presence on metal guitars

[Genius Gone Insane]

Hey everyone,

Is there a general rule on where your presence should be (0-10) when recording metal rhythm guitars? Or is it basically "whatever sounds good"? I'm just curious if there is like a general guideline like "don't ever record with the presence all the way up" or something like that or maybe how it will generally effect the sound.

Thanks!

 

[TempleGod]

what are you using that has a presence knob on it?

if all else fails, do whatever sounds good :Spin:

if you're mixing, then make sure you listen to see how everything sounds together...dont add presence to a solo track without checking the mix

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Thanks for the response...

I'm running a Line 6 Pod straight into a digi 001. The Pod has a presence knob and I guess setting it somewhere in the middle sounds the best. But the problem is in the mixdown where I have to cut some of the lower frequencies but then I get this high frequency distortion-cheese-grater sound.

I figure if I just keep trying I'll eventually get the sound I want. I'm trying to rip off In Flames latest album and I've got the drums sounding pretty good, but the guitars are the biggest pain in the ass of all time. I don't know what my problem is but I do know that the more I try the closer the sound gets.

Also I've been putting the guitars pretty far back in the mix with reverb (effects loop after recording). Do you think it would be better if I just recorded with less presence? Man, any more advice would be great. Maybe I'm totally on the wrong track. Thanks again!

 

[The Wanderer]

so you're recording direct? that might be part of your problem.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

so you're recording direct? that might be part of your problem.

have you used the pod? my other guitarist and i were just talking about maybe running it through my 5150 clean to get a little tube warmth. We mixed it down again and fucked with it more and are still getting closer but I still haven't made it. any other advice?

 

[mrjumping]

Hey everyone,

Is there a general rule on where your presence should be (0-10) when recording metal rhythm guitars? Or is it basically "whatever sounds good"? I'm just curious if there is like a general guideline like "don't ever record with the presence all the way up" or something like that or maybe how it will generally effect the sound.

Thanks!

I think you can use the pod 2.0 and get great sounds going direct... however, you need to think about all the elements that you are emulating from the amp, to the cabs, to the level of drive, etc. It took me a few months to unlock the pod and I can tell you this, don't go with the pre-sets. I've also got a pod XT and a Vetta head and I can tell you that the same applies, it's all in how you tweak them. I would recommend researching the amps that are emulated and how they are typically used in this style of music. Go from there. The presence knob alone is not going to be your saviour or killer.

 

[FrostGiant]

I use a POD as well. I'd much rather record from an amp but that would require buying one and probably getting evicted. But you need to tweak the crap out of em. I started by tweaking presets but when all was said and done, it wasn't close to the preset. Same deal with the Bass Pod.

BTW, make sure you have that POD in the AIR mode. I forgot about that once and it really doesn't sound good.

 

[The Wanderer]

have you used the pod? my other guitarist and i were just talking about maybe running it through my 5150 clean to get a little tube warmth. We mixed it down again and fucked with it more and are still getting closer but I still haven't made it. any other advice?

yes, i have one. the only time i use it direct is for demoing out shit in the middle of the night and even then its tweaked to shit. and for scratch tracks. i occasionaly put it in front of an amp. but with mixed results. basically, you're not going to get that sound you're looking for direct on guitar, that's been my experience. it works great for writing demos and stuff, but not much more than that.

if you have a 5150 why the fuck are you even bothering with the pod? you should be able to get a great tone out of that thing.

 

[Brooks]

Also, Reverb is all but blasphemy on high gain rhythm guitars. Cut that shit out! Literally!

 

[mrjumping]

yes, i have one. the only time i use it direct is for demoing out shit in the middle of the night and even then its tweaked to shit. and for scratch tracks. i occasionaly put it in front of an amp. but with mixed results. basically, you're not going to get that sound you're looking for direct on guitar, that's been my experience. it works great for writing demos and stuff, but not much more than that.

if you have a 5150 why the fuck are you even bothering with the pod? you should be able to get a great tone out of that thing.

I've got both over at my studio and both come in handy for different things. If you haven't gotten a great sound out of a pod you haven't fucked with it enough.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

cool thanks...

The 5150 sound was kinda machine headish, burn my eyes you know? a little too dry. But maybe I didn't fuck with the EQ enough. OK, then, if you're recording a 5150 then (generally speaking of course) where would you have the presence knob? When we did our first demo, which I did NOT engineer, we had the presence dead in the middle and it turned out ok.

 

[The Wanderer]

I've got both over at my studio and both come in handy for different things. If you haven't gotten a great sound out of a pod you haven't fucked with it enough.

I've gotten good sounds out of the thing, i just don't like the way guitars sound when recorded direct. i think they miss something and the pod can't duplicate it. They are close and i love the thing, but it aint quite there.

 

[The Wanderer]

cool thanks...

The 5150 sound was kinda machine headish, burn my eyes you know? a little too dry. But maybe I didn't fuck with the EQ enough. OK, then, if you're recording a 5150 then (generally speaking of course) where would you have the presence knob? When we did our first demo, which I did NOT engineer, we had the presence dead in the middle and it turned out ok.

I'd put it where it sounded good. probably around 12 or 1 o'clock. you're putting too much stock in that thing.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

See, the thing is that right off the bat the guitars coming out of the POD are just too thick and I guess muddy and take up too much of the mix. So then I'll cut out a little bit of the lows on the EQ but then there's just too much fucking high end hiss from the distortion. So then I cut that out and all of the sudden the guitars lose their tone. It's so frusterating!