N00b needs help for guitar tracking...

[amongor]

So I got an axe fx II recently which is bloody amazing, used it live, made patches I love, but I really need to wrap my head around guitar tracking.

Quad tracking seems to be the thing (Im going for Red Seas Fire/Periphery kind of tones - Nolly is a god of guitar recording), but when they say quad track, is that meaning the same track copied & pasted 4 times, and then each track EQ'd differently? Or 4 complete different takes all added together? As to which ever way its done, I was also wondering if I could get a few hints to putting on EQ's and Compressors on the tracks (using PT10) to get the sort of sounds Im going for.

Cheers!

 

[amongor]

Also should of mentioned I do have a bass as well, using it with a patch Ive made on the Axe FX using the SVT amp and cab model, I know the bass does play a major (possibly the greatest) role in the 'djent' tone, any help for EQing/Compressing that would also be appreciated

 

[mlabonte]

Quad tracking is pretty useless. Double track rythm, dont quad. Quad is a ton extra work for virtually no gain. You dont copy and paste the track also. You track it separate times. Pasting will just increase volume. Tracking different times will create different transients beefing the track up, not just increasing volume.

As for EQ, everything fits in its respective frequency. You want to boost in places where the instrument is prominent, (Like a kick drum boost 50-100 hz) and high pass to remove the highs. Eq carving creates room for the other instruments and room for the mix to breathe.

 

[Rain]

Don't Quad Track. Trust me. You're better off just making your guitar tracks louder. I feel that quad tracking makes it much more harder to make everything sound good. It gives it a more thicker sound but at the cost of making it more difficult to fit synths into the song. At least for me. When I quad tracked before, I'd pan the tracks in different directions to achieve a more stereo sound. I now track just a left and right guitar and then use Izotope Ozone to achieve a stereo effect. Much more effective, I think.

 

[mlabonte]

I would just use a Waves S1 stereo imager to increase the field. Ozone is a CPU hog.

 

[Their Savior]

I'd have to agree with mlabonte; double>quad

Use separate amp sims and cab impulses for a complementary tone for better results.

If you must use the same amp and cab try to EQ the exact opposite of the other guitar. Center pan them when doing this. If there is not enough clarity, you're doing something wrong. If the tones compliment each other it should sound clear, and that's when you should hard pan them!

As for tips to EQ and compress I can only list what works for me.
I start off with high pass and low pass filters, then I start to poke holes in problem areas:
Low (Thump): 100Hz-250Hz
Low-Mid: 250Hz-500Hz
High-Mid (Two-Dimensional): 600Hz-800Hz
High (Most Important): 2kHz-4kHz

I know; I just about covered the whole spectrum, but that will be helpful!

When subtractive EQing I make drastic gains to find the problem areas, then I lower them to where I think they should be.

You can then follow up with a multiband compressor and bypass all ranges BUT the low-mids, I use a medium attack fast release and a 4:1-8:1 ratio

I really hope this helps, and good luck!

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[Blazerok]

I'm all on double tracking too. It can give great results, and save a lot of troubles (phasing issues between tracks as well as minor errors on each tracks). I'm pretty sure Ola Englund always double tracks, and he gets great tones.

Regarding eq'ing and compressing, i won't add over what Their Savior said, but if you want more details on that, there is a guide called the systematic mixing guide that cover that subject thoroughly.

 

[Rain]

I would just use a Waves S1 stereo imager to increase the field. Ozone is a CPU hog.

You sir have just saved my CPU.

 

[mlabonte]

Haha glad I could help man. And double is all you'll ever need. That's all Joey Sturgis does for his mixes which is basically all of rise records albums.

 

[Oxidation_Shed]

Unless Misha has changed his habits, I read on his Metal Sucks column that he never quad tracks, only doubles. I think Nolly does both depending on the place.
If you can play very tightly to a click, quad tracking can give some interesting effects for certain passages to just beef it up a little more, but is pretty useless for any kind of riffing.
Always at least double track, otherwise your mixes will sound horribly amateur. Pan one left and one right.
I would be careful about how different you make each side though as was suggested earlier, if the tones are too different the mix can sound unbalanced and even make some listeners feel nauseous.

 

[amongor]

Thanks very much for all your help guys! Very impressed with how quickly I got so many responses, Ill give a mix a go soon this week when I get some time. Need to get all the uni assignments out of the way...