Matt, recording question

[RichS]

Hey Matt, how many tracks of rhythm guitar are on a typical song? For instance, for a verse, is there just one hard left and one hard right? Or do you do 2 tracks left, 2 tracks right?

Also, what EQ settings do you generally use for the kick drum?

Thanks and keep up the great work!

 

[Matt Smith]

It totally depends on the album or project. In Metal, 2 tracks and 4 tracks are both pretty common. For super-technical, fast stuff, 2 is more likely just because of how difficult it would be to get 4 tracks that tight. On Mirror of Souls, there are 4 tracks of rhythm guitars; two on each side, one pair with the Krankenstein and one pair with the 6505+.

Kick drum EQ just totally depends on the sound you're starting with and what you want to achieve. In general, kicks will have a lot of muddy low-mid buildup, so I'll almost always pull some frequencies out somewhere between 250-500HZ. I usually sit the low end of kicks down around 65 HZ or so, and sometimes I'll add some more EQ up top if I need more slap or attack to the sound. Beater attack usually happens anywhere between 2.5-4.5 kHZ (even up to 6 kHZ sometimes). Finally, I sometimes add a little air way up top around 10 kHZ or so.

But again, no rules--just depends on the sound I'm starting with and what it needs to sound like in the end.

 

[RichS]

Thank you Matt for the information. I can assume that you rehearse your parts until you know them perfectly in order to do multiple tracking. I have noticed a chorusing in some multiple guitar tracking due to not being super tight in playing.

Thanks for the EQ settings too!

It totally depends on the album or project. In Metal, 2 tracks and 4 tracks are both pretty common. For super-technical, fast stuff, 2 is more likely just because of how difficult it would be to get 4 tracks that tight. On Mirror of Souls, there are 4 tracks of rhythm guitars; two on each side, one pair with the Krankenstein and one pair with the 6505+.

Kick drum EQ just totally depends on the sound you're starting with and what you want to achieve. In general, kicks will have a lot of muddy low-mid buildup, so I'll almost always pull some frequencies out somewhere between 250-500HZ. I usually sit the low end of kicks down around 65 HZ or so, and sometimes I'll add some more EQ up top if I need more slap or attack to the sound. Beater attack usually happens anywhere between 2.5-4.5 kHZ (even up to 6 kHZ sometimes). Finally, I sometimes add a little air way up top around 10 HZ or so.

But again, no rules--just depends on the sound I'm starting with and what it needs to sound like in the end.