same mic placement for L/R guitar tones?

[bryan_kilco]

Recording at our bassists place the past few months, and as much as I like being "in charge" of the engineering aspect of things, I was relieved to have him wanting to jump in and take charge of things. What I thought was a bit odd was he used the same mic placement for both L/R rhythm guitars....as well as the same exact EQ settings on the amp.

DO you guys do this? Is it normal? Or should we have gotten 2 different mic placements and 2 different EQ settings? How does post-EQing the same 2 tones differ from actually EQing before the mic?

 

[arv_foh]

You can do it either way if you have time to experiment, but I usually use the same mic placement and same EQ settings. If it's not broken don't fix it

 

[bryan_kilco]

See, I don't have a whole lot of experience with real mic'd cabs. I thought it seemed a bit odd at first, but then realized it made it easier to fix certain things.

I'm just wondering the difference (if any) there is to post EQing and actually EQing the amp differently.

 

[arv_foh]

See, I don't have a whole lot of experience with real mic'd cabs. I thought it seemed a bit odd at first, but then realized it made it easier to fix certain things.

I'm just wondering the difference (if any) there is to post EQing and actually EQing the amp differently.

it's much better to get it right at the source, but it does depend on the EQs you are using, they all have different character (which can be good or bad), some are very clean, some are very harsh when you start adding high end, etc

 

[PaoloJM]

If you're double tracking a part and have the right sound at source then I don't see any reason to have different mic placements or EQ settings.

 

[musickey]

I always leave the same mic placement when recording 2 tracks through the same amp

 

[egan.]

Me too. Frankly, even if I'm using different amps I rarely use a different cab or move the mics.

 

[musickey]

Me too. Frankly, even if I'm using different amps I rarely use a different cab or move the mics.

Same here man.

 

[ttrentt]

I like changing mic positions and I will often also change the tonestack knobs half a turn here or there. I feel it gives the guitars an extra little added bonus.

 

[Trevoire520]

I always use the same setup for left and right. Would sound odd to have a bright tone on one side and a dark one on the other imo.

 

[AEL89]

Listen to the Fire tracks from Thrice's Alchemy Index. The moment you start doing L and R guitars the same every time is the moment you've turned into a boring engineer. Works great for some stuff of course...

There are no rules. (Sorry for the cliche but it is true)

 

[ang3]

andy mentioned on the new dimmu its one side 5150 one side ENGL. so ya whatever works

 

[Fandus]

If you are going to use different tones each side that's fine, just make sure the 2 tones are balanced across the frequency spectrum. As in have a similar low/mid/high ratio. You don't want one side sounding hollow in comparison to the other.

 

[KillFrenzy]

If you are going to use different tones each side that's fine, just make sure the 2 tones are balanced across the frequency spectrum. As in have a similar low/mid/high ratio. You don't want one side sounding hollow in comparison to the other.

This!

 

[onetruth]

If you are going to use different tones each side that's fine, just make sure the 2 tones are balanced across the frequency spectrum. As in have a similar low/mid/high ratio. You don't want one side sounding hollow in comparison to the other.

+2! Although I always keep the 2 guitar tones the same so there is a nice balance across the stereo image. like everyone else said, if you nail a shit hot tone for the first guitar track, why bother changing it for the 2nd track? no need to re-invent the wheel!

 

[zirkonflex]

I'd say that would be rather wierd because of the changed frequencies, I'd rather use two amps with matched frequencies.

 

[Star Ark]

I disagree with most of you and think different tones are a good thing and makes the mix wider. I used to change the sweep knob on my krank just a little for the change in sides, but as someone pointed out it can cause problems if you have to go back and re record a part and no longer have the exact same settings on the head. So I think you should keep the mic placement the same and then in post do a little something to give each side a slightly different tone. I really does make the mix poke out further either side

 

[AEL89]

If you are going to use different tones each side that's fine, just make sure the 2 tones are balanced across the frequency spectrum. As in have a similar low/mid/high ratio. You don't want one side sounding hollow in comparison to the other.

doesn't work like that - you're massively overthinking it.

 

[RedDog]

What, are you all using bus eq for your guitar tracks? You'll have to mix each guitar separately in the stereo field anyway. Assuming you do still pan your drums.

 

[KillFrenzy]

doesn't work like that - you're massively overthinking it.

Man, maybe you are overthinking it. The idea is to balance the mix - and it really can get unbalanced 'cause of two different guitar tones - not to match the frequencies with a spectrum analyzer. At least that is what I do. No surgical precision, just tonal balance. =)