2 amp tracking with one pass - hard rock

  • Thread starter Thread starter tubortski
  • Start date Start date
tubortski

tubortski

Member
Looking for tried and true amp combinations. Any and all thoughts appreciated. Budget minded especially.

One amp my very well be Rectifier.

If it's a slam dunk with 3 or more, pipe up folks.

Thanks :rock:
 
Marshall JCM800 (or the green crunch channel on a DSL) blended with a Recto. I think that's how Soundgarden tracked rhythms for Superunknown.
 
Cheaper & easier might be double micing the cab. Just an option to consider:
1 cab with v30's, 1 cab with greenbacks, use a SM57 on one & a Royer 121 on the other
 
I've had great results with a Splawn Quickrod and a Peavey 5150
 
If a Recto is going to be one, then the other should be something that has a very different EQ voicing.

Maybe a tiny Fender Champ, or some combo that breaks up when cranked.

Don't worry about the size of the amp -- mics don't know the difference. Neither do ears.

A Recto and an old Marshall JMP set to barely break up would be a great choice too!
 
I would use two different amps (one less gainy as mentioned) but TWO passes. The best way to make everything sound thicker is too different passes of the same rythm. One of them can even have slight variances. If you have two different sounding amps it sounds awesome. Perhaps more important than mixing mics or the same pass is creating width in the recording. UNLESS of course you were planning to do a second pass with the same combo of amps in which case you could put the other amp higher in the mix..In other words, RECTO/jmp then JMP/recto for second pass. R and L channels. That would sound big indeed. To my ear, nothing sounded better than two passes.
 
Two mics will get a similar effect with less hassle. Us an M160 and an SM57 and blend those if you cant do more than one pass. If you can run more than one pass and pan then any given Marshall-style amp and the Recto will be a good pairing as long as you like the tone of either by itself.
 
Marykelly":32ujbn98 said:
Two mics will get a similar effect with less hassle. Us an M160 and an SM57 and blend those if you cant do more than one pass. If you can run more than one pass and pan then any given Marshall-style amp and the Recto will be a good pairing as long as you like the tone of either by itself.

Well, I must say that I strongly dissagree. Just using two, widely, different mics, on a single take, will still sound like a single take. But... if this was the goal of ther OP... I have a great tip to mae a single take sound , allmost, as if it was a double take....
 
tschrama":75ec7fek said:
Marykelly":75ec7fek said:
Two mics will get a similar effect with less hassle. Us an M160 and an SM57 and blend those if you cant do more than one pass. If you can run more than one pass and pan then any given Marshall-style amp and the Recto will be a good pairing as long as you like the tone of either by itself.

Well, I must say that I strongly dissagree. Just using two, widely, different mics, on a single take, will still sound like a single take. But... if this was the goal of ther OP... I have a great tip to mae a single take sound , allmost, as if it was a double take....

A single take is going to sound like a single take regardless of whether its two amps or two mics. Two speakers miced with two different mics is about as different as two different amps with much less hassle and fewer phasing problems.

The only way to make something sound like multiple takes is to just track multiple takes. Faking ways around this like panning two mics or multiple amps are marginal improvements on a single take but neither introduces the real differences in performance that add to a bigger recording.
 
Marykelly":1s82u2gf said:
tschrama":1s82u2gf said:
Marykelly":1s82u2gf said:
Two mics will get a similar effect with less hassle. Us an M160 and an SM57 and blend those if you cant do more than one pass. If you can run more than one pass and pan then any given Marshall-style amp and the Recto will be a good pairing as long as you like the tone of either by itself.

Well, I must say that I strongly dissagree. Just using two, widely, different mics, on a single take, will still sound like a single take. But... if this was the goal of ther OP... I have a great tip to mae a single take sound , allmost, as if it was a double take....

A single take is going to sound like a single take regardless of whether its two amps or two mics. Two speakers miced with two different mics is about as different as two different amps with much less hassle and fewer phasing problems.

The only way to make something sound like multiple takes is to just track multiple takes. Faking ways around this like panning two mics or multiple amps are marginal improvements on a single take but neither introduces the real differences in performance that add to a bigger recording.


I guess that is the question right there.. does he hope that two different mics on the same take will sound as good as the same amp and mic on multiple takes? It won't. Well I shouldn't say that because it all depends on the listeners ear. But to me, one take will just combine the flavour of both amps into a good tone but it won't have the spread or the widt that two separate takes will have when panned L and R. Try it and see. The downside, is that multiple tracks can sometimes be a bitch if you aren't spot on or very close in your playing and timing. You can do the old delaying of one of the tracks to make it sound bigger but I think separate tracks with small differences make the world of difference and make the recording sound big.

See the difference here for example... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9D3OMQMNBs
 
Two performances is going to be better than just two mics.

You want VERY slight differences in the performance.

For the most part, you need to be able to play the part the exact same way twice.
 
yeah do 2 takes for sure makes a big difference and also I always like a el34 amp and a 6l6 amp...5150,marshall, ect..
 
You can also dramatically change the EQ on the amp. The Lamb of God dudes ran two MKIVs and one had scooped mids while the other had dramatically boosted mids. You can revoice most amps to sound completely different for a second take.
 
Marykelly":2m0011sw said:
You can also dramatically change the EQ on the amp. The Lamb of God dudes ran two MKIVs and one had scooped mids while the other had dramatically boosted mids. You can revoice most amps to sound completely different for a second take.

But again, there are two guitar players in that band so the stereo spread is covered regardless of how the amps are set. You have multiple tracks by virtue of the fact that two diff people are tracking.
 
You guys are awesome!

Done some of this before and would do again. Will pass more than once for sure, for the right parts. Probably a ton more depending on time, budget, patience.

I was trying to keep this simple, raw, as if it was live... sometimes you hear it too polished ..... maybe a nice dynamic would be back and forth, depending on vibe of song.

After reading all this, I wonder what El34 (lower gain crunch) with 6L6 (mid to high gain) and chimey AC30 might sound?!?! Blending or dropping at the right times.

... we've done this before. Man, I should of made notes while in the studio:)
 
One studio trick you may want to try is to lower the gain settings on both amps when you record and check out how dynamic the recording is. Now, I record mainly thrash, but I also play AIC/Mastodon/Tool style stuff, and the lower gain settings (compared to jamming/live playing) sound monstrous compared to my normal gain that sounds great in person. This is something I learned recording my Marks and Rectos together.
 
Back
Top