I dont know what my problem is......HELP!!!!!

K Odell

\=/Varnisher\=/
Jan 23, 2006
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Greensboro, NC
So heres my dilema. I have my podx3 and I have my JSX. I am about to start tracking guitars for my band Bloodjinn's upcoming record. This cd is gonna be internationally distributed and will be my first real release under my belt, so I want it to sound bangin'.

Anyways its terrible when my POD X3 sounds worlds better than my JSX mic'ed up. I dont know exactly what I am doing wrong. I have an sm57 off axis about an inch off the grill cloth going to my Presonus Firebox and from that to my comp. The cab I am using is a Mesa Oversized. I am using my Schecter C-7 Hellraiser into a maxon od-9 into the jsx. Now this should be a really good setup to make an awesome guitar tone. My results end up being less than good. I get a really fizzy thin sounding tone in the end and I dont understand what I am doing wrong. I need some help. Thanks for reading my novel haha.

Cheers,
Kyle
 
my bad.....I am using the ultra channel with these settings.
Bass-6
Mids-5
treble-4
Presence-5
Resonance-6
Gain-4
Fat Switch Engaged
 
(Psst...you can't polish a turd Kyle ;))

But after owning it for a little over a year and trying desperately to make it sound good, here are the settings I settled on with my Stiletto cab, FWIW (and I dialed them in listening to the mic'ed sound through my "monitors" AKA computer speakers, but I know 'em damn well!)

Ibanez TS7 - Drive 9, Tone 10:30, Level 11:00

Ultra Channel, Fat switch off
Gain - 4.5
Bass - 6.5
Mid - 4
Treble - 5
Res - 6.5
Pres - 6

My advice is take a DI and post it up here so one of the fine gentlemen on this fourm (including myself, once I get my new amp(s)!) can reamp it for ya!
 
Yeah I guess thats my best bet. The problem I have is I love this amp live and I love the way it sounds right now in the room. But mic'ed up its complete shit.
 
i have messed around with it quite a bit. what I think I am gonna do tomorrow is get a friend of mine to sit in the room with the cab and move the mic while I play and listen.
 
See, I'd recommend the opposite - you don't wanna have to have him move it, yell stop, and he keeps the momentum going before it registers, so instead get your friend to play guitar, and you sit in front of the cab with headphones on (invest in a good headphone extension cable naturally, check out this place) listening to the sound of the mic. Naturally, you'll have to have the volume on the amp relatively low, and the volume of the headphones a'blazin (iso headphones help, I love my Audio Technica ATH M50s), but this has helped me IMMENSELY. And if you're on your own, turn the amp on, put it on the ultra channel, make sure you don't have an instrument cable plugged in (for the sake of your ears), and CRANK the holy hell out of the channel volume to get some mondo "whhhisshh" out of the amp, which is EXCELLENT for mic sweepage cuz it's consistent (unlike a guy playing guitar who will inevitably start wanking).

I always used to advocate a guy playing through the amp (or reamping a signal through it when you're on your own and for consistency's sake), but I'm finding the cranked channel-volume whhisshh method to be as effective, possibly more so (but I'm not ready to say that definitely just yet).
 
Yeah I guess thats my best bet. The problem I have is I love this amp live and I love the way it sounds right now in the room. But mic'ed up its complete shit.

Yeah, I will admit, even up until the very end (it's on its way to its new home now, sold it for $750 + shipping woohoo!!), I still really dug the sound of it in person; I could perceive the metallic qualities, but it was FAAARRRR less pronounced than with a mic in front of the cab.
 
One thing that differs about your settings vs mine is that your mids are so high up, but that is a matter of taste.
I found that with the JSX you REALLY have to work the mic placement to get the right sound. It took me over a year to get over a really brittle high end and unbalanced sound. Using better pre tunes and biasing hotter helped the recorded tone alot. What I do with the amp now is set the mic up in where I think should be the right spot, then I slide the mic either vertically or horizontally about 2mm at a time and work from there. That's how I managed to overcome my problems.
It's quite odd that the JSX is such a hard amp to record, even with the right cabs.
 
See, I'd recommend the opposite - you don't wanna have to have him move it, yell stop, and he keeps the momentum going before it registers, so instead get your friend to play guitar, and you sit in front of the cab with headphones on (invest in a good headphone extension cable naturally, check out this place) listening to the sound of the mic. Naturally, you'll have to have the volume on the amp relatively low, and the volume of the headphones a'blazin (iso headphones help, I love my Audio Technica ATH M50s), but this has helped me IMMENSELY. And if you're on your own, turn the amp on, put it on the ultra channel, make sure you don't have an instrument cable plugged in (for the sake of your ears), and CRANK the holy hell out of the channel volume to get some mondo "whhhisshh" out of the amp, which is EXCELLENT for mic sweepage cuz it's consistent (unlike a guy playing guitar who will inevitably start wanking).

I always used to advocate a guy playing through the amp (or reamping a signal through it when you're on your own and for consistency's sake), but I'm finding the cranked channel-volume whhisshh method to be as effective, possibly more so (but I'm not ready to say that definitely just yet).
Good call. I will give this a try. If this doesnt help then evilbay it is and hello 5150
 
One thing that differs about your settings vs mine is that your mids are so high up, but that is a matter of taste.
I found that with the JSX you REALLY have to work the mic placement to get the right sound. It took me over a year to get over a really brittle high end and unbalanced sound. Using better pre tunes and biasing hotter helped the recorded tone alot. What I do with the amp now is set the mic up in where I think should be the right spot, then I slide the mic either vertically or horizontally about 2mm at a time and work from there. That's how I managed to overcome my problems.
It's quite odd that the JSX is such a hard amp to record, even with the right cabs.
im thinking the same.....also bring your highs a tad bit maybe to 6
 
Well have you ever mic'ed a JSX dude? The EQ on it is RIDICULOUSLY powerful, and the highs are ear-shredding above 6 (meaning they're just right at around 5). Besides, I don't think more highs (or less mids) is gonna alleviate "a really fizzy thin sounding tone"...

And Neb, do you have any clips of your JSX? I'd be interested to hear what you were able to coax out of it!
 
Double mic and get the phase issues correct, will help a lot ! also my friend blended his recorded recto tone with some POD tone for the sold state picking attack with great resoults
 
b standard 7 string


So, you are digging your live tone, but not the recorded tone. I can definitely relate to that. Have you tried any different microphones? What about mic'ing the edge of the speaker cone on or off axis? In my experience, mic'ing close to the cone with a '57 will give you a more present or sometimes fizzy tone. Depends on the amp, setting and the guitar though. Maybe try some different mic placements and also add some distance. Are you right on the grill, or an inch or two back? Maybe try some different on/off axis positions along the edge of the speaker cone and see what sounds best a bit back off the grill. I can't hear what you are capturing so this is all speculation on my part.