Dod Performer
Dod Performer
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Recording Vets, what are good amp settings for recording metal guitar?
I play in an extreme metal band entering the studio soon. I want a guitar tone that tears your flesh off with high gain, yet at the same time I don't want to get unwanted freqencies when it's played back in the stereo. (hissing, boominess, clipping, etc.) What sounds great playing through your amp doesn't always translate to cd when mixed in with the rest of the band. I will be using either my high gain Crate amp's distortion or a pedal such as Boss Metal Zone/DOD Death Metal Pedal. Playing on a Jackson Soloist and Jackson Performer V, Seymour Duncan pickups, the amp will be mic'd. List any good settings recommendations (high/mid/low/gain/shape/reverb) Basics, I'm not a rack nerd. Also looking for full lush clean tones. Thanks.
I'm glad you recognize that what sounds good live doesn't necessarily sound good recorded - this is the beginning of wisdom!
First off - bass = mud. Everything below 200-400 hz is going to be rolled off anyways, so it doesn't conflict with the drums and bass (the exact frequency will depend on the material and the mixing engineer). By reducing your bass you not only increase the clarity of your sound, but you reduce the amount of mud you add into the mix with your raw sound.
Second - gain = fuzz. Our ears are a lot more forgiving of fuzz than a microphone. You want to have less gain and less distortion on your guitar than you would live - mic's pick up distortion at a lower level than our ears. This also increases clarity - sometimes its good to actually hear the notes one plays instead of a wall of noise, no?
Third - volume. Guitar amps always sound better when they're turned up, but you can't usually do that in a recording studio. Be prepared to turn down.
My practical recommendations are as follows - come prepared with two different amp settings - normal practice volume and a "recording volume" of half that. EQ and gain changes with volume, ie, what sounds good loud doesn't sound right quiet, and vice versa. Tailor your EQ settings to sound the way you like at your normal practice volume, then get your amp to sound as close as possible to that at half-volume. Take notes! Use amp distortion if possible - it will sound better then the pedals you've mentioned.
Okay, so now you've got your amp to sound the way you like it, both at normal playing volume and at half volume. Now to each setting cut the bass and gain by about 30%, add 20-40% to your mids, if they're less than 50%, and kill any reverb. Voila - this is the recording sound. Yes, it sounds different, yes, it sounds kinda weak, but it will sound a hell of a lot better mixed than you might think.
Yes, boost your mids. You're a metal player, I'm betting you're scooping them. You can't do that for recording, and you can't do that live, if you don't want to be absolutely buried in the mix. They don't need to be all the way up, but they need to be there at least a little. Again - volume and clarity.
No reverb. The engineer will add it if necessary. Actually, i've gotten away with adding just a leeeetle bit of 'verb - between 0.5 and 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. I think it adds some dimension, but it really depends on the quality of your reverb. If it doesn't sound really good, don't add it, cuz the studio's reverb is better than yours.
Something that really helps for clarity (have you noticed that I'm big on clarity?) is lowering the bass side of your pickups a little. Since bass frequencies can hog headroom, this means that you can have more sonic punch and snap vs fartiness. This also turns your bass control on your amp into more of a "warmth" control rather than a "fart" or "mud" control.
I would just pick one guitar to play in the studio. Make sure it's good to go (setup, intonated, fresh strings, doesn't buzz or hum) and bring a spare set of strings. If you don't use a product like GHS Fastfret, check it out - I love the stuff. Helps extend string life, too. I mean, bring the other guitar for backup, but plan your tone and whatnot around playing one guitar. Keep it simple!
Make sure your pickups aren't too high on the guitar to get a clean tone. Lowering them a little gives you a smoother, rounder sound, raising them makes them a little rougher. Try to find a happy place with them, and try to make both of your guitars the same volume, so you don't have to screw with anything if you need to swap guitars.
Oh yeah - and know your parts. Every flubbed take costs money, after all.
Good luck.
Saul
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