"Less gain"...makes my amp sound like a blues balad

[::XeS::]

You can also record palm muting with more gain and other things with a little less, if the riffs allow it

 

[Emdprodukt]

That's what I'd say, too. Or to quote Borat: "Very nice! High five!"

more likely: Great success!

 

[blackcom]

Can't they just make an amp that sounds "clean" and defined at high gain settings....argh...guess i'm an idiot....

 

[~BURNY~]

I always use the following method to set my amp. Not saying it will work for you but it's worth to try it.
1 Make the amp sounds good according to your taste
2 Lower the gain to the point where it feels slightly uncomfortable and require more effort to play
3 Engage the OD, now it feels better
4 repeat step 2

Remember:
Less gain= Less fizz and increased clarity. That's how people like Andy get their sound. So If you are going for something similar to Andy, that's the best thing to do.
That being said you are entitled to go for another type of sound.

 

[Exocaster]

Can't they just make an amp that sounds "clean" and defined at high gain settings....argh...guess i'm an idiot....

Mesa Mark series or VHT Ultralead...

 

[cobrahead1030]

Can't they just make an amp that sounds "clean" and defined at high gain settings....argh...guess i'm an idiot....

a lot of amps can do that, it's just a matter of getting it to sound good and clear for the recording which is where speakers, cabs, mics, placement, etc. come into play a little more

you also gotta have real tight/clean playing if you're using a lot of gain like that...it can be done and sound good, but it's often a lot more difficult

some amps are better at this than others as well...on a mesa mark series or framus cobra you can dime the gain and have a decent outcome, i probably wouldn't dry that with a recto or 5150

 

[ffaudio]

So just to clarify, when you guys say quad tracking, is that two takes on the right and two takes on the left, or four on the right and four on the left?

 

[BattleTits]

Quad tracking...take an amp..set it up how you want it. Record 2 takes.

Take another amp (optional)..set it up how you want it, record 2 takes.

I am not sure how the ol fredman technique everyone talks about goes..I am thinking maybe you do 2 take with the mic directly on the cone, hard pan, then do 2 takes with the mic angled and pan that...but I am not 100%.

regardless, quad = 4 different takes when I track. It will make you a better player, because they have to be tight.

 

[blackcom]

Ok....this is the threadstarter speaking again.

I used to have gain at 15 o clock.
I tried having the gain at 13 o clock and it sounded kinda dull when palm-muting.
I actually tried this with quad-tracking + live drums and bass.

I've found 14 o clock to be a good comprimise between enough gain and amount of mud in the sound...

Here's a clip of a recto with gain at 14 o clock quadtracked with live drums and bass. When setting gain to 13 o clock the "overtones" in the palm-muting kinda dissapaired so i put it back to 14 o clock.

http://home.online.no/~mstra/gain14oclock.mp3

You still think it sounds like shit?

 

[BloodyMurderKaraoke]

i think it sounds pretty good, dude

 

[MetalWorks]

You can also record palm muting with more gain and other things with a little less, if the riffs allow it

Yeah, plenty of people layer just palm mutes on another track.

 

[deanbailey]

lol That sounds good, 'just still a bit much for me though.

 

[Aaron Smith]

I think palm muting sounds a bit dull when the palm is placed more towards the bridge...

Try plucking harder and/or pushing your palm harder...it's all about adapting your playing.

When i turn down the gain the sustain of my palm-mutings are too short when placing the palm more towards the neck.

Moving closer to the bridge lets the strings ring out more, which = more sustain.

 

[cobrahead1030]

Ok....this is the threadstarter speaking again.

I used to have gain at 15 o clock.
I tried having the gain at 13 o clock and it sounded kinda dull when palm-muting.
I actually tried this with quad-tracking + live drums and bass.

I've found 14 o clock to be a good comprimise between enough gain and amount of mud in the sound...

Here's a clip of a recto with gain at 14 o clock quadtracked with live drums and bass. When setting gain to 13 o clock the "overtones" in the palm-muting kinda dissapaired so i put it back to 14 o clock.

http://home.online.no/~mstra/gain14oclock.mp3

You still think it sounds like shit?

i didn't catch many people saying your first clip sounded too bad, but that one is pretty damn good to my ears...a bit less mids than i'd like but not bad at all

 

[blackcom]

Hey, how much more gain is there on the red channel compared to the orange channel on a recto, about one hour on the clock or so?

Andy used red with gain at 12.30 and this was orange at 14.00 so it can't be that bad, right?

 

[cobhc]

What do you mean by 14 and 15 o clock? These hours don't exist as far as I know, unless I'm asleep during those hours?

 

[blackcom]

14.00 o clock = 2 o clock
15.00 o clock = 3 o clock


I'm a norwegian...we don't use AM and PM, but during daytime we call it 14.00 and during the night we call it 2.00..... I guess I should have known....hehe...

 

[cobhc]

I know of 14:00 and 15:00, as in the 24 hour clock, but noone here calls it 14 o clock, we say "Fourteen Hundred Hours" or "Fifteen Hundred Hours" like Military time.

 

[blackcom]

Oh..ok...no problem then I guess...

 

[Polpotkin]

and you couldn't figure out what he meant?