Quadtracking.

[dod94]

Hi! I'm going to track the guitars for my band's first album.
Can anyone tell me if I should dual of quad track the guitars? Here you can listen to our music:
http://www.myspace.com/dawnofdecline

 

[MetalSound]

if we have the time to record it and the players are tight enough i like to quadtrack but always with two different amps.
the benefit of blending two different amps is awesome and much greater than having 4 different takes with the same amp and/or setting. slaving one amp to another never got good results here.

 

[botus99]

SLAVE YOUR AMPS!!!! if you have more then one So know i said it for the last time

what again?

Seriously though, clips maybe? I'd be very interested to hear the results of blending amps. I know its quasi-well-used on many productions including ones we all know and love, but I've never heard anyone describe their own process and experiences...

phase issues? frequency battles (maybe some drastic EQ'ing, maybe none)? Just being curious and hoping I don't derail the thread.

Everyone seemed to be all over quadtracking for a while, then everyone tried it and realized how FUCKING HARD it is to get it right. I tried it, I ain't goin back except for choruses like some have said. Quadtracking is just another tool in the arsenal now for getting things to sound BIGGER (or muddier if the guitarist blows )

 

[Star Ark]

It can be good for some parts of songs and not so good for others. No rules, just experiment and see what happens for you

 

[Tommy Gun]

I will always quad track. Period. It gives you more DI's to work with if nothing else. I shouldn't need to mention the other benefits.

Also... Slaving amps does NOT give you equal results to quad tracking. The "bigger/thicker" sound that you get with 4 separate rhythms comes from the subtle nuances in even the tightest guitarist's playing, not from just having 4 signals. Slaving amps only lets you blend different tones to get your sound for that one track. Not the same.

 

[JoergieN]

I will always quad track. Period. It gives you more DI's to work with if nothing else. I shouldn't need to mention the other benefits.

Also... Slaving amps does NOT give you equal results to quad tracking. The "bigger/thicker" sound that you get with 4 separate rhythms comes from the subtle nuances in even the tightest guitarist's playing, not from just having 4 signals. Slaving amps only lets you blend different tones to get your sound for that one track. Not the same.

Yep, When I first started doing this I tried cheating by doing that in Pod Farm. Didn't work

 

[Pxz]

Dont forget the L-C-R way of tracking guitars , it`s used a lot . Bands like Deftones and even Metallica used 3 tracks of gtrs instead of 4.

 

[AHChris]

I have such issues with quad tracking but I think that I'm going to start doing is double tracking it, pan to each side, than for breakdown type shit, add a louder third guitar centered. Cool story?

Nooo don´t do that! I experimented with third guitars in the middle and it doesn´t help... It clutters the mix and narrows the stereo image a LOT.

I only quadtrack when I record myself...

 

[JoergieN]

Does it? I hear about people triple tracking all the time? How to they do the panning?

 

[crillemannen]

I will always quad track. Period. It gives you more DI's to work with if nothing else. I shouldn't need to mention the other benefits.

Also... Slaving amps does NOT give you equal results to quad tracking. The "bigger/thicker" sound that you get with 4 separate rhythms comes from the subtle nuances in even the tightest guitarist's playing, not from just having 4 signals. Slaving amps only lets you blend different tones to get your sound for that one track. Not the same.

I don't know how experienced you are but slaving amps is almost equal to quadtracking. It fattens the tone very much if you know what you are doing. I can post samples in a couple of days.

And if you can set up mics properly you don't get any phase problems. People judge without really knowing what slaving means and the great results you can get.

And im speakng of real amps not freaking PODS etc...

 

[Joshua Wickman]

I don't know how experienced you are but slaving amps is almost equal to quadtracking. It fattens the tone very much if you know what you are doing. I can post samples in a couple of days.

And if you can set up mics properly you don't get any phase problems. People judge without really knowing what slaving means and the great results you can get.

And im speakng of real amps not freaking PODS etc...

You need to write us up a step by step for us. I'm very interested in this as well. Ive read a bit about how to slave amps but i'm still a little confused on exactly how to do this.

I remember the Bmth thread it was talked about.

 

[crillemannen]

You need to write us up a step by step for us. I'm very interested in this as well. Ive read a bit about how to slave amps but i'm still a little confused on exactly how to do this.

I remember the Bmth thread it was talked about.

