Seeking Guitar Wisdom.

[JasonKane]

Just wondering if anyone out there (*cough* Gordon *cough*) has any wisdom for a "magic" guitar mix.

When I record, I typically do at least two guitar tracks; one panned slightly left, and one panned slightly right. My method for choosing guitar/amp setups (inside the PODxt) is basically without method-- I just pick distortion/amp combos that seem to fit the song, and try to round it out. I do not mess with the POD's equalizers at all. All I mess with is the effects and reverb. This is all recorded direct.

The end result of this method more often than not produces a harsher, louder sound than I'd like. Somewhat on the treble-y side, but I confess I know next to nothing about how to "properly" equalize a guitar track. The sound is not clipping, so it's not that; sometimes turning down the treble and middle a bit helps, but then the guitar starts to sound lifeless.

I guess my question is, are there any tips for equalizing a guitar track (and setting its volume) that generally "work," that make a nice full sound without any harshness? Should I simply turn down the volume of the guitar? I set the level as I loud as I can without clipping. Or do you think a lot of these problems could be remedied simply with a non-shitty sound card?

[Flash]

(Got an example?)

Man, there are volumes that could be written about this, but I'll try an abridged version. Something I learned from some pro engineers is that when you want to layer guitars for a heavier sound, ease off the amount of distortion on each; it becomes so much heavier. Check out Tom Morello's tone. Not actually very distorted by modern standards, but it's massive and ballsy, which is mostly his attack. If you're doubling parts, I'd also pan them much harder than you are. Here's an example where I used these approaches.

Also, I EQ the guitars (later) to take up a smaller portion of the spectrum (turn their bass and some of the treble way down, leaving mostly midrange), letting the bass guitar occupy most of the low end for even more natural heaviness. Most guitarists when playing by themselves like to eat up all the space (that infamous "smiley face" scooped-out midrange shape on the graphic EQ), which sounds great solo, but doesn't sit in a mix for shit, because there's too many competing frequencies stepping on each other, and each instrument needs to have its own little space of the spectrum partially carved out not to interfere with the others as much. The guitars tracks I record don't necessarily sound that great when isolated, but I've learned it's about being supportive within the context of the mix.

Since you're recording digitally, you don't need to record the levels so hot; leave yourself some headroom and they can be turned up later when mixing if needed. Try around -12dB.

Check to be sure your POD has the speaker cabinet emulation (or whatever it's called) turned on when recording direct, otherwise it assumes you're putting it out through an amp before recording, and will sound very artificial or brittle. Also, instead of the MesaBoogies and Marshalls, try playing through like a Fender Bassman or Blackface model with their overdrive turned up, and hit the strings harder, get some spank going. Another great tip when doubling tracks is to swtich to a different guitar pickup for each. You also might try playing your rhythm tracks on a guitar with single coils instead of humbuckers or vice-versa.

[JasonKane]

Thanks much-- abridged or no, that's a wealth of info. Lots of good tips there I'll have to try out. Easing off the distortion and panning harder are two things especially I think will make a big difference. (It's an act of will to resist the urge to pile on the distortion because the POD effects sound so awesome alone.)

As for sitching the pickups, I usually do that-- sometimes I switch to a different guitar completely.

Thanks again!

[Flash]

One thing that can be a great solution to these challenges is to use an amp modeling plug-in via software instead. You record the guitar direct, straight off the jack, and then audition the right amp for it later, like you would an effect, when you figure out how it will sit in that particular mix with the other instruments. I demoed one years ago, but didn't like it (at the time) because the tone of the instrument/amp is a huge part of what drives me to give a certain kind of performance, and the latency (delay when monitoring the signal back through the hardware) with the temp tone I was monitoring it with when playing was too long for me. They've probably gotten better since then.

But to reiterate, the first thing I'd check is making sure the POD's speaker simulation is turned on.