Recording distorted guitar

[jotte2]

I am trying to record distorted guitar, but every time it sounds super crappy. Im using an sm-57 microphone and im playing like hardcore guitar parts but when i get it to where it sounds good by listening to it with out recording. Then i record it and it just sounds like over distorted and you can barely understand whats going on. So i move it down and ether it sounds the same or its under distorted so it doesn't work with the type of music. So any suggestions are greatly welcomed. I'm trying to get a sound like Thrice or Underoath or i guess any mainstream hardcore band. Please help me.

[fortyseven]

Help us with more information, dude. What is your setup? How are you recording? What software/hardware are you using? What does 'crappy' mean? Try posting a clip for listening.

[garageband]

sounds like over distorted

This is where the answer is. What sounds like killer distortion live, for all sorts of psycho-acoustic reasons, will not translate well to recording. Dial the distortion WAY back and try again. A lot of the distortion you hear on records is from enthusiastically crushing the signal with well-chosen compressors.

[KillerV]

I agree. Most times when I record distorted parts I end up tracking with a decent amount less distortion than would be used live. I usually dial it down to the point where it starts to affect playing and then just dial it up a notch or so so that the guy playing (me or whoever) can do everything that needs to be done.

I know some "big" guys say that they usually let a guitarist track with as much distortion as they need, but keep in mind that these guys are usually working with pros (not that I'm saying the OP isn't a good guitarist by any means, BTW). As I've grown as a guitarist I realized that I need less distortion to do what I need to. This, in turn, makes everything sound 10x bigger and more dynamic.

A great piece on recording distorted guitars can be found here: Slipperman's Recording Distorted Guitars From Hell