2013/02/12 00:28:10
ampfixer
jbow


IMO, if you like what you are hearing you will play the part better... one thing for sure, with todays DAW you can do as many tracks as you want. However, if you're paying for studio time I would opt for my tone and volume being where I want it for my ears and leave the rest to the engineer cause.. like I said... I think you'll play better if you're liking the tone and feel of the guitar and amp. It is easier to add than to take away. YMMV.

...and I like Emi speakers too! I have a Texas Heat I really like and two Ragin Cajuns in a Vibrolux that are wonderful with a little tweak to the low end with a Boss Bass EQ pedal.

J
Eminence speakers are often overlooked. My fav alnico is the Eminence Legend series. The 10's are crazy good and only cost about $80 each. Anything better (or comparable) would start at $175. When it comes to ceramic speakers my ears like speakers with massive magnets. I always use a Brit style 12" speaker with a 50 oz. magnet for my 18 watt amp. Little amps sound great when wound out, but I like mine to have a great big clean sound. The heavy magnet really controls the low frequency and keeps the speaker from flapping when you push it. At low volume it gives a solid, resonant bass.

2013/02/16 17:37:50
jacktheexcynic
in the spectrum of electric guitar recording, i find myself in the middle between live mic'd cabs and software amp sim. (i suppose really, the very far other side is sampling/midi/etc., but let's not go there. )

i think a lot depends on the genre - any distortion guitar-centric music (particularly what the uninitiated would throw in the wide basket of "metal"), tone is king. in that realm, i think the 80/20 rule applies - you can get 80% of the way without mic'ing a live amp+cab in a decent sounding room, and probably not too many people would notice. but if you want to get to home plate then it's time to step away from the computer. that's just my opinion on it, and i don't do metal so i don't mic live cabs.

if you're doing more "mainstream" rock/pop, you can certainly get away with a direct recording approach*. my opinion on this is get a good hardware amp-sim box - i have a vox tonelab ST and i like it better than the pod 2.0 i used previously. but you can get good tone with either one, or something else that makes the tone you want to capture.

either way, as others have said, you play the instrument. i prefer to track it the way i want it to be, and re-track it if i don't like it. post processing is typically just a delay if i don't feel like double-tracking (which i rarely do ). i think it does two things for me:

1. it forces me to be able to play my own music well. no "omg what if i can't ever get this sound again". that's what practice is for.
2. it forces me to focus on the music, rather than the track. what is this track bringing to the music? does this tone inspire me? if the answer is no, then i pick another tone until i get that feeling.

everything you have to create music is a tool. but with all the modern tools, it's very easy to get lost and forget what it is you are doing in the first place: making music. i stepped away from recording for 3 years to learn that lesson.


*you still have to be good. tone is in the fingers, and a well-tuned, well-intoned, well maintained instrument.
2013/02/16 20:46:24
timidi
how much, in general, is the guitar sound you hear is manipulated in post processing?



All of it. I record direct/dry. Seems to work most of the time.
I'm not all that anal about it though. Used to be, till I realized it doesn't really matter.
I've got enough computer/technical issues to deal with that take my focus away from the performance and the song. 
I don't need another.

Or, maybe I'm just lazy.
2013/02/16 21:12:54
maximumpower
@timidi, When you say direct/dry, are you meaning direct into the computer, bypassing the amp altogether?
2013/02/16 22:26:51
timidi
Max. It goes thru a direct box into a digital mixer, adat wired to computer sound card.
What's an "amp"??


BTW, I sometimes use a 'speaker out' of a Princeton reverb before the above. Gives a little more bite going thru the tubes.
2013/03/12 13:47:41
mcourter
Ideally I prefer to get the tone I want prior to recording, but, as James noted, sometimes after you get the other instruments you gotta go back and redo it or tweak it. However, I don't mic an amp; I've used Line 6 Toneport for years, just upgraded to PodFarm, which has much better tones, so I'm finding it easier to get the sound I want.
2013/03/22 05:23:28
trimph1
timidi


Max. It goes thru a direct box into a digital mixer, adat wired to computer sound card.
What's an "amp"??


BTW, I sometimes use a 'speaker out' of a Princeton reverb before the above. Gives a little more bite going thru the tubes.
Actually...what DI box do you use?

2013/03/22 10:23:03
AT
trimph,

the portico II channel strip makes a fine DI here.
2013/03/22 10:44:33
batsbrew
cut to the chase..

play loud.

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