First take one amp. Use FX Send on the master amp to FX return on the slaved amp. Then you have 2 sounds, the master amp is feeding its sound through the power amp of the slaved amp, which will alter the sound. And of course you need 2 different cabs so that will also alter the sound of the original amp.

The trick is to get 2 sounds that compliment each other. One sound can be a little bit brighter, the other one a bit duller, and maybe one is thicker and the other a bit thinner, you get the idea the thing is to have the 2 sounds in mind when setting the tone, which will lead to an awesome tone in the end. I usually have one guitar about 5-10db louder in mix. The one that is a bit lower i usually pan 80. So it is Master amp 100 L/R , Slaved amp 80/80.

The tone gets much thicker and wider if you are good at this technique which i learned at Studio Fredman when i was an intern over there. I'll see if i can remember to bring some samples tomorrow from the studio.

 

[egan.]

I don't know how experienced you are but slaving amps is almost equal to quadtracking. It fattens the tone very much if you know what you are doing. I can post samples in a couple of days.

And if you can set up mics properly you don't get any phase problems. People judge without really knowing what slaving means and the great results you can get.

Both techniques are cool and valid but they aren't equivalent by a long shot. I do both all of the time.

 

[RedDog]

Fuckin' quads. Automation city.

That said, I really love the look of the quad-tracked, fredman-mic'd section in my mix. Scary, almost.

MASSIVE WALL OF SOUND!

 

[Tommy Gun]

I don't know how experienced you are but slaving amps is almost equal to quadtracking. It fattens the tone very much if you know what you are doing. I can post samples in a couple of days.

And if you can set up mics properly you don't get any phase problems. People judge without really knowing what slaving means and the great results you can get.

And im speakng of real amps not freaking PODS etc...

Plenty of experience. And I wasn't arguing the fact that slaving is a good technique. It's great for plenty of reasons. But it does NOT sound like quad tracking. Subtle differences between performances CANNOT be emulated. A human being has to play the same thing more than once. Period.

 

[Joshua Wickman]

First take one amp. Use FX Send on the master amp to FX return on the slaved amp. Then you have 2 sounds, the master amp is feeding its sound through the power amp of the slaved amp, which will alter the sound. And of course you need 2 different cabs so that will also alter the sound of the original amp.

The trick is to get 2 sounds that compliment each other. One sound can be a little bit brighter, the other one a bit duller, and maybe one is thicker and the other a bit thinner, you get the idea the thing is to have the 2 sounds in mind when setting the tone, which will lead to an awesome tone in the end. I usually have one guitar about 5-10db louder in mix. The one that is a bit lower i usually pan 80. So it is Master amp 100 L/R , Slaved amp 80/80.

The tone gets much thicker and wider if you are good at this technique which i learned at Studio Fredman when i was an intern over there. I'll see if i can remember to bring some samples tomorrow from the studio.

Thanks dude!

 

[Damage, Inc.]

I really like the sound of quad-tracking, but it has a couple caveats. I don't like having more than one mic on a track, in the interest of avoiding phase issues. The player has to be REALLY tight, or the sound will smear. Some songs are fast and tricky enough that a quad just won't work. Also, I think having two radically different sounds makes the quad work better. For example, I'll run a couple tracks with a 5150, Uberschall, Rectifier, something like that, then run two tracks with a different amp, with a much less compressed tone without the massive bass and treble that's on my other tracks. If I need to, I'll shelve the highs and lows so the part fits better. That way, with a mix of the two, you have the heavy, compressed sound as the meat of the tone, but the lighter tone adds some mids back in and gives you some pick attack. Just my $.02, may not work for everyone.

 

[JoergieN]

No seriously though, can someone explain to me why it's a bad idea to double track guitars and then center a third guitar during heavy parts?

 

[drew_drummer]

No seriously though, can someone explain to me why it's a bad idea to double track guitars and then center a third guitar during heavy parts?

It isn't. Just depends on what specifically you're going for.

 

[Tommy Gun]

No seriously though, can someone explain to me why it's a bad idea to double track guitars and then center a third guitar during heavy parts?

Nothing wrong with that at all. Most Megadeth records are actually 3 tracks full time. 2 of Dave hard left & right, and 1 of the other guitarist up the middle. To me, if that 3rd track is just to thicken up heavier, mid-paced and slower parts, it should fit in nicely, provided it's just a shade quieter than the left/right rhythms.