I'm reminded of a couple of things:
First, something a salesperson a music store told me a long time ago - "You can always make clean sound dirtier, but it's really hard to make dirt sound clean". If your guitar sounds too polite, mix in some white noise. Get some un-potted, mircrophonic pickups. Got into the advanced amp parameters and set some non-ideal values. Record in an un-treated room with a really loud speaker, so the guitar interacts with it. Get the whole band together and record a track live into a couple of room mics.
The other thing is from an interview I read with Steve Albini. He's a recording engineer well-known for shunning all things digital. I don't agree with half of what he says (who could!?) but his biggest objection to digital is that the technology takes over the workflow. It gives you the tools to make "perfect" recordings, if you just keep tracking and tweaking and layering, and for a lot of people it's just too tempting. They shift their focus away from the writing and the performance and obsess over making "perfect" recordings of dull performances and unremarkable songs.
First, something a salesperson a music store told me a long time ago - "You can always make clean sound dirtier, but it's really hard to make dirt sound clean". If your guitar sounds too polite, mix in some white noise. Get some un-potted, mircrophonic pickups. Got into the advanced amp parameters and set some non-ideal values. Record in an un-treated room with a really loud speaker, so the guitar interacts with it. Get the whole band together and record a track live into a couple of room mics.
The other thing is from an interview I read with Steve Albini. He's a recording engineer well-known for shunning all things digital. I don't agree with half of what he says (who could!?) but his biggest objection to digital is that the technology takes over the workflow. It gives you the tools to make "perfect" recordings, if you just keep tracking and tweaking and layering, and for a lot of people it's just too tempting. They shift their focus away from the writing and the performance and obsess over making "perfect" recordings of dull performances and unremarkable songs.