Using the same guitar tone for left and right. Pros and cons.

[Pxz]

What do you guys think about this? . I always used the same setup for both channels and then make a few eq moves to make them a little bit different. But what about using a totally different tone. I know more than a few top guys always do this, and never use the same configuration for the opposite channel but they are involved more in hard rock, alternative, grungy stuff etc. Heavier music seems to be more consistent in this subject. I want to hear your take on it.

 

[MrBongo]

At the moment I can only speak of my own band´s recording, all other productions I did had pretty different sounds left and right.
We play more rock-ish music, but the instrumental parts are reaching from punk to metal.

It´s not exactly the same for left and right, but very close.
My own sound comes from a 2x12 with Eminence Wizard & Red Fang. They sound very similar, more so than sometimes two speakers of the same model do. Recorded with 4 different mics (2 each). One speaker to the left, the other to the right with a different take.
Each mic got its own EQ treatment for cutting fizz. It´s really different for each of them, and the result is better than just using EQ on the sum.
The rest of the chain stays the same, just different speakers.

My fellow guitarist didn´t doubletrack his parts. 3 mics: one panned center, one left, one right. On the same speaker, the result is close to identical for both sides, but not exactly the same.


+ it´s a lot more coherent with similar sounds
+ less of a hassle to set up
+ needs an amp / cab less
- the "wall of doubletracked guitars" feels a tad less wide. Just a tiny bit when you have a small difference in sounds, maybe a bit more so when they are the same. (The wideness mostly comes from the doubletracking)

 

[EmiRizzi]

If you're using the same exact guitar tone for both sides you fully rely on a players natural imperfection to create stereo width - and it's completely fine, there's nothing wrong with that. If you want a 'big' guitar tone then maybe experiment with different effects per channel, different EQ moves, different something for each of the channels of audio to create more width. It depends on the instruments, too; if you have drums, bass and guitars then you have to rely (mostly) on the guitars for your stereo width - in that case I would use different tones.

I like to send one DI through two different amps (with varying settings). The DI original is the same so there is only one player, but the different tones and effects give you a nice stereo width when the tones are panned hard L and R. Likewise, if I were double tracking, I would use different settings and mic positions just to give the guitars a little extra Side signal. (from Mid/Side processing)

iZotope.com:
"In a heavy rock piece with distorted guitars, depth is key. The sense of space is important not only for creating a soundstage, but also to create a sense of pressure for the aggressive guitars. To help reinforce the sense of depth, a mastering engineer can apply Mid/Side EQ and boost the high shelf on the sides slightly. This will increase the sense of space without altering the most important centered sounds, such as the vocal."​

 

[Novocaine]

Pros - less separation
Cons - less separation

 

[nezvers]

Pros - enough separation and sound like one wide instrument. I don't see a point for imbalanced stereo sound for rhythm guitar tilting to one side. You don't have dominating zones all over the spectrum (one for L, one for R, one for the lead, then maybe one for lead harmonies), that will get in the way of vocals or synths.
Cons - doesn't sound like 2 different guitars/ guitarists, but like one wide dedicated rhythm guitar (which makes sense since 2nd guitarist is playing leads).

Here is example with my shitty riff ideas - https://www.dropbox.com/s/u1wv1j20krfs1k5/1 drop D.mp3?dl=0
Simple TSEx50v2 presets with filtering inside x50.

 

[Pxz]

Cool riffs there. I was mixing some stuff from a band that give me some stems, and the guitars were the extact tone left and right (uber tight playing btw) , and i was feeling that was the only problem with the whole mix . It was way to narrow sounding. That make me wonder how do you guys aproach your tones , or if this subject is something that is adressed even in the recording process with a little change in mic position and amp settings.

 

[nezvers]

If those are rhythm riffs and both guitarist play it than I'm not in the way for them both to do it, just signal route stays the same.

As everything in audio realm is up to your preferences.

 

[Beauburchell]

A slightly different tone on each side will sound wider and "more huge" even if it's just 2 different guitars. But if you can get 2 different amps / cabs and guitars, that will give ultimate wide. Also when I say 2 different amps cabs, they should both be achieving the same similar sound. But all the small tiny differences will add up.

 

[BearOnGuitar]

One of my very first recordings featured a slightly different tone on each side, and while the mix turned out great and it was working for the song and style, I seem to prefer using the same tone on both sides for consistency and feel in most cases.

 

[Kellii]

I always find if you have different guitar tones either side any tonal problems you may have missed become obvious. I find myself using less Eq when I have two different tones.

When you use the same tone twice undesirable qualities in the mids become harder to Eq out (you can eq for days and still not be happy) while problems with the low end become easier to second guess or miss completely.

If you like the tone but want to differentiate it subtly try using a different mic, mic position or cab. If you use an amp sim try a different impulse.

 

[Phil_ocean]

Same with what all dudes said above, it offers wideness and if you nail the tones you can achieve a great tone combination. Rock music doesnt require so much guitar wideness and thus is not requiring different guitar tones.