How to create a great guitar tone with Pod Farm

[mcgee2k2]

I know some of you will think I'm crazy for using Pod Farm but I've heard great results; just not on my behalf. I know I should be quad tracking to make my guitars sound fuller but i need some help. Overall i only know bits and pieces to making a song sound fuller and better. i need help on creating a tone, how to correctly equalise, how to pan and how many guitars to record. Any pointers to correctly doing this or pointing me in the right direction for a proper tutorial would be greatly appreciated!

 

here's how i sound now with just 2 guitars

 

 

i'm using a line6 GX with logic Pro 9 and an Ibanez SA series.

[strikingtwice]

First off, i don't think anyone's crazy for using Pod Farm, it's a great tool and that and the pod are heard on thousands of recordings, along with Guitar Rig and Logic's built in stuff. It is absolutely an accepted, and sometimes preferred practice to use modelers.

 

I think your guitar sounds pretty good. One of the things that works for me with pod farm is to not try to junk up the patches too much, as is displayed in some of their presets. Remember, just like any preset, they're usually designed to sound great self contained and out of context. I almost always start from scratch with the patches, i find it more annoying and time consuming to dig through presets. i'd rather have multiple performances with separate single amp chains than to have their whole "dual mode" setup. That's just me though. EQ goes an incredibly long way as well. Also, do not copy and paste, replay the riff instead. Try using other guitars as well. Imperfections in the performances are what thicken it up.

[Olisidecar]

If you're planning re-amping, read this:

 

http://www.badmuckingfastard.com/sound/slipperman.html#contents

[deckard1]

Do not copy and paste, replay the riff instead. Try using other guitars as well. Imperfections in the performances are what thicken it up.

 

Excellent advice!

 

I used to fall into the trap of recording 8 bars, for example, within a song and then copy and paste the same 8 bars throughout the rest of the song. While it is certainly easier to copy and paste...it compromises one's feel and sounds too robotic.

[strikingtwice]

I agree with deckard about trying to play as much as possible, but i was actually talking about not copying and pasting vertically to fake "double tracking". Playing multiple passes is not the same as playing one and duplicating.

[teedoff087]

Also, duplicating the same track and panning one left and one right isn't going to add any sort of width to your sound. That's just mono, really. If you're recording this yourself, there's really no reason not to play/record the same part twice. Music isn't supposed to be perfect.

[deckard1]

Duplicating and panning one hard left and one hard right with a very short delay on one side is good [and necessary] for the Haas effect though. Thus thickening your guitar "sound". No?

[mcgee2k2]

I agree with the playing each part again, i do quad track; full pan left and right and 2 tracks at 70% either way - no duplicating. everything sounds fuller, done some decent EQing ( i think ) - just still lacks something! i dont know if its my channel strip settings or what but i start fresh every time and get a decent tone; but it just doesnt sound bright enough if u get me? i think it sounds like its in another room? Here's another few clips to show you where i'm at now. I'm not using pod farm on these. i'm using a LePou amp sim and the Poulin LeCab impulse loader.

 

 

and tips and tricks would help me out, anything you think i need to fill in the space, make the guitars brighter... or am i just being daft?

 

- edit - could it possibly be as simple as putting new strings on? my mate has said that maybe the lack of brightness is simply the use of old strings? i wouldn't say they were really old, but they're not brand new.

[mcgee2k2]

Got a new tone, sounds better with drums in but isnt that the point? does this sound better than before?