Theres no way the Peavey XXL sounds THIS bad right?!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Metalhex
  • Start date Start date
He's got a Pedal on it and the mix is set to icepick..
 
RaceU4her said:
if thats the case, it seems silly for us all to be here discussing what amps and gear were used on our favorite albums at nauseam if what we are hearing isnt accurate? arent albums basically just clips in the end? before i started recording i thought there were all these factors as well, but theres really not imo. if i plug my ibanez into a recto with a 57 on a v30, tune to A and record a left and right track, it sounds like Korn. plug my SG into my Laney Iommi and it sounds just like you'd think. of course id like to play an amp first, but i dont see what there is not to trust in a good review like Zen amps or some others do
Click to expand...

What we're hearing on albums most certainly is accurate...it's the recorded tone just like you state. And nothing silly about discussing amps and gear used on albums. I wouldn't agree that albums are basically clips at all tbh. Album tones are even more distant than the actual in the room tones of a given amp due to all the production I'd think.

I can agree that there are definitely some clips that are more representative of a given amp in the room than others and can give the overall vibe, but still not going to be near the same as being in the room. Too many variables. Too many clip warriors on these forums that love talking about all these nuisances of amps and giving their ultimate opinions about amps they have never even played...LOL!

I'm not saying I don't listen to clips, they're fun, and some clips do give a general sense of a particular amp, but they still don't even come close to playing an amp in the room with your gear and chain in your space IMHO.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
It just cracks me up. There are so many posts with folks giving such strong opinions, recommendations on amps they've never heard in person...LOL! I'm not saying there aren't amazing sounding clips and sure, you can get a baseline/general idea of an amp off the good clips, but soooooo many factors in a recording and even the best clips will never give the true impression of any amp. Gotta play em IMO, period.
Click to expand...

Gotta disagree with this. The way a rig sounds when mic'd up is the true impression of the rig. That is the tone. That's not "the mic'd version of the tone" that's "the tone." A guitar->amp->cab rig that's just setup in the room without a mic on it, such that you're just listening to the raw cab, is simply an incomplete rig, no different than just playing an electric guitar unplugged. What you're describing is the minimum number of pieces of equipment required to produce an audible distorted guitar signal, sure, but it's not really the rig's tone.

Don't believe me? Listen to a guitar->amp->cab setup raw in the room. Ok now move your head 6 inches in any direction and listen again. Now it sounds different. So which is the real "in the room" tone there? The answer is that there isn't one. There is no true "in the room" tone in that sense, it doesn't exist. The "in the room" tone of even just one single amp->cab rig is actually describing an entire spectrum of different sounds depending on where your head is located in space relative to the cab and the space it's in. Yes, this also means that the mic and its placement, along with whatever preamp is used, is a core part of the sound too.

It's the same with basically any instrument, ESPECIALLY in heavier music. You think any drumset used on any heavy metal album sounds anything even remotely close in the room to what it sounds like on the album? Nope.

I'm also not saying raw in the room rigs can't sound great if your head is positioned in the right place. They definitely can. I'm just saying I don't think that's a "true" representation of the rig.
 
Last edited:
^ Ok. But no one listens to a guitar amp with their ear pressed up against the cab either. (Doing so only approximates a representation of recorded guitar tone with all of those particulars baked in).

"The way a rig sounds when mic'd up is the true impression of the rig". Yeah, for those specific baked in settings only.

One can have a room mic, record the tone, and play it back and say, "yeah that actually is close to how my ear heard it when I was in the room at that position/time." Then yes, that would be an accurate representation of how that rig sounds in relation to how he heard it. It still is technically considered recorded tone too.

If you're going for a close mic recorded tone, then you can expect it to sound like a close mic recorded tone. Which is only an accurate representation of a close mic recorded tone, with those particulars. But can you verify and say, that's what it sounded like when I had my ear pressed up against the cab? I don't know. Maybe. I'm not sure if anyone is chasing that "ear pressed against the cab tone".
 
Last edited:
See I'd disagree with that first point. The "ear pressed up against the cab" tone actually is literally what 99% of anyone who has ever heard a guitar tone was listening to, because that's basically what a mic hears, and the vast majority of every guitar tone ever heard has been close mic'd tone. And I would also argue that a good close mic'd tone is the sound most people are chasing, even if they don't think about it that way.

As for a mic'd sound being only representative of specific amp settings, you can say the same thing about room tone as well, that it's only representing those specific amp settings, so I don't think that's an advantage room tone has over mic'd tone.

I suppose we can split hairs about what is vs isn't "true" guitar tone all day when the real answer is probably "it's subjective so 'every' way you can listen to it is the 'true' way," but for me the difference between recorded tone vs room tone is that recorded tone is actually a specific sound, whereas "room tone" more or less describes an entire theoretical spectrum of possible tones depending on where your head might be positioned AND it also entirely discounts the room itself, which is hugely important. Notice that when most people talk about "in the room" tone, they never bother talking about what kind of room they're in, how tall they are, or what angle they are from straight in front of the cab. "Standing behind the cab in a 40 foot wide tiled bathroom" could be what the person describing great room tone is thinking about. However I think it's safe to say we both know that what the person usually means is "with your head in the perfect place, in the perfect room" but again, that's different with every rig and room so I don't think it tells us enough to be useful.
 
Last edited:
TheGreatGreen said:
the real answer is probably "it's subjective so 'every' way you can listen to it is the 'true' way,"
Click to expand...
I can agree with this.

I'd say that I don't think it's fair to assume or compare that a microphone "hears" or captures sound the same way human ears hear and perceive sound. But yes thats splitting hairs and yes 99% of tones are recorded close mic.
 
Last edited:
TheGreatGreen said:
Gotta disagree with this. The way a rig sounds when mic'd up is the true impression of the rig. That is the tone. That's not "the mic'd version of the tone" that's "the tone." A guitar->amp->cab rig that's just setup in the room without a mic on it, such that you're just listening to the raw cab, is simply an incomplete rig, no different than just playing an electric guitar unplugged. What you're describing is the minimum number of pieces of equipment required to produce an audible distorted guitar signal, sure, but it's not really the rig's tone.

Don't believe me? Listen to a guitar->amp->cab setup raw in the room. Ok now move your head 6 inches in any direction and listen again. Now it sounds different. So which is the real "in the room" tone there? The answer is that there isn't one. There is no true "in the room" tone in that sense, it doesn't exist. The "in the room" tone of even just one single amp->cab rig is actually describing an entire spectrum of different sounds depending on where your head is located in space relative to the cab and the space it's in. Yes, this also means that the mic and its placement, along with whatever preamp is used, is a core part of the sound too.

It's the same with basically any instrument, ESPECIALLY in heavier music. You think any drumset used on any heavy metal album sounds anything even remotely close in the room to what it sounds like on the album? Nope.

I'm also not saying raw in the room rigs can't sound great if your head is positioned in the right place. They definitely can. I'm just saying I don't think that's a "true" representation of the rig.
Click to expand...

Ok, cool.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top