Spent 4K On Recording Setup

[brettlingle]

Hey Forumers,
You ever hear the phrase if it's too good to be true it probably is? Well I just bought a 4000 dollar setup to record with hoping it would be the only thing i would need to make decent soounding demos. I got the 17" Apple G4 Powerbook with the Logic Pro 7 program,M-Audio Firewire 410 and USB Keyboard. Well the program is killer the drum machine is awesome as well as the synth creator they call Sculpture. The problem I have with the program is the distorted amp settings are not good matter of fact they are horrible. Real tinny and not enough gain at all. They broke down the different types of distortions and the ones I was messing with were even supposed to be "Metal" tones. They sounded more like AC/DC type distorion cept not as good and real tinny. I guess I just wanted to let anyone know if they were thinking about buying a setup like this its probably not going to get them killer guitar tones. I will say the clean tones on it are pretty decent. Looks like I am going to have to record the old fashioned way crank my Mesa tube amps and put a Sure SM 57 in front of it.

 

[brentrocks]

WOW...Good luck with that!!! That sounds like a killer setup!!!

 

[mightypudge]

Great recorded guitar tone can be elusive if you're looking for a quiet alternative to the cranked amp.

One of the best investments I made towards getting a better direct guitar tone was the Tech 21 SansAmp GT2. I recorded a tune using only the GT2 for all bass and guitar tracks and got pretty good results. The GT2 is does not contain effects like a PODxt so the tracks need sweetening at the "board" such as reverb, EQ, and occasionally compression.

Speaking of a cranked amp, I actually prefer the Sennheiser E609 to the SM57 these days. Although the 57 sounds great in its own way, the E609 captures a recorded tone that to my ears represents the tone I hear in the room when I'm playing.

 

[Jonny Dubai]

did you just rob a bank or something!!!!!!!!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Forumers,
You ever hear the phrase if it's too good to be true it probably is? Well I just bought a 4000 dollar setup to record with hoping it would be the only thing i would need to make decent soounding demos. I got the 17" Apple G4 Powerbook with the Logic Pro 7 program,M-Audio Firewire 410 and USB Keyboard. Well the program is killer the drum machine is awesome as well as the synth creator they call Sculpture. The problem I have with the program is the distorted amp settings are not good matter of fact they are horrible. Real tinny and not enough gain at all. They broke down the different types of distortions and the ones I was messing with were even supposed to be "Metal" tones. They sounded more like AC/DC type distorion cept not as good and real tinny. I guess I just wanted to let anyone know if they were thinking about buying a setup like this its probably not going to get them killer guitar tones. I will say the clean tones on it are pretty decent. Looks like I am going to have to record the old fashioned way crank my Mesa tube amps and put a Sure SM 57 in front of it.

Try a pod XT - they are great for recording with.

 

[cocobig]

Wow... I am really jealous...

 

[brettlingle]

Try a pod XT - they are great for recording with.

Already tried that on my last demo.LOL didn't like that sound at all.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Already tried that on my last demo.LOL didn't like that sound at all.

Shucks, too bad that.

I know XTC use them a lot for recording. [ UK band orig. in the 70's 80's ;-)]

 

[OrangeChannel]

Already tried that on my last demo.LOL didn't like that sound at all.

I can't even fathom how you can't get a good sound using L6 gear...it's easy to tweak. You've pretty much got my current recording setup right now, but most of my tones are L6 exclusively it's all about how you tweak it...

click the link in my signature...

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

Try a software called AMplitube, NOMAD Rock Amps Legend or Guitar Rig.

You'll be cool.

Easy to use and you can record direct (monitoring), so after record you can change sounds too and use another amp to your taste.

 

[blackspy]

Amplitube and Guitar Rig are both fantastic.

 

[deanmm]

If you are not going to mic your amp then nothing at moment beats POD's. POD's are maybe not the greatest thing for live playing - but for direct recording there's no better thing yet...or...hmmm..well maybe there's one thing that you could try out - a Damage Control's new thingies - Womanizer and Demonizer.
Haven't tried them myself yet...
Dean

 

[Colin]

Learning to record your amp is still a good skill to have. Teaches you to understand miking techniquies, compression etc. While I do like some of those plugins, I tend to try and sound like I do in real life. I think of people that have an instantly recogizable sound ie: Santana, Johnson, Morse etc and don't think they'd use modelling in a dominant way. Having said that I'd bet they'd use it in the right context. Eric Johnson did record a song with amp farm and it sounded amazing.

Colin

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I have always been a fan of using an SM57 off axis to the cone, miked at a reasonable (but not excessive) volume. But thats not always practical at home!