Greetings from Oz. Metal guitars help!!!

[bungle23]

Can anyone give me advice on getting a cleaner sounding metal guitar in my mix? I use protools Mbox 2. As my studio is too small for an amplifier set-up, am running a DI from a Boss GT-3 guitar processor. The sound of the guitar is great through the monitors by itself, but is muddy in the mix. I am not using any plug ins or EQ. Please help!!!

[On the Loose]

I've had grief with digi, so I'd blame the m-box,.you could try recording the sound clean(use post effects to give you a little bit of squawk) then use an editor (windows could be goldwave don't know for mac) to add effects.

[brandondrury]

my studio is too small for an amplifier set-up, am running a DI from a Boss GT-3 guitar processor.

The recording is only going to be as good as the source. It's up to you to decide if the source is what you want or not.

The sound of the guitar is great through the monitors by itself, but is muddy in the mix.

Post a song in Recording Reviews. That's the best way to get this diagnost. Most guitar players, especially in the metal world, have absolutely no idea how terrible their huge low end sounds in the context of a the full band. It's down right embarassing in most cases.

I'm guessing you'll need to back off the low end quite a bit on the amp and also understand the role that the bass plays. You can learn a lot from Pantera in this case. Dimebag didn't have near the low end that most people think. Rex's bass tone is designed to work with Dimebags tone. The two compliment each other. You and your bass dude need to do some work on that one.

I am not using any plug ins or EQ.

If this is the case, you are off to a good start. I have a rule. If I use EQ on my metal guitars, I messed up. EQ is practically useless for electric guitar recordings.

[bungle23]

Thanks for the tips, especially the horrible low end bit. I think you are onto it. As i said, the sound itself is o.k., but could definitely be too bottom heavy and messing with the overall sound. Will let you know. Thanks again.

[dossisman]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

The recording is only going to be as good as the source. It's up to you to decide if the source is what you want or not.

Most guitar players, especially in the metal world, have absolutely no idea how terrible their huge low end sounds in the context of a the full band.

I have a rule. If I use EQ on my metal guitars, I messed up. EQ is practically useless for electric guitar recordings.

Originally Posted by bungle23

Thanks for the tips, especially the horrible low end bit. I think you are onto it. As i said, the sound itself is o.k., but could definitely be too bottom heavy and messing with the overall sound. Will let you know. Thanks again.

What he said. Although... when recording direct, you might have to tweak a little. If you get access to a POD, that'd be fantastic... roll off the bottom (not completely), roll up the mids, and give it a snap on the highs. On the mixing part, apply a HPF around 80 to 100. That should clear a lot of space for the bass to shine through.

If you want to keep your performance, apply a high pass around 100 or a low shelf around 120 and work your way down until it sounds chunky enough but you can still hear the bass.

On the mids end... you might add a little around 2k. Just to add a little more presence. Play around that area without exaggerating your eq.

That has worked for me. I suggest you follow his advice though and post the music. Its always good to have another set of ears.

[brandondrury]

If you want to keep your performance, apply a high pass around 100 or a low shelf around 120 and work your way down until it sounds chunky enough but you can still hear the bass.

I'm very careful with this one. I think the "chunk" in the guitar is an implied thing and it's not really there as much as you think. This is something more in the low mids than in the lows. You'll figure it out, but if you end up with mud, don't be shy about thinning out the guitars more.

Brandon

[dossisman]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I'm very careful with this one. I think the "chunk" in the guitar is an implied thing and it's not really there as much as you think. This is something more in the low mids than in the lows. You'll figure it out, but if you end up with mud, don't be shy about thinning out the guitars more.

Brandon

True. That's why I work the bass line and the guitars very closely. If the bass line follows exactly the guitar i have no qualms about thinning out the guitar enough, however, in the case (such as my band) where the bassist likes to play around more in the high strings (i.e. Mudvayne) I don't like cutting too much (usually around 100 does the trick). Then again, I always record my guitars mid-heavy for that exact reason. It keeps the meat when I cut the mud. It all comes back to the original recording.

*Edit. I'm starting to fall in love with this forum, allright.

[brandondrury]

*Edit. I'm starting to fall in love with this forum, allright.

Don't get too attached to it. Definitely don't do any posting on a laptop in the backseat of a car. There are other types of forums designed to cover that topic.

Brandon

[bungle23]

Thanks for all the advice, kind contributors. Will try everything and see what works the best. Will post results.