New here, salute you and some questions.

[Diego Rugiero]

Hi guys, I really enjoy this forum. I already introduced myself in "who's who section", my name is Diego, I'm a 30 year old guitarist from Argentina and actually I'm recording an EP for my band Selfgod. I own rehearsal/studio room, a Mac Pro with Pro Tools, a Digi 003, a Focusrite Octopre Platinum, Shure, Audix, Neumann and MXL mics, a bunch of plugins and decent monitors. My main guitar is a LP Custom with EMG 81-85 and my main amp is a 5150 with Marshall 1960AV cab. I use a lot of pedals, including Maxon 808 as overdrive.

I learned a lot from you guys, and I try to experiment a new thing every day so I never lost interest, but actually I can't get a killer tone for the EP, even with a good setup like mine. I tried a single 57 in the best speaker sweet spot and the sound I get is very weak compared to the sound I'm trying to get (think In Flames guitar tone). One thing I noted is the EMG 81 pickup height to the strings is very important, I'm using a 12-68 string gauge (for drop b tuning) so I adjusted the pickup close to the strings to get more definition. Now I can get a clear tone, but lacks of the classic low end of the style. I tried some Fredman using two 57, but I know is very easy to get phase issues there so I'm not sure if I'm making it right. I know that technique is trial and error and many of you take many years to develop well.

About my tone, I see that many players with my setup use Mesa cab with V30s, maybe is that the factor to get more low end? I really want to try a Mesa cab, but here are very expensive (about 2000 dollars new).

I always dual track the rhythm guitars and recording DI tracks too (for reamping later and make editing more easy). Do you guys edit guitars or try to get them right from the beginning? I'm a tight player but not so tight to get dual guitars right in one take. I'm editing using slip edition, but I always get a "mono feeling" when all is editing.

Thanks for your time.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Welcome to the forum!! It's a great and evil place!

As far as tracking guitars - you want to get the tightest performance possible from the source, obviously, and edit anything you need to afterwards.

I have my best luck tracking dual rhythms piece by piece. For example, record Riff 1 / Guitar 1, then while the riff is still fresh in your head/hands, record Riff 1 / Guitar 2. Get both tight, then move on.

I've seen a few guys who like to record a full song all the way through of, say, Guitar 1....then go back and punch-in any mistakes.

I personally feel the workflow and tightness stays more true when doing it in smaller chunks.

But, I'm far from pro. Some of the dudes on here are amazing.

Hang out, read, and enjoy your stay!

 

[TheIllicitOne]

I have never been able to get a good tone with the fredman technique. I really like one on the sweet spot and one 4-8 inches back to capture a bit of how it sounds in the room. Flip the phase on the farther mic to see which way sounds fuller. If they both sound bad you might be perfectly out of phase and you'll have to reposition your mics. Try it out and let me know what happens.

 

[TheIllicitOne]

It takes a bit of experimenting.

 

[rispsira]

welcome Diego! I was going to say a few things but i guess Brian said them for me (including the part "But, I'm far from pro. Some of the dudes on here are amazing."

It seems that you have been lurking for a while and read quite a few things already so i guess now its just a matter of time until you get it right by experimenting with the things you know and letting your ears improve in the process which will facilitate things.

Also i am a guitarist myself so i spent quite a while on the forum focusing on guitar related material until i realised that other important aspects (the mix) become part of the guitar tone (the importance of bass, drums how it all gels together etc) so id say look in different areas to improve your guitar tone besides the guitar

As to the fredman technique the phase issue is what its all about so its ok, but personally id wait until you could get a good tone with a single 57 before complicating things or at least that's what im trying to do although im aching to get more experimental but hopefully patience will pay off instead of rushing.

i havent tried the 1960AV cab.

Anyway you might probably know all this already so id say posts some clips i think youll get some good advice!

Gluck!

 

[Diego Rugiero]

Hi guys, always a pleasure get feedback from you. I pay attention to all the good advices here. I'll try to get the best tone using one 57 and the I'll post some clips. About editing, do you recommend slip edit to perfection or leave the tracks with a little human touch?

 

[rispsira]

Well again i am not a pro like a lot of the guys here, but personally i like to get it as tight as possible by tracking part by part; if time is a concern then slip edit just the mistakes like when the guitars get muddy and you feel like you applied reverb or som on it because of timing issues or other mistakes in general.

Most importantly trust your ears and if it sound right to you then don't touch it and slip edit to perfection. That way you avoid that mono effect

 

[Diego Rugiero]

Thanks! Now I'll share some mixes to rate my tone.

 

[greyskull]

Your gear is great mate, just keep playing with the position of that 57, it might end up being somewhere realy wierd, but once you got it, and you double or maybe quad track it; it'll sound HUGE.

 

[Diego Rugiero]

Thanks, I'll keep playing with the position and maybe quadtrack some parts or add a third guitar in the middle for chorus.