How do you use effects when recording?

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Do you record your guitar with the sound pre-processed using your stompboxes , multieffects, whatever, into the DAW?

Or do you record clean then processs your recorded sound with plugins?

I am a purist so I prefer the first approach. But most of the time my sound sounds like shyte probably due to the lack of gobos or absorption, but even when I record direct (not using mics), I end up with the same annoying, strident sound. The benefit is this forces me to experiment and learn new stuff.

Using plugins will probably yield better results, but then you are not using your actual effects anymore and kinda betraying your tone, no?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

It takes a lot of care, practice, and discipline to get it right at the source but that will ALWAYS yield a better result than trying to 'fix' things later.

It is difficult when you are recording your own performance because there are so many things to keep tabs on at once.

The way I work around it is by just concentrating on the performance first and recording a great take. I do this with my guitar direct into my interface using amp sims. Then I remove the sims and reamp the guitars focusing on getting a great sound.

There are lots of things you can do to get around an imperfect recording environment for electric guitar but the first thing to keep in mind is that unless you can wind the amp up to where it sounds its best, the resultant recording will suffer.

Reamping allows me to experiment with microphone type and placement, amplifiers, speakers, and effects.

I always record final guitar tracks with their effects.

For acoustic guitars, the room is critical. I get around that by using a UST and Fishman Aura.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

This is my latest release, using the methods described above.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

Another thing you may find helpful is the use of reference tracks. For example, if you are trying to get a Richie Blackmore tone, take a song that has your target tone and import it into your session. As you record your guitar tracks, stop and compare what you have against your ref. Do not stop tweaking until it is the same. This is great ear training and each time that process will take less and less time. Don't forget to turn down the ref so that it's the same level as your recorded track.

[PFDarkside]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

When I used to record I'd follow the methodology that if it's part of the performance (wah, distortion, phase shifter, rhythmic delay, etc.) it gets recorded and if it's part of overall ambience (reverb, eq, some delays, some chorus) it was applied in mixdown.

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

It takes a lot of care, practice, and discipline to get it right at the source but that will ALWAYS yield a better result than trying to 'fix' things later.

It is difficult when you are recording your own performance because there are so many things to keep tabs on at once.

The way I work around it is by just concentrating on the performance first and recording a great take. I do this with my guitar direct into my interface using amp sims. Then I remove the sims and reamp the guitars focusing on getting a great sound.

There are lots of things you can do to get around an imperfect recording environment for electric guitar but the first thing to keep in mind is that unless you can wind the amp up to where it sounds its best, the resultant recording will suffer.

Reamping allows me to experiment with microphone type and placement, amplifiers, speakers, and effects.

I always record final guitar tracks with their effects.

For acoustic guitars, the room is critical. I get around that by using a UST and Fishman Aura.

Thanks man. I'd like to know more about reamping. Do you feed the recorded audio into your amp and mic it?

[beaubrummels]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

When I used to record I'd follow the methodology that if it's part of the performance (wah, distortion, phase shifter, rhythmic delay, etc.) it gets recorded and if it's part of overall ambience (reverb, eq, some delays, some chorus) it was applied in mixdown.

+1 ...except split the signal and run effects into my monitor while playing the track so at least I get close to the right dynamic to interact with the device. Also, I only will record wahs and distortion. Delays, chorus and phase I always do after so I can change speed, depth, delay timed to fix any issues.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: How do you use effects when recording?

Thanks man. I'd like to know more about reamping. Do you feed the recorded audio into your amp and mic it?

The first thing you need to know about reamping is that if you are using an amp sim on your DI guitar tone, you are technically reamping already until such time as you bounce that track down and it is printed with the actual amp effect.

Traditional reamping has the following signal flow:

PART ONE. RECORD GUITAR.
I like to use an amp sim so that I can get a basic sound.
Guitar > interface > DAW

PART TWO. FEED DI TRACK TO AMPLIFIER.
Remove any effects or amp sims from the track first.
DAW > interface > AMP
Note -- the output on your interface is line level, not instrument level. You will need a box to convert the signal so that your guitar amp can properly interpret what's coming out from your interface. There are lots of reamp and direct boxes that can do this; just check out Radial Engineering.

PART THREE. DIAL IN YOUR TONE.
Using the phantom guitar player from your DI track, dial in the tone you desire.

PART FOUR. FEED THE AMP'S SIGNAL BACK INTO YOUR DAW.
There are two ways you can achieve this.

METHOD A.
Amp > microphone > interface

METHOD B.
Amp > load box > interface (add Impulse responses to this signal to simulate the microphone and cabinet)

PART FIVE. PLAYBACK AND BEYOND.
Listen to what you have recorded within the context of the rest of your production. Make adjustments as needed. When you have a track that you like, save the project under a different/variant name and repeat this process until you are done, saving under the new name. Delete or hide your DI tracks.