Recording and Mixing Lead Guitar

[gorath23]

I haven't seen this discussed that much (well not as much as Rhythm anyway) so I wanted to see how people usually go about this. I originally liked the idea of buying a condenser for leads but with just having bought a new bass thats out. I'm about to start tracking the leads for a new song, so my process will be:

-Single SM57, on axis, up against the grill, pointing towards where the dust cap meets the cone.

- Amp settings
Bass: 11 o'clock
Mids: 3 o'clock
Treble: 11 o'clock
Presence: probably 11 o'clock and Gain to suit (higher certainly than rhythm).

- I'll also be taking a DI of any tracks I record just to give me extra options.

Mixing:

- Hi-pass around 200hz
- Compression, thinking of using Blockfish and cranking the saturate knob. What settings do people recommend generally for Compressing leads?
- Short Delay / Dash of Reverb / I also like Chorus for leads hypno: I know)

So, how does that sound, anything else I should be doing? EQ tips/ plugins?

 

[s34nsm411]

i like to record one gritty hifi sounding guitar tone for rhythm (one stereo pair) and another that is more bassy/meaty. then take away the more gainy hifi sounding one when leads come in, clears out that frequency range that the lead needs to occupy

 

[gorath23]

I was thinking that certainly I'd be using some automation to pull back one pair of rhythm tracks (I have quad tracked the rhythm guitars) whenever the leads kick in.

 

[botus99]

I think you're highpassing too much for a lead. I would go 100, maybe 120. I love to compress the hell out of my lead guitar tracks with a pretty quick attack (around 5ms or so) and medium to long release depending on how the solo is played. Send the solo to an aux send with delay (preferably synced to the song tempo, hi and lo passed so only midrange is clearly heard) and bring the volume of that up to taste. Then fatten up the sound a little with some saturation (Tessla, THD, GSatMax)

 

[STINNETT]

I use a 57 for lead guitar, and compared to a rhythm sound I usually boost the midrange a little along with the gain.

I compress lead guitar quite a bit, something I never do on rhythm guitar.
For effects, I like to send to a delay and automate the level to bring it out when it needs it but keep it out of the way when it doesn't.
Sometimes I use a little reverb too.

That's about it.