recording electric guitar

[badar]

I apologise if this information has already been given somehwere in the forum.

I have a Peavey Vyper 75 amplifier and a C01U Samson mic. I plug the Vyper straight into my Sony Viao laptop, likewise with the mic and record via 'Reaper' software.

I have been having a lot of trouble trying to obtain a good distorted electric guitar sound. Could anyone give me any pointers e.g. mic positioning and amp settings? or could you refer me to any posts? I am trying to obtain a very thick, rich, sharp, heavy distorted sound (metallica-esque), but it always seems to be too muddy in the low range.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Badar.

[String7th]

Start at the source, is this amp giving you that tone? Small combo amps in this price range are not all equal. You may find some awesome tone, and it may be just another shrill modeling amp. Really mess around with the amp at ear level and tune in the tone you are looking for before puting a mic in front of it or listening on a computer.

Once you find the sort of heavy tone you want, then you need to find the best way to capture it. I have doubts that a direct USB or Samson condensor will be able to keep the tone. If you have $100 laying around (we all have hundreds just laying around right?) get a Shure SM57 dynamic mic. Probably will work better for the tone you are looking for.

Whatever you choose, you will not be able to listen on laptop speakers or earbuds in the headphone jack. It just won;t tell you what's actually going on on there. You don't need $1000 monitors, but you can get some closed-back headphones under $50 or beginner studio monitors for $150 or so.

Tip:
If you can, isolate the amp in another room so that you set the mic, and only hear what's going on in headphones or monitors, then move the mic around the cone the change it darker, brighter, or whatever.

[garww]

There was a recent contest to create a metal sound from a plain (direct) guitar recording. It's got some good insights.
Metal Guitar Wars - Home Recording Forum

7's got it down, but I would suggest that you take some time to learn both the direct and the MIC methods.

With direct, it might be easier to think about how to improve the recording in your DAW using the effects and filters.

MICing adds more frustration because the MIC and speaker color the sound a bit. Sometimes, a first run with the MIC hits the sweet spot : )

[badar]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the help, yes the muddiness is coming directly out of the amp to be fair. I want a very thick, crunchy sharp sound, which is why I have put reverb up high with a very slight delay. I would ideally use two different sounds for lead and rhythm (perhaps cut out the delay for rhythm), but the sound momentarily cuts out when using the footswitch to change between sounds. Incidentally, does anyone know how I could tackle this problem as well?

As for headphones; I have Sennheiser soundproof earphones, would these suffice or it is better to get headphones?

Thanks again.

[String7th]

I'd first set the reverb and delay to 0, that's probably the main source of any mud coming from the amp. A lot of guitarists think they need to add reverb and effects to thier amp directly but all it does is add a color to the amp only describeable as butthole.

The channel switch delay is a part of the amp. Aside from downloading any driver updates Peavy may offer, you are stuck with it. Are you familiar puch overdubing and punch in/out in reaper?

Those heaphones are prob ok to work with.

[ankursamtaney]

I'm surprised that I've seen no mention of a sound interface so far (or have i overlooked something very obvious!?!?)

Getting the 'right' sound at the source, trying out different mic placements, etc. all make complete sense and are a must. However, I'd imagine that by plugging the SM57 into the 1/8" mic input on the Sony Vaio notebook one won't get half as good or clean a sound as one would get using the cheapest of sound interfaces (cum preamps) out there.

Everyone here will give you loads of good advice on makes and models, but i think just getting a sound interface for your mic(s) might fundamentally improve any external recording that you do.

[garww]

My own, and not shared, opinion is that a better sound card is not that big a deal in this application. Meaning that the mud is not so much the sound card. Even the worst should be able to do CD quality.

If there was a clip, some one might suggest his earphones are skewed. Or, that a effect might help.

[cheatingatmath]

the advice given on the reverb and delay was good. you can add that after the fact to taste without compromising the take.

it would be worth it to experiment mic'ing that amp. there's so much awesomeness that takes place when you have a speaker chucking air around.

if you're not already, i would recommend getting that amp off the ground and on a chair. that way you can decouple it and be certain of exactly what you're getting out of that amp.

[garww]

Originally Posted by cheatingatmath

................................. there's so much awesomeness that takes place when you have a speaker chucking air around.

I certainly agree !! Having both amp/speaker and guitar vibrating as one is pure heaven.

[badar]

ankursamtaney: apart from the mic I have a direct USB connection from my Peavey Vypyr 75 to the computer. I was told that because of this, I have no need for an external soundcard. Do you think it is worth buying a soundacrd or should I focus on getting a good sound via USB?

garww: I will try to upload a clip soon.

cheatingatmath: I use a CO1U Samson mic, is it worth experimenting along the lines of what you suggest with this mic? Also, what do you mean by decoupling and how far away from the amp should I place the mic and what angle should I go for, or is it all a matter of trial and error?

Thanks for the continued help guys.