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Old 09-20-2011, 07:26 PM   #2024
moribund
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 462
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Quote:
One part of it is that I've been trying to pin down whether or not amp sims like Gearbox do what they say (provide complete in the box high quality electric guitar sounds) or are bunk.

One group goes by, "It's not the tools it's the artist, equipment doesn't matter". The other pole is Gearslutz crowd.

My argument to the "Carpenter not Tools" crowd is, "Well OK, let's assume the tool (Gearbox et. al.) does exactly what the manufacturer claims, then what *are* the studio techniques that go from 'sounds home recorded to pro"?"
So why don't you just start a thread yourself to discuss this very subject??

I can almost guarantee you'll get better answers and more of them if you start your own thread instead of trying to hijack someone else's.

The point you're missing is that this thread is about taking whatever sound you already have and trying to get it to sound good in the context of a recording. You might notice this theme here and there throughout the thread. The discussions go something like this:

Q: How do I bet a good acoustic guitar tone?

A: Make sure you have new strings on, make sure it's in tune, move the mic around to get the tone you're looking for, move around in the room to get the tone you're looking for, try a different mic if you have one, try double tracking, try recording with more than 1 mic, etc..

They do not go like this:

Q: How do I get a good acoustic guitar tone?

A: If you can't get a good guitar tone, go buy a new guitar and sue the company who made the first guitar for giving you the impression that it sounded good.

You see? The thread is about taking whatever sound you already have and trying to get a good sounding recording with it using various techniques like some of the ones mentioned here. What you keep griping about is that the sound you're recording already sounds like shit and no one will tell you how to record that punkass sound and make it sound like EVH on his first record. And before you go misrepresenting the responses of various posters here, there isn't anyone on this thread who doesn't agree that you can, in fact, get a better acoustic guitar tone if you go out and buy a D45 and have them add a stereo matched pair of Neumanns to your bill. Everyone agrees that if you have better gear, you can more than likely get a better sound, but that's not the point. The point is that it's possible to get a useable, decent sound out of that Yamaha in the corner with a little work. The people who can afford to run out and buy the D45 and the Neumanns will readily tell you that you still need some techniques to get a great sound even with the great gear. That's what this thread is about. If you readily admit that your amp sims blow, then stop using amp sims!! Stop repeatedly saying "my amp sims are horrid, but the company who made them says they sound great. Can someone help me make them sound great, since the company insists that they must?" My rig sounds killer when I'm recording, but I always need to do some stuff to it to make it sound right in the mix, even if it's playing solo. The difference here is that I already know that my sound is killer (it is, believe me) so I don't need to muck about with the amp tone. Unfortunately that doesn't mean that it will automatically sound that way in the recording. To paraphrase Allan Holdsworth, "the most difficult thing about recording is trying to get the sound in the room onto the tape."

That's what this thread is supposed to be about.

Sorry I've gone on for so long, and believe it or not, I'm not typing this essay out of anger or disdain for you. I'm trying to help you to solve your recording issues by encouraging you (as others have before me) to start a new thread to discuss the very problems you're having, because they're outside the scope of this thread, and most people (although I'm not one of them) get pissed off when someone hijacks a thread.

If you do start a thread, I'll be glad to offer any assistance that I have to help you resolve your tone issues.
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