Make it sound "Bigger"

A

AxeManBrill

Member
Hi Guys,

So I'm trying to create a preset, that has a bigger, or wider sound that just a straight mono rig. I like the sound of my mono preset, but I want it to sound a little "bigger". I've tried the "enhancer" block, and it kinda does what I want, but it also sounds a little scooped, and like I'm missing something. I did a demo recording, a track with enhancer, and a track without enhancer. Then I spliced them so they would alternate riffs, and I could hear how they sound side by side. In a stereo playback, it's not bad. With the enhancer off, it's a bit more crisp and clear, but can definitely tell it's center focused. With the enhancer on, it does what I want it to, its just that little scooped and "somethings missing" kind of sound. I changed my daw playback from stereo to mono, and when I did playback then, I could defintily tell the difference with the enhancer on. It sounded slightly doubled (which is what I suppose the enhancer is supposed to do), but it was CLEARLY missing some upper frequencies, possibly even that they were cancelling each out, and that's why it sounds so scooped or missing something. So is there a way I can create a patch, that sounds a bit bigger, or "wider", without getting such a scooped sound?

I normally just double my guitars, and pan them hard left and right. But this time, I'm toggling on/off another modulation effect, and I doubt I'd be able to track a left/right guitar track, toggling on a modulation effect, and get the swells to sound and time the exact same between the left/right takes. Think of Van Halen style with a Phaser or Flanger.

Thanks in advance!
 
First of all, which type of enhancer did you use? I recently mentioned (in this post) that not every type of enhancer is phase-cancelling-proof. You might be using the wrong type.
 
md1234 said:
First of all, which type of enhancer did you use? I recently mentioned (in this post) that not every type of enhancer is phase-cancelling-proof. You might be using the wrong type.
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Just the "enhance" block on my AxeFX II. I did try between modern and classic, and monkeying with the settings. The classic had a wider spread, but that's where I heard the phase cancelling, the modern didn't sound much different than a mono mode, but I could hear the low end a little "wider". Is the "Stereoizer" block in the AxeFX II? I don't recall seeing that anywhere... Thanks for that article/post though. That is somewhat helpful.
 
AxeManBrill said:
I doubt I'd be able to track a left/right guitar track, toggling on a modulation effect, and get the swells to sound and time the exact same between the left/right takes
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If the modulation is after the amps + cabs:
Double track the amps + cabs without the modulation, bounce down the takes to a single stereo track, then reamp that through a Fractal preset with just the stereo modulation effect (or just use a plugin for the modulation).

If the modulation is before the amps:
Record two takes of the raw guitar signal, bounce them down into a single stereo track, create a stereo preset with the stereo modulation effect before two identical amp and cab blocks hard panned (and with their inputs set to left/right respectively), then reamp both dry takes simultaneously through the preset.

Both of these procedures will give you a very wide double tracked dry, with both sides running through a single stereo modulation effect.

AxeManBrill said:
I've tried the "enhancer" block
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The steps I've outlined above will give you wider and more realistic results than the enhancer block. No reason to use the enhancer block for recording when I can just double track.
 
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strabes said:
If the modulation is before the amps:
Record two takes of the raw guitar signal, bounce them down into a single stereo track, create a stereo preset with the stereo modulation effect before two identical amp and cab blocks hard panned (and with their inputs set to left/right respectively), then reamp both dry takes simultaneously through the preset.
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I hadn't thought of that. Recording the guitar, and then re-amping through the Fractal. I might have to look into that, and try this. You don't happen to have a YouTube demo of this, do you?
 
AxeManBrill said:
I hadn't thought of that. Recording the guitar, and then re-amping through the Fractal. I might have to look into that, and try this. You don't happen to have a YouTube demo of this, do you?
Click to expand...



Get it working in mono first then try it in stereo with two amp and cab blocks
 
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