Tracking totally clean. Anyone do this?

[Loren Littlejohn]

I got the idea from another engineer in the area and decided to do it on my own demo. It's intense you can hear every fucking flaw you make. But it's nice because it's easier to pick out and fix mistakes.

Anyone do this? I'm not talking clean amp sim I'm talking only monitoring via direct in.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

Yeah I've tried it, but it didn't really work out in the end. I actually practice clean a lot so playing wasn't a problem, but I wouldn't hear string noises and ringing stuff until it was distorted so when I finally reamped it, it was really noisy.

 

[AdamWathan]

I've done it a few times, just playing along to drummers and stuff so they have something in their headphones but I've had no headphones on to listen... Not even a clean track to hear haha, just playing without hearing my guitar at all... I can play just as clean whether I can hear my guitar or not because I always FEEL any mistake I make, so it usually turns out no different than it would if I was playing through my rig. Playing with the best guitar sound ever is way more fun though

 

[whitedamp]

I tried it once. If I don´t "feel" the palm mutes with the distortion I usually make them stronger than they should be, so the whole thing went very boomy and unnatural. But I´m a terrible guitar player anyway.

 

[greyskull]

yep,.
or try to track with VERY little gain if im reamping so every mistake is very blatent

 

[Aaron Smith]

yep,.
or try to track with VERY little gain if im reamping so every mistake is very blatent

Me too, pretty much exactly. If you really want totally airtight, amazing guitar tracks, they have to sound really good even without an amp.

 

[deanbailey]

I always track with an ampsim so i can turn it off to hear the performance on the DI, edit, then either re-take or carry on.

Edit: Forgot to mention that once it's done and 'perfect' i re-amp through a real amp and drop the sim. This method is also helpful for late night recordings so you don't piss off the neighbors. (if you're recording at home that is)

 

[colonel kurtz]

i'm with deanbailey on this one - i track with the amp sim on, then turn it off when i'm doing my edits...since like you said, it makes every little mistake stick out that much more

then when shit is good and perfect, i either turn the sim back on or reamp or whatever

 

[James-Doolan]

I always track with an ampsim so i can turn it off to hear the performance on the DI, edit, then either re-take or carry on.

Edit: Forgot to mention that once it's done and 'perfect' i re-amp through a real amp and drop the sim. This method is also helpful for late night recordings so you don't piss off the neighbors. (if you're recording at home that is)

Ditto makes the most sence

 

[26]

Me too, pretty much exactly. If you really want totally airtight, amazing guitar tracks, they have to sound really good even without an amp.

+1
The challenge is to get the right expression with just your fingers.

 

[26]

I would like to add that if it comes to recording clients I would leave this decision to them.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I've cheated by just recording cleans and then got bitten on the ass with ringing strings and shitty palm mutes later on. Ya I always edit with cleans only but to do it right you really need that distortion on. Trust me, I've recorded 6 platinum records... Oh, wait, no I didn't.

 

[Metaltastic]

I've cheated by just recording cleans and then got bitten on the ass with ringing strings and shitty palm mutes later on. Ya I always edit with cleans only but to do it right you really need that distortion on. Trust me, I've recorded 6 platinum records... Oh, wait, no I didn't.

Hahaha, it's nice to dream - and I totally gotta +1 this, cuz some mistakes you know immediately just by the feel, but when it comes to ringing strings, idle noise, that "wick" sound from sliding on the strings, etc., I only notice it with distortion.

 

[26]

Ringing strings etc. can be a problem, but tracks can be checked with an amp sim afterwards.

 

[deanbailey]

I would like to add that if it comes to recording clients I would leave this decision to them.

Yeah thats true, but most often (and depending on the professionalism) clients have no clue what they want even when they say they do.

...but when it comes to ringing strings, idle noise, that "wick" sound from sliding on the strings, etc., I only notice it with distortion.

Hence tracking with an ampsim

 

[Metaltastic]

Thank you for proving my point Dean Using an ampsim wouldn't be considered "tracking clean"

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Yeah I do smack an amp sim on when done (shit you got to hear it distorted right!). But I tracked it clean. I liked doing this better, I didn't have any of issues that any of you described.

 

[deanbailey]

lol sorry, i think i was stoned when i made that last post.