Alternative Rock Sounds - Daughtry, Skillet, Nickelback...

[ChrisJones]

Bought the Eleven Rack this summer for my pre-production studio in my apartment...

Really love the clean sounds... BUT with heavy rythm tones no luck.

I'm aiming for a great Rythm guitar sound(Not a fan of the bands but think Daughtry, Nickelback, Skillet)... But how hard I try... it will sound harsh, bright... plus that annoying fizz that often comes with amp plugins.

If I use eq plugin, I'm halfway there. And with a deeser almost there. I even brought a DBX deeser home from my studio to use in the fx-loop. Sending through a good micpre will also make it sound better. But still I'm not happy. This goes for every guitars I own... A Gibson LP w/ JB's, PRS McCarty w/ Tremonti Pickups, Fender Stratocaster w/ invader pickup, Fender Telecaster stock pickups...

So my conclusion... I must really suck at creating guitar sounds to begin with. =)

Yet I've heard some great clean and metal tones from 11r users but nothing in between. So have anyone had any luck with creating the guitar sound I'm looking for?

But still it's an amazing tool... I can just record the guitars at home 24/7 without disturbing the neighbors then re-amp later.

Chris

[muziqman]

Hey Chris

this site is devoted to 11r rigs

www.elevenrackpresets.com/

[nst7]

Part of the sound of those bands is the way they track and layer their guitars. In the case of Nickelback, especially their latest album, with a lot of heavy sounds, you might try quadruple tracking the rythm parts. 2 performances panned left, 2 panned right. As you build up the parts, the thickness tones down some of the harsh aspects you might find in an individual tone.

In the case of Daughtry (and some of the more mellow Nickelback), the arrangements often have layers - single notes of a chord played in addition to the power chord, etc. And also clean electric parts combined with distorted, and in some cases acoustic guitars layered with it. This all combines to give a more pop feel to it.

Also, a huge part of a lot of these bands is the use of more than one mic on the amp. Probably the most popular combination would be the SM57 and Royer 121 Ribbon mic. The Royer sounds warmer, more like you hear the amp in the room, while the SM57 adds the punch and midrange emphasis. You can simulate this with the Eleven Rack. You can only choose one mic at a time, so for example, you can record the amp with a 57, which goes on one track, but make sure you record a dry track. Afterwards, you can reamp the dry track through the same setting (or preset) you had, only switch the mic to the 121. Record that to a new track. If you can, do this with all your rythm parts. Then you can blend it all in mixing (you might find that you want to emphasize one over the other, etc.).

This type of thing is a little easier in some other plugins, like Amplitube 3 and Guitar Rig 4, which let you blend more than one mic in one instance.

[Chris Townsend]

You might find this helpful:
http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/eleven_rack/

There are presets and sound clips by the guitarist from Daughtry.

[ChrisJones]

Yeah I track with many layers all the time... Different mics, cabs, amps all the time... and that for just the rythm part.

With the eleven rack... Record first with the "Sm57" and then reamp with the "r121"... blend thing... was the first thing I did when I for the first time recorded some demos with it. "And don't forget to check the phase between"... Yeah I've done that.

But don't get me wrong... I love this thing for what it is. But I haven't found any heavy rythm sound clip yet that has blown me away. But when I do figure out it myself I will post some clips and share the preset(s)...

Originally Posted by nst7

Part of the sound of those bands is the way they track and layer their guitars. In the case of Nickelback, especially their latest album, with a lot of heavy sounds, you might try quadruple tracking the rythm parts. 2 performances panned left, 2 panned right. As you build up the parts, the thickness tones down some of the harsh aspects you might find in an individual tone.

In the case of Daughtry (and some of the more mellow Nickelback), the arrangements often have layers - single notes of a chord played in addition to the power chord, etc. And also clean electric parts combined with distorted, and in some cases acoustic guitars layered with it. This all combines to give a more pop feel to it.

Also, a huge part of a lot of these bands is the use of more than one mic on the amp. Probably the most popular combination would be the SM57 and Royer 121 Ribbon mic. The Royer sounds warmer, more like you hear the amp in the room, while the SM57 adds the punch and midrange emphasis. You can simulate this with the Eleven Rack. You can only choose one mic at a time, so for example, you can record the amp with a 57, which goes on one track, but make sure you record a dry track. Afterwards, you can reamp the dry track through the same setting (or preset) you had, only switch the mic to the 121. Record that to a new track. If you can, do this with all your rythm parts. Then you can blend it all in mixing (you might find that you want to emphasize one over the other, etc.).

This type of thing is a little easier in some other plugins, like Amplitube 3 and Guitar Rig 4, which let you blend more than one mic in one instance.

[brianiac5150]

Your description nails my experience with the Eleven Rack. If the fizzy, thin and harsh overtones could be eliminated from the overdriven/distorted tones, the Eleven Rack would truly become king of the emulators. I hope Avid/Digidesign are hearing our plea.