What is your favorite method of recording rock/metal guitars?

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WhiteShadow

WhiteShadow

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Do you prefer miking tube amps, using amp sims, modeling amps like Kemper/fractal, or maybe running your head direct with load box and using IRs with it? Which method do you find the most hassle-free and easiest to achieve the sound you're going for with the least amount of headache?

Is it worth investing in a load box if you want to record your real tube amps? Or does doing so sacrifice tone?
 
I prefer a tube amp master volume over a load box. Getting the speakers moving is a large part of the equation. I generally like to practice with my Marshall on around 2-2.5 log taper.

With that said as far as recording goes, I prefer a condenser mic because I’m lazy. I should invest in mics and recording gear, but instead I have blown this years budget on unexpected tube costs retubing a few amps that actually do need new tubes.

My 6505MH, Marshall, and my Laney all have crackling pres needing attention.

Anyway, I don’t own a loadbox. The tone I’m going for doesn’t benefit from the smear and compression they add. I prefer a punchy amp response and that’s best with just a master volume.
 
For micing a cab, I prefer to blend mics. Lately, it's an SM57 and a ribbon. I got the sE Electronics VR1 ribbon mic, and I love it.

The album I'm currently producing was all Helix direct with OH IRs. Both sound great. Both work.
 
That's kind of two questions. I would say recording with a traditional cabinet and mic setup is my favorite (I'm a single dynamic guy), but that's not the most hassle-free and easiest way to capture great tones. I play through load boxes with IRs almost every day, and that's how I do most of my writing and demos. We always do final recordings in a proper studio. There's differences between the various load boxes on the market, but whether it "sacrifices" tone is entirely subjective. The loads could just be different than what you typically play, not really better or worse. I also dick around with amp sim plugins a lot, but more often than not end up tracking the real amp through a load.
 
Micing cabs.

You can get decent to great results with modelers/IRs, but IMO people tend to use the same IRs, and therefore sound the same.

Like every hard rock/heavy metal YouTuber uses the same mesa OS and Friedman IRs and so all their tones sound exactly the same.

There's obviously a skill barrier in learning to mic up live cabinets but the benefits outweigh the costs IMO
 
Guitar>board>Herbert>Suhr RLIR

Out of multiple options I’ve tried (AxeFx, Kemper, tons of plugins, mic’ing cabs) this works best/fastest/easiest for me.
 
I'm repeatedly blown away with the quality and ease of using a load box and IRs. Simple, consistent, and sound great. I'm no pro engineer, but for years I had mic pres and a lot of nice mics with treated tracking room and control room, and I'm able to match the tones I got with a load box and IRs.
 
DanTravis62 said:
Micing cabs.

You can get decent to great results with modelers/IRs, but IMO people tend to use the same IRs, and therefore sound the same.

Like every hard rock/heavy metal YouTuber uses the same mesa OS and Friedman IRs and so all their tones sound exactly the same.

There's obviously a skill barrier in learning to mic up live cabinets but the benefits outweigh the costs IMO
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At this point bands use same IRS and drum sounds too . It’s a little crazy .
 
Techdeth said:
At this point bands use same IRS and drum sounds too . It’s a little crazy .
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I literally cannot listen to satellite radio metal stations anymore, because literally every newer song uses the same god damn Steven slate drum samples and the exact same EMG/fishman--> 808--> 5150--> mesa OS+57 IR god forsaken modern guitar tone.

It's so unbelievably banal at this point that it's mind numbing.
 
Favorite? Old school style.
Standing up in the room with a loud amp...going to town.
"You don't go to war sitting down."

Now days?
Sitting in a comfortable chair with no arm rests. Guitar sitting between my legs,classical syle.
Plugged into some new fangled computer/kemper/whatever.
Someone else dialing up a tone and pushing the buttons and computer keys.
Tracking all the way through, leaving little clams along the way.
Saying "Fuck it,that'll do." while reaching for a half finished margarita.
 
Since it takes me like 100 takes to get a decent solo recorded, mic'ing up a blasting cab is a bit of a hassle. I use TNL and love the results. I have a Kemper too but tend to use that live
 
DanTravis62 said:
I literally cannot listen to satellite radio metal stations anymore, because literally every newer song uses the same god damn Steven slate drum samples and the exact same EMG/fishman--> 808--> 5150--> mesa OS+57 IR god forsaken modern guitar tone.

It's so unbelievably banal at this point that it's mind numbing.
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That’s how I’m feeling . It’s refreshing to my ears to hear some old death metal with real drums n shit .
 
Ok here's a follow up question.

For miking cabs, with, say, the standard SM57, is there a mic placement you find works and sounds good in most situations, regardless of room, speaker, or whether its a 412, 212, or 112 etc.?

Also, would you mic a cab with a AKG P120 along with the SM57? I just picked one of those up.
 
I either go direct from the AxeFxIII or through pedals > amp > SuhrRL or CaptorX > CabM+ > pedals (time based effects) > audio interface
Sounds long, but it’s all hooked up already through an amp switcher so there’s no hassle.
 
jabps said:
This.

If you want to blend some IR's fine but you need to move some air. Cannot replicate that.
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I'm starting to figure that out. Amp sims can sound okay at best just judging by the experience I've had with them so far. Not bad for what they are. But man, they can either sound like utter dog shit, or they can sound freaking good. There's almost to gray area with them. I find I either have too much input gain, or not enough/weak signal. It's very difficult to work with them I find.
 
WhiteShadow said:
Ok here's a follow up question.

For miking cabs, with, say, the standard SM57, is there a mic placement you find works and sounds good in most situations, regardless of room, speaker, or whether its a 412, 212, or 112 etc.?

Also, would you mic a cab with a AKG P120 along with the SM57? I just picked one of those up.
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I hated the Perception series AKG mics. My guitarist had the Perception 420 that he bought for the figure 8 pattern (and the price), and I got a P220 in a trade. They are peaky and harsh on the high end, and I find myself trying to tame them too much. I would rather just run the 57.

Here is some other food for thought. Condenser mics were great in their day because they were crisp captures. Studios ran analog equipment, and had a warm response. Modern digital stuff (DAW and interface) are crisp responses. Where dynamic mics were warm mics into a warm source were too muddy, crisp mics into a warm source are pleasant. Now, warm mics into a crisp source creates that balance, where crisp mics into crisp sources can be too harsh. You can always tame a crisp mic with warm (analog) preamps, but there are some great warm mics on the market today. That's why I prefer dynamic and ribbon mics.
 
Tone Monster said:
I'm repeatedly blown away with the quality and ease of using a load box and IRs. Simple, consistent, and sound great. I'm no pro engineer, but for years I had mic pres and a lot of nice mics with treated tracking room and control room, and I'm able to match the tones I got with a load box and IRs.
Click to expand...

its crazy how peoples opinions vary so much when it comes to loadbox/ir's.
 
It depends on the style of music and my mood.

For high gain modern hard rock or metal I play through 2 or 3 amps and close mic the cabs with a 57. Each mic gets its own track . If it doesn't need to be ultra tight I will sometimes use a condenser to mix in a little of the room sound also with it's own track. In rare instances I will send one or more amps direct output to a track. I also use one direct signal from the guitar to the interface in case I want to reamp.

For most other styles I play through one amp and close mic with a 57 or other mic depending on the sound I am after. I will also place a mic at about 3 or 4 inches away from the cab and also use a condenser some feet away to get some of the room sound. Each mic gets its own track. I also use one direct signal from the guitar to the interface in case I want to reamp.
 
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