Quick Guitar tracking question?

[koalamo]

I always get super paranoid before recording, but I have a pretty big band coming in and my first real session just in case I have to do this

If I was double tracking rhythm guitar and there was a part where one of the guitarists play something different than the other....would I just have the left and right guitar playing different or would I need more tracks



Isn't double tracking supposed to make it seem as if there is only 1 guitar playing?


This has always confused me I was just too afraid to ask

 

[jimwilbourne]

Perhaps this tip will help:
Stop worrying about the "rules"

Do what you think is logical for the situation.

 

[vespiz]

You could always ask the band for their opinion and lay out the choices for them.

In your particular situation, I'd probably let them play their parts once, since that's what the arrangement is. It's still "double-tracked". If it's a riff / rhythm thing.
If it's a lead / solo-type of part, then I'd double track the rhythms and then the lead/solo in the middle (for instance).

 

[koalamo]

Perhaps this tip will help:
Stop worrying about the "rules"

Do what you think is logical for the situation.

well I know there aren't any hard and fast rules I guess but I was just wondering how people generally do it because I really have no idea, that was just my best guess

 

[Sacha]

You can do 2 tracks per side or just 1, I usually only do 1 for more technical stuff, personal preference.

 

[drew_drummer]

If you've got the time, double track everything. Then decide later on in the mix/arrangement.

 

[Loki Laufeyiarson]

I'd say it totally depends on the parts and how good the players are. To find out how it would sound you could experiment with copy-pasting the parts to another track, pan it to the opposite side, offset by a few milliseconds and then pitchshift a tiny bit (like 3 percent or so) and then listen to how it sounds. If you have the time and the band is up for it.

 

[Jormyn]

To my ears, the mix sounds unbalanced and a bit odd if there are just two guitars, each playing something different. My preference is to quad-track and have one of each part on both sides. Having guitar A panned 100L, 80R, and B panned 80L, 100R, so they're even but still leaning left and right generally makes me happy.

 

[BLUElightCory]

Just have each guitar player play their normal part (what they'd play live) and then track additional layers wherever you think it needs it.

 

[Tommy Gun]

What I do, just for safety's sake... I have the guitar player(s) track every single guitar part twice. Then I work out how much I use and where I'll put it once I start editing/mixing the job.

This also helps me keep me rates/time ratio fair from job to job.

 

[nch3966]

"Don't think!feeeeeel!"