How do you get a good mix/mastered direct, distorted guitar sound?

[egervari]

Hi, I was wondering something... how do you get a good mixed/mastered guitar sound? I don't mean mixed with the rest of the instruments... I just mean effects and what not.

I just listened to some audio samples comparing real mic'd guitars with guitar rig 2. They sound pretty damn close to me.

Now, I'm using Amplitude 2. I don't get sounds anything like that coming out of this software. And I'm using brand new elixers on an Ibanez JS Custom And yes, I'm doubling tracks and hard-panning, etc.

So, my question is... what mixing/mastering are you pro engineers doing exactly? When I listen to Rush or any other rock guitars, they sound TOTALLY different than using the amp sim. And since I'm guessing that it's possible to get the amp sim to sound almost the same as a mic'd setup, *I* must be doing something totally wrong.

Care to share your insight? Thanks!

[brandondrury]

how do you get a good mixed/mastered guitar sound?

The answer you don't want to hear is record a good guitar sound to begin with.

Now, I'm using Amplitude 2. I don't get sounds anything like that coming out of this software

All this emulation stuff is fairly close. You should be getting in the same ballpark. Are you using a Hi-z input?

My guitar recording product should be out before too long and I go into great detail about the entire process.

So, my question is... what mixing/mastering are you pro engineers doing exactly?

In many cases, absolutely nothing. When I do EQ, I'm trying to solve a particular problem....too boom, too fizzy, too boxy or I'm trying to make room for the bass or vocals. There is no specific formula. It totally depends on the source material.