Something_Inside wrote:
Zodijackyl wrote:
That's where you want to do most of your EQing for any sort of production, if anyone wasn't aware.
Really? I find that when im recording, it's easier to get the tone you want out of the amp and record it, then clean it up a little bit than just use a generic distortion tone and then EQ in post-production to get the tone. Am I doing shit the wrong way round when i'm sat here telling someone how to do it the right way?
While there is no right/wrong way:
Recording the tone you want out of the amp could work well for a raw/rough sound like DSBM, and you may like that more if you're going for something more minimal in, especially with less mixing. A lot of production tips also aim to reduce noise, and while you should at least control it, you should know where it comes from and how to control it if you want to shape the atmosphere with it. Some of the uniqueness and coloring of lo-fi recordings comes from unusual ways of doing things, but knowing how things work allows you more control over them, so you can always make adjustments.
For example, moving a microphone from dead center to half or a full inch off-center will help eliminate hiss around 10k when recording metal. If you wanted that hiss as part of your noisy production, you can always get it back, but you rarely would want that.
Regarding improved recording techniques: I have been reading everything I can find from engineers/producers as well as musicians, and asking them when I have the chance at shows, and I try to offer advice based on what I hear from them and find myself. I have picked up tons of knowledge from this forum too, anyone who was around a few years ago when mattp was a regular knows that he offered tons of great advice, and a lot of great techniques, references, and resources have come up over the years. Try this stuff for yourself, it works!
Most pros rarely turn any knobs past 70% during record, and most guitarists do turn knobs past 70% for their "ideal" tone. Start with everything in the middle and adjust from there, color the tone slightly, but consider how all of the pieces of the sound puzzle fit together in mixing. 6/4/6 is a good start on Peavey amps, and it's a lot easier to work with in mixing than 6/4/10 (that's what my amp is set to now for playing for fun). While turning the treble/edge/crunch knob on a Peavey to 10 sounds great from speaker to ear, it creates a lot of noise. Adding pedals and other things requires further adjustment - for example, Andy Sneap has mentioned turning mid to 0 on a 5150 while using a tube screamer. Learning the effects of other things and how to compensate/capture/adjust takes time, so basic tips are best kept... basic.
The really high frequencies that might be described as "crunch" or "edge" also dissipate much differently when they are being recorded my a microphone an inch from the front of the amp, and by your ears, which are usually much further back and not directly in front of the amp. You'll be amazed how much different an amp sounds if you angle it a bit.
Here are a few nice resources that I always think of:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/prod ... sound.htmlhttp://mixingtips.org/forum/~-andy-snea ... echniques/