Recording/Reamping Help

[Vinny554]

Hey guys, I really need some help here.

I've been struggling for an eternity trying to get my guitars to sound pleasing. I've been using a POD x3 for a while, and I have a UX2, and I just can never, ever get decent sounding guitars. It's not the reamping software that's the problem, because I've used Peavey Revalver, EZMix plus every damn add-on they have, POD Farm, Guitar Rig, IRs, you name it. I've tried everything.

For whatever reason, I can not get my guitars to sound good. No matter what amping software I use, the result is still shrill and dull. It's extremely frustrating.

Here's an example. Now, relax, this clip was recorded as a joke, but you can hear what I mean on those guitars. They sound extremely lifeless. There's two tracks, panned hard L and R, using EzMix Metal Guitar Gods. On the POD, I'm using inputs 7 and 8, which are completely dry. My guitar is an Ibanez RG7321 with DiMarzio Crunchlab and Liquefire pickups.

Please help!

Joke clip:
https://soundcloud.com/vinny554/slam-shady-brutes-magutes

Here's another example:

 

[BiPolarMachine]

Whats your signal chain look like? Sounds like an impedance issue...

 

[Vinny554]

Whats your signal chain look like? Sounds like an impedance issue...

Forgive me, I do not know what you mean by impedance.
My chain is simply the guitar through the POD (dry signal) > Reamping Software

In both of those examples, I did not post-processing. No EQ'ing or Compression. I also used EzMix, because all of that is done in the amp presets. But regardless of whether I use EZMix or POD Farm or whatever, same result.

 

[BiPolarMachine]

And you have the instrument input selected and you have the outputs correct on the POD x3?

 

[Vinny554]

And you have the instrument input selected and you have the outputs correct on the POD x3?

It's in Direct Output Mode. The top of the module says "Match Studio". I just flipped through the other outputs and they show as "Studio/Direct Tone 1", "Studio/Direct Tone 2", and there's a few more. Which one should I have enabled? I'm using the USB connection.

 

[Vinny554]

It's in Direct Output Mode. The top of the module says "Match Studio". I just flipped through the other outputs and they show as "Studio/Direct Tone 1", "Studio/Direct Tone 2", and there's a few more. Which one should I have enabled? I'm using the USB connection.

Nevermind, it seems those outputs are for 1/4"

 

[Vinny554]

I severely need help here, so I'm bumping this, sorry

 

[Winspear]

To me it doesn't sound like there's anything technically wrong, just perhaps you aren't happy dialing in tones/mixing yet? I've had the same 'lifeless' issues. Really doesn't sound like some kind of technical issue though.
Could you upload a nice loud DI? Easy enough to tell if anything is wrong with that, but honestly I think you just need to keep trucking with tones and mixing.

 

[7stg]

My chain is simply the guitar through the POD (dry signal) > Reamping Software

This sounds like you are starting off on the right foot. Using the POD as the audio interface via usb and recording the dry signal. Do you like the sound of the DI track?

After that it's just playing with the settings till you get what you like.

POD should provide a default impedance that is appropriate for guitar. Standard impedance for guitar is 1Mohm but that varies from device to device.

This is a nice DI/reamper overview. It has adjustable impedance and that feature is demoed first in this video. I max mine out to 10Mohm as it extends the frequency response of the guitar a bit that way. Here is Wikipedia's article on impedance electrical impedance - wiki

 

[Vinny554]

This sounds like you are starting off on the right foot. Using the POD as the audio interface via usb and recording the dry signal. Do you like the sound of the DI track?

After that it's just playing with the settings till you get what you like.

POD should provide a default impedance that is appropriate for guitar. Standard impedance for guitar is 1Mohm but that varies from device to device.

This is a nice DI/reamper overview. It has adjustable impedance and that feature is demoed first in this video. I max mine out to 10Mohm as it extends the frequency response of the guitar a bit that way. Here is Wikipedia's article on impedance electrical impedance - wiki

Well, the reason I'm posting this thread is because if I'm doing everything right, then why does it sound so thin and shrieking high end? If you look up any POD video, very rarely does is sound the way mine does. I've seen bands use POD UX2s to record an album with the same guitar as me, and it sounds 100x better than my recordings.

Like I stated previously, I've recently been using EZ Mix. If you go to:
https://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=169
You can hear samples recorded with the amps supplied in that pack. Mine do not sound anything like that. Their recordings have a much more legit sound, with a decent high end, and a full tone. I'm using the same software and the same preset packs! I'm sure some of it has to do with their guitars and pickups, but my guitar is not awful, and even on dozens of videos on YouTube, I've seen others use the same preset packs and have a much better sound.

Is it the POD? Should I invest in something else to record DI? Because I have no problem not using POD Farm.....

 

[Vinny554]

Here's an example. Here, I've recorded a DI track, where you can hear the dry signal, and the one with processing.

I'm using the exact presets that you can hear at this site:
https://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=169

Listen to these on the Toontrack site first to compare to my recording
-Misha Bulb Djenty Rythmn
-MIsha Ampy Lead

My recording:
(using the Djent Rythmn first, then the amp lead)
https://soundcloud.com/vinny554/forum-example

 

[TedEH]

I don't hear anything technically wrong with any of the sounds. Maybe it's a matter of expectations. All the fancy software and reverb in the world don't on their own make a great sounding guitar track. Using presets isn't going to make you sound like the artist that created them. They sound the way they do because of what they do with their hands. It's about your pick handling, how you attack the strings- I have a Crunch Lab in my S7420, and it's not a super aggressive pickup- you have to dig harder or use a thicker pick to get the same effect (I was previously used to EMGs). You also don't know how those samples were recorded, so who knows what they did to get exactly that sound.

I recommend:
- Don't use presets, make your own sound.
- Hold off on reverb/effects until you've nailed down the rest of the sound
- Don't mix for the guitar, mix for the song. A great guitar track will still sound terrible if you've mixed everything else wrong.
- The Crunch Lab can be reversed, and sounds different that way. Try it, see what happens. Maybe try a different guitar / pickups altogether.

 

[7stg]

What pickups are you using?

 

[Vinny554]

What pickups are you using?

DiMarzio Crunchlab and Liquifire

 

[Winspear]

I don't hear anything technically wrong with any of the sounds. Maybe it's a matter of expectations. All the fancy software and reverb in the world don't on their own make a great sounding guitar track. Using presets isn't going to make you sound like the artist that created them. They sound the way they do because of what they do with their hands. It's about your pick handling, how you attack the strings- I have a Crunch Lab in my S7420, and it's not a super aggressive pickup- you have to dig harder or use a thicker pick to get the same effect (I was previously used to EMGs). You also don't know how those samples were recorded, so who knows what they did to get exactly that sound.

I recommend:
- Don't use presets, make your own sound.
- Hold off on reverb/effects until you've nailed down the rest of the sound
- Don't mix for the guitar, mix for the song. A great guitar track will still sound terrible if you've mixed everything else wrong.
- The Crunch Lab can be reversed, and sounds different that way. Try it, see what happens. Maybe try a different guitar / pickups altogether.

+1
Many amazing records were recorded on a Peavey 5150 with an SM57 microphone, etc. Just because I have (had, rather) said amp and a decent guitar and could play ok absolutely did not mean that my recordings sounded anywhere near decent. You know the gear is capable, at least, but you still have to work a lot on every aspect to get a good sound. Like I said above, there's nothing wrong with yours - developing a professional sound takes a long time.