Wide guitars

[alex2411]

Hey ! I have hard times on mixing guitars. Especialy make them wide , for now I mostly mix raw steems that I find on this forum. What I like to do is using the same amp for each guitars (l/R) but changing the eq setting on this each side ( mor high on the right gtr and more mid on the left for exemple) then I add a eq an boost even more the high or the mid depending on wich guitat it is ( eq carving ) it sounds wide but nor powerful, they are thin and lifeless. I dont like to use stereo enhencer such as izotope imager , it kills the mix.

Please help me

 

[paledecay]

I generally use two different IR's for my guitars. If I feel that my guitars aren't "big enough" I'll quad track them and pan 1 hard left, 1 hard right, 1 75% left and 1 75% right.

I also don't go crazy on the eq. highpass to cut out the rumble/mud, make a few cuts for drums/bass/vox and maybe a slight high boost if they aren't bright enough, but again, these are maybe 1-2db cuts, nothing huge and I typically do a slightly different eq on the left than I do on the right.

Another trick I've tried, is to make the drums less wide which makes guitars seem wider while making the drums also stand out a bit more.

 

[alex2411]

Ok well I douplicated the tracks caus I did not recorded them , What I did was pan the first 2 gtrs 100% LR and the other set of guitars 75%LR . Both set of guitars have differand guitar amp vst ( pair 1: diezel amp sim and pair 2: peavey 5150 amp sim) it sounds thicker but still have hard time make the wide !!!!! And the drum trick helped a lot but my main problem is make them sounds like big bands (woe is me/ memphis mY fire/of mice and men) Ill try to post an unmastered insgrumental version of my mix . My guitar sound muddy not clear and bright as it supposes to sounds .

 

[alex-sonic]

Ok well I douplicated the tracks caus I did not recorded them , What I did was pan the first 2 gtrs 100% LR and the other set of guitars 75%LR . Both set of guitars have differand guitar amp vst ( pair 1: diezel amp sim and pair 2: peavey 5150 amp sim) it sounds thicker but still have hard time make the wide !!!!! And the drum trick helped a lot but my main problem is make them sounds like big bands (woe is me/ memphis mY fire/of mice and men) Ill try to post an unmastered insgrumental version of my mix . My guitar sound muddy not clear and bright as it supposes to sounds .

I know what you mean!
Try to add a maximizer on it!
I tend have my settings on -4 to -6 it makes it sounds bigger!

If it's muddy, you have to play with your EQ
Try a cut in the resonance frequencies (add 10Db with a Q of 5 and try to hear the frequency that are awful then lower it in this area while playing with your Q)

 

[alex2411]

Alright ! Do a limiter work as well ? Or you really suggest a maximiser ?

 

[alex-sonic]

Not sure about it but maximisers are limiters, can somebody confirm it (or not) ?

 

[paledecay]

duplicating the guitar tracks won't make them sound any bigger. Just louder and muddier. You'll need to actually play and track them separately.

 

[alex2411]

Ok well I'll forget it on this project because I downloaded some raw steems

 

[alex2411]

Take a listent ! Here is the unmastered mix , I just trow a maximiser :

https://www.dropbox.com/s/37ge3umrzu1h9l2/Breaking Lights FINAL 2.mp3

 

[alex-sonic]

Hi,

your guitars are muddy as fuck, I don't really like it :s what do you use as chain settings? Try to bring some treble and/or middle maybe? Did you Eq'd?
Where did you get the steems of this song? I really love it

 

[ConnorGilks]

I just recently made a big breakthrough in making my guitars wide, so let me walk you through it.

First you better have double tracked guitars, none of this copy/paste crap. It's not even close to the same thing as double tracking. Second is that you need to have a decent amount of high end in your guitars, this really does make them seem wider. Not too much, just enough to make them crunch without being like an ice pick in the ear. Third is doing a wider cut from 600Hz - 800Hz, not a lot just shave a few db off. I found this not only made them wider but takes out that "two dimensional" element in the guitars. In my opinion it's an essential part of making your guitars sound more professional, cut around there and you'll see what I mean. Lastly I widen my guitars with the Waves S1 Stereo Imager. Not a much, just bump it up from 1.00 to around 1.4. You can also look at the Waves Center plugin (mid-side processing, lets you control the volume of the center of the signal separately from the sides of the signal), cutting some of the volume in the center can help your guitars seem wider, and also leave more room for bass/snare/kick/vocals/whatever is in the center. You can also EQ things based on C or L/R too, and adding a bit of high end JUST in the sides is helpful sometimes too, but I typically don't use it unless I'm going for a distinctly wide, "nothing-in-the-middle" kind of guitar sound.

Hope that helps man.

 

[rapucore]

You can also look at the Waves Center plugin (mid-side processing, lets you control the volume of the center of the signal separately from the sides of the signal)

Or get the free BaxterEQ from Variety of Sound. Better, more versatile and 100% FREE.

 

[alex2411]

Hey guys ! I just seen the comments on the post here is another mix I did , not perfect since it's my second mix but take a listen , I find my guitars are wider as well

http://soundcloud.com/wrxhdiztg5cg/northlane-dispossession-mixmastering/s-CeOu0