Guitar Distortion

[xrobertx]

Can anyone give me some pointers on creating a solid and smooth sounding distortion while recording a guitar? I have been using a Marshall solidstate combo and micing with a BLUE Bluebird condenser, but I just can't get a smooth distortion sound as you hear on recordings. I have my amp tweaked to where it sounds smooth, but the recording doesn't. Too describe the distortion is that it sounds gritty, harsh, and cheap. Anything to experiment with would be great.

[MidnightFlyer]

What is your system? What kind of preamps? What kind of A/D converters? Have you tried using stomp boxes and various other effects to see if there's a better way to record yourself?

[yOkO]

it depends even in the way you place your(close) mic, try the edge of the speaker, the middle...
or just experiment with that, if you have various mics put one middle of the room to add ambience
a solid state is hard to give warm,
so if you don't have a valve preamp, or sort, try the vintage warmer
plugin and move freq and high low buttons.
experiment, good luck.

[bluerockgod]

If you know anyone with an SM57 try that. They sound great on guitar cabs in my opinion.
If you can get a 57 try placing it hard against the grill, slightly off the centre of the speaker and as Yoko said, experiment.

Does your condensor mic have an attenuation switch? If so, try it.

Hope this helps.

[bluerockgod]

Too describe the distortion is that it sounds gritty, harsh, and cheap.

Sounds like you're either getting digital and/or microphone distortion.
Are you recording too hot? Maybe the SPL is more than your mic can handle and you need to pull it back a bit, condensors tend to be a bit more delicate than dynamic mics.

[ggunn]

I second the call for the SM57. I went through the same experience trying to use a condensor mic on electric guitar; even when I loved the amp setting and wanted to capture it exactly, the condensor rendered it thin, gritty, and not at all pleasing to the ear. I dragged out an old beat up 57 and put it on the amp, and conversely, I like the 57 recorded sound better than what I hear live from the amp. YMMV, of course...

[davetron5000]

I have a marshall solid state combo and have a very difficult time getting it to sound decent. I guess if I was doing some stern death metal, it would work, but for "normal" "rock" type stuff (or even punk/hardcore), it's difficult. I would try reducing the gain to where a VERY light strum of the strings produces a pretty clean tone. It may sound like you don't have enough distortion, but in the context of other instruments (and possibly a double-tracked guitar part), it can be very effective. I also had to use the bridge pickups of my guitars; the other pickups just didn't sound good.

I also ran my guitar through my Ampeg tube bass preamp, which has a gain stage. That distortion (even though it's a bass amp) sounded a lot better than the Marshall combo.

[Seeee]

sm57 isnt always my go to mic. I have md409's that are great for digital recording. they seem to do a great job of taking off that edge..

try the newer version of them.. the e609. sm57's are too harsh for me.

this thread is a must,.....

http://marsh.prosoundweb.com/index.p...afe25a9f05187d

[ggunn]

sm57 isnt always my go to mic. I have md409's that are great for digital recording. they seem to do a great job of taking off that edge..

try the newer version of them.. the e609. sm57's are too harsh for me.

this thread is a must,.....

http://marsh.prosoundweb.com/index.p...afe25a9f05187d

Entertaining and informative, even if Slipperman is just a little bit full of himself. One question, though, does he ever get back to what that marked piece of twine was for, or did I just miss it?

Oh, and just a bit OT to a ProTools forum but relevant to S'man's affinity for analog over digital, I got this clip from a bud of mine the other day:

Quantegy, the last manufacturer of professional reel-to-reel analog audio tape in the world has closed their plant in Opelika, AL leaving a reported 250 workers without jobs, according to the Opelika-Auburn News. Emtec (the former BASF, which used to be AGFA) was the last European manufacturer and ceased manufacuring in 2002.

[xrobertx]

Thanks everyone. I tried the SM 57 and was fairly impressed with the sound. I am not running much of a set up, in fact, I am working on saving up for a PreSonus Blue Tube DP pre amp, but being a poor college student, it is taking some time. I am trying to do a hardcore band right now (sounds like terror, champion, comeback kid), and so I have been experimenting with the sound. Thanks to everyone, if anyone has any more tips, it would be great to hear them.