Trying to get the most out of what I have!

[humdogj]

Good evening. I just read a post and it might have helped answer my own question, but I'm trying to get some good tone out of my setup, and was just wondering what people thought. I know tone is subjective, but I'm trying to work on mic placement and maybe double micing my guitar cab (I've been reading about using just one mic and trying to avoid phase issues). I've included 3 samples of what I was doing. The first is just the guitar with 2 mics that has a Nady Ribbon RMS-2 about 4 inches off the grill, dead center, and the other mic is an AKG c1000 about a 12 inches off the grill. I've blended them together because I think they both give me a halfway decent sound. I wasn't overly excited with them by themselves, but maybe this is where I have to put more work in.

The second sample includes the looped drum track I was using.

The third sample I tried to play the same thing and tried to double it, then did some panning. I didn't play exactly the same thing but I came close. I know my technique isn't great but it was an idea off the top of my head and I was working on my mic placement and trying to capture exactly what was coming out of the amp.

In the last sample, can anyone here any phase issues? Overall, what would you say about the tone. The amp is a Marshall Valvestate vs265 going into a 2x12 with Jensens. Any ideas for improving mic technique? Any questions?
There's no bass guitar in here.

I'm trying to fight and fight and fight to get it right at the source and to hear what is comes from the amp also comes from the speakers. That's all for now...thanks for listening.

[Audio~Geek]

Those samples sound really mangled on my end, clicking and warping like stretched tape!

Anyone else?

[sunroc]

Originally Posted by Audio~Geek

Those samples sound really mangled on my end, clicking and warping like stretched tape!

Anyone else?

yup, agree.

[magno]

Sample rate is 48Hz, not appropriate for MP3 streaming.
I would suggest recording at 44.1Hz unless your final output is DVD.
I did download the files tho, the guitars sound ok as they are, maybe a bit too heavy on the low end. If you added bass guitar, it would probably turn in to a mudfest.
I would ditch the condenser, and put the ribbon closer(like almost touching the grill), and movie the mic about halfway between the cone and the outside of the speaker.
If you need to eq the guitars later on the mix, you'll know something was wrong in positioning the mic and/or your initial settings on your amp were wrong. Keep that in mind for the next time you record and adjust accordingly .
When you have the guitars sounding awesome with one mic, then try experimenting with multiple mics.

[humdogj]

Thanks for the replies! I'm still experimenting with mics, sounds, and rooms, so I'm still working at it. I screwed up those mp3's and if I get around to it, I'll throw up some new ones with single mics. I want to focus on getting that down before experimenting with anything else.

Right now, the girlfriend isn't around, so I can crank it up and scare the cat!

[humdogj]

Okay, I had a little time to go back and experiment a little more. Here is my signal chain. I'm running an SG into a Vox adv120 modeling head, 2x12 cab with Jensens, Nady Rsm-2 ribbon mic, ua-solo 110, presonus firepod, mbp.

I tried to cut out some of the low end and pretty much had to turn the bass knob all the way off on the amp. I think my recording room is a little crappy and I tried my best to put some acoustic foam up, but it's still not the greatest.

Anyways, I tried to capture a better tone from this amp/cab mix. I'm starting to think that maybe I just need to save up for a nice tube amp, but that will have to wait until the boy gets out of daycare, I catch up on bills, and continue to pay the mortgage (so I won't be getting one anytime soon!)

The problem with my last uploads were because I recorded them at 48000 and didn't dither them to 44100.

Finally, let me know what you think of the tone. I know the playing/timing of the riffs aren't there, but I'm more concerned with trying to get a good tone because that's where I think I need to start. I can practice and practice, but if I can't get the tone to tape that I can be happy with, I'll just be plain unhappy!

I also included a 2 guitar sample of my SG along with a Jay Turser to see how that would mix up. There is no bass in the song and I think there is room for one now as compared the orignial files I uploaded.

Thanks for all your time.