I find that I usually pick out problems with it the next day. Its a slow learning process I guess...hopefully one day I'll be able to transpose what I hear in my head to what I can get out of the pod but till then I'm just gonna tweak away everyday

 

[Jind]

My entire life unfortunately

 

[AD Chaos]

My entire life unfortunately

+ to infinity

 

[professorlamp]

realistically the longest thing for me is getting a good mic position, getting the amp sounding good in the room is the easy part

 

[reg3n]

I think if you know what you're going for and don't let the "awesome" sounds you accidentally find is the key to not-waste time. Meaning if you know what you want, you're using some sort of reference, and you can "emulate" that rig and all that. Then apply your awesome ears to make something better!

 

[Jormyn]

Dialing in a tone? Generally not too long. EQing said tone to make it not sound dry and artificial? Well... how old is the universe at this point? Before that.

 

[timislegend]

as long as it takes.

 

[noiZefloor]

When it comes to guitar tone it's hard to say, as you are using plugins and I usually track real amps and cabs. Anyway I always record DI-tracks for reamping, so I'm also able to change my guitar tone later. In the mix I always try to find the weakest track and tweak it until it sounds good enough, which means another instruments become the weakest part of the mix. That takes me from 5 to 10 min. There is no perfect sound for a single instrument, just a perfect mix. In my case there is still the question: "When do I have to reamp my tracks?"
Well, if I can only achieve to get my tracks sound right in a mix by doing a lot of eqing (like -3 at 250 or the like), I know I can get a better result by reamping my tracks and fix thinks at the source. btw. Eqing the clean DI tracks before you run 'em into your amp can be pretty nice in that case. For example: You find yourself cutting 5db at 250Hz on your guitare tracks. That's when you make the decision to go for reamping. If you cut the 250Hz on the reamping track you might only need 1 or 2db as this will lower the resonance of your cab.
In your case thinks are more simple as you're using plugins and you don't have to go thru the whole reamping process. So far so good, I try to use plugins and impulses from time to time as I would love to have the benefit to change my tone whenever I need to, but I still get better result with real amp, cab and a single sm57.

 

[if6was9]

I don't generally spend all that long getting a guitar tone but I almost always use real amps. Probably about 30 min to an hour or so I reckon depending on what gear they have and how cool they are to use some of mine. If they have great gear then it doesn't take long. If they have crap gear and are stubborn about using it it can take much longer.

 

[nch3966]

if i cant get a tone im happy with quick...i either change strings or guitar...or amp

 

[C_F_H_13]

I use real amps 100% of the time, and I'd say it takes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour.

Most of what takes this longest is finding the right combo of guitar and amp. Then actually getting the tone is usually pretty simple. I've really simplified my recording chain after hearing alot of the tones on this site, so now it's 57/pre/eq (maybe)/pt.

Now with ampsims I kind of know what you mean. In the rare instances where I do use them, I find myself constantly 2nd guessing my choices and constantly adjusting and flipping things around.

 

[lolzgreg]

I've actually started using 2-3 mics on a cabinet a lot of the time. I used to be a single 57 guy, but I've noticed that my clips and reamps are benefiting from it. It really depends on the material in question.

On that note, it takes the least time dialing in a tone when you know what you're looking for and how to get there

That is some advice straight from the Big Guy and to your ears... have a vision for your work.

 

[greyskull]

On a good day 5 minutes.
I have previously had VERY demanding clients where i spent half a day trying every combination searching for 'the tone'
I'm glad for it in a way, because it pushes me further and a little outside my comfort zone.

 

[Charles J]

20-30 min. MAX.

 

[crillemannen]

5min or so. You can only get one sound out a amp if you're using one channel. No extreme settings, 12 o clock and then tweak. Usually pretty low mids and gain for taste.

 

[illuminatingsun]

Interesting replies, guys.

Hearing about how long it takes some of you to dial in satisfactory tones makes me want to use a real amp in the future. I'd say getting a decent guitar tone has been the most time-consuming aspect of recording for me, and it continues to be a source of frustration, even though I've spent about 2 years working solely ITB on my guitar tones. Maybe it's time to change to a real amp...

 

[RedDog]

A real amp would open a big can of whoop-ass for you, and you might beef up on it.

Personally, I like tones a lot better after the guitarist sticks a chair in front of his amp and tweaks all by himself. He knows what his amp can do, and I a try to capture that. Average time, 20 mins.

 

[if6was9]

The problem with amp sims is the choice. In fact the problem with ALOT of ITB stuff is the huge choice. I guarantee you would find a good tone if you limited yourself to decent 1 amp sim and 1 cabs worth of impulses and would do so in a few minutes rather than spending so much time changing sims/impulses/settings constantly.
When you've got 1 amp in front of you, you find where that amp excels and exploit it. Same goes for drums and everything really. If you give someone a rack of mediocre pre's, comps, eq's etc.. They'll find a way to make them shine.