Recording, tracking questions, IR questions, etc.

C

Coreybm730

Member
Im a total noob and just want a good recording of the axe fx II

So if I have 2 guitar parts (a left and a right) like older black dahlia murder (think miasma) left and right are seperate but harmonized in parts.

Question is.

I record both parts once each and pan them 100/100. Is this double tracking or would I need to record each side 2 times (2 separate takes) and pan them 2/2 100/100?

This will also answer my question about quad tracking.

About IRs and reamping
If I had 2 takes per side 2 takes for left side and 2 takes for right side. Do I need to use the same amp and impulse for each?
For example, do I use 1 amp and IR to record 1/1 and pan 100/100 and use another amp and dif IR from first for the other takes 1/1??
Or would I use the same IR for all takes and change up amp (4 different amps and use same IR for each?)
Or would I use seperate IR but same amps (dif EQ) for each take?
?
1 left and 1 right track recorded with amp A and IR A, and left take 2 with right take 2 recorded woth Amp B and IR B.
OR 1 left and 1 right track recorded with amp A and IR A, and left take 2 with right take 2 recorded woth Amp B and IR A.

So confusing. I cant seem to get good recordings cause Im so confused. Best I have got so far is
Left take 1 and right take 2 recorded with same amp and IR panned 100/100. If this isnt double tracking I can record left and right part takes again but curious as to how to mix the amps and IRs.

Any help would be awesome.
Thanks dudes.
Corey
 
I find it best to use a slightly different guitar sound for each take. I usually do 1 each side and one with less gain in the middle to fatten it up. Using slightly less gain and doing more tracks can produce some big sounds. For quad tracking you can try panning 2 left and right and another 2 left and right but not hard left and right and mix to taste. Hope this helps
 
The left and right are gonna be 100/100 so its separate. So if I record each part 2 times (2 left and 2 right) this is quad tracking? Or just double tracking?

Also ok Ill use different amp settings for each take and 1high gain and 1 low gain for each side. The question I have is do I use the same IRs for all tracks?
 
When you do double tracking keep in kind that frequencies will sum up, so be careful when you dial in your tone, specially regarding gain and low end.
 
If I dont do I use a different one on all tracks or keep the same as I used on both sides? For example highgain take with IR A on left and high gain take (different amp or just change amp settings) and same IR A?
 
Whether you double or quad track can depend on the complexity of your riffing and how tight you can play. If you're loose, with quad tracking it can end up sounding like a big mess. Btw, in my mind double tracking is 2 tracks, quad is 4, wherever they're panned.

With cab/IR sounds, it's a matter of personal taste really. For example I read the other day that most of Dream Theater's albums except one use the same sound for left and right. No right or wrong. You could for example though have left take 1 using a different IR to left take 2, and mirror that setting on the right.
 
Coreybm730 said:
That was my main concern is the frequencies, how should the IRs be set up?
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I think the point is more that with each additional layer you add, you should reduce the gain. Try a little test - record a riff 4 times and pan it in the same direction. It will sound like there's way more gain than there is.
 
Coreybm730 said:
I record both parts once each and pan them 100/100. Is this double tracking...?
Click to expand...
Double-tracking is recording the same part twice. How you pan them is a matter of taste.


Coreybm730 said:
If I had 2 takes per side 2 takes for left side and 2 takes for right side. Do I need to use the same amp and impulse for each?
Click to expand...
That's kind of like saying, "I'm going to paint a picture of a forest. What shade of green should I use?" :)

Double-tracking with the same tone can sound like a fatter single guitar, if it's done tightly. With different tones it can sound even fatter, or more like two different guitars. Different amps give different tones; so do different cabs. It depends on how different you want it.

If you pan both guitars hard right and left, it may or may not sit well with the other instruments in the mix. Depends on the mix.


Coreybm730 said:
I cant seem to get good recordings...
Click to expand...
What don't you like about your recordings?
 
So its not double tracking if left guitar part is not exactly the same as the Right guitar part? Im going for 100/100 like black dahlia murder Miasma album. I think it is 100/100 since I cant hear the left guitar part in the right.

So technically I would need to record left guitar part in 2 takes and right in 2 takes to be considered double tracked?

I dont dig the guitar sounds usually but I recently figured out it was because I would reamp the same DI track for different sounds lol, sounded like crap cause the phase issues.
 
Coreybm730 said:
I dont dig the guitar sounds usually but I recently figured out it was because I would reamp the same DI track for different sounds lol, sounded like crap cause the phase issues.
Click to expand...

I would use the same DI track for left and right except for the parts where the second guitar part was different and those parts would sound ok but the rest sounded mono. I discovered that it has to be seperate takes and not the exact same DI and now I am much more happy with the sound. I almost couldnt believe how much better it was when I recorded one guitar 1 take left and one guitar 2 take right. Then I got to thinking do I need to do 2 takes guitar 1 left and 2 takes guitar 2 right to be double tracking.
 
hey corey i might be able to help. i recorded the first bdm record, unhallowed. for that we did one take on each side, 3 mics on the cab and then one center for any over dubs and solos. thats a pretty raw record though and now a lot of time you would record a di for each side. then reamp each one 2 times per side. one with slightly less gain and maybe not so full on the bottom. you'll get a huge sound for sure. metalfan is right, it is trial and error. i like to track the di that way you know its tight so when you track each side twice it doent get blurry. i hope that helps a bit.
 
and everyone uses the term a bit different but if you do one take for each side i would consider that double tracked. 2 for each side i would consider quad tracked. i cant even imagine having 4 per side, jeez haha. the drummer and bass player would be pushed right out of the mix!!
 
awesome, so in order to do the 3 mic thing with a DI and axe FX What do I do?
I understand you say one take per side and 2 amp recording, one with less gain.
Record left take once and right take once.
Reamp 2 times per take one with less gain and amp settings

Question is how do I replicate the 3 mics on the cab? Reamp Guitar 1 left take total of 3 times per amp recording with the 3 different IRs?
like this?
Reamp guitar 1 recording 3 times with 3 different IRs with higher gain, then reamp another 3 times with the lower gain with 3 IRs?
 
well you dont have to do 3 mics. what i would suggest is going into the amp block and making it stereo, then you can put in 2 different cabs or the same cab 2 times but with different mics. also if you are running V10 then you can take advantage of the new cabs with multiple mics already on them. but if you use those be sure to turn the mic to none since they were already recorded with mics to give a particular sound.
 
ok so if I change the cab block to stereo and record the amp part in stereo, when I pan it left in Reaper it will mix the 2 together? So would I use the same 2 IRs for all the reamps?
 
yeah pretty much, i make a stereo track and record both outputs together on that stereo track, then pan left. then track that same side again, stereo again, pan it about 90% left. then do the same with the right side. for high gain stuff im getting great sounds using the 5153 red channel, then retracking the same take with a spawn q-rod or nitrous. i like the q-rod because its a bit more mid present and not so boomy, really thickens up the doubled track. its got that awesome modded marshall bite.
 
you could mix them but honestly the best way is just to use those new IRs that have MIX after them. they are more studio ready so to speak. you put those on and fine tune the amp then do it again with another amp and you'll be in metal bliss, its still trial and error, mess around with it and have some fun. they journey is at least half the fun!
 
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