Recording and mixing tips

[cwight]

Great advice again guys. Thanks for taking to time to reply. I rarely use reverb and delay together anyway, but I suppose I'm def on the feel side of things, but that's probably a default position as I simply lack the tech chops anyway. Having done a reasonable amount of professional recording though, one thing about 'double tracking' is that you want it to be tight enough to keep it all together, but you need just enough diff to get that 'double tracked' sound. That's why simply duplicating a riff and EQing difference in never really has the same effect...

Re the recording wet/dry issue. I wonder if there's a way to make sure the feed into Riffworks is dry whilst taking a split into another amp (or some other source) so that you hear the wet version....A splitter before it goes into Guitarport or what ever?

Although you are all dead right that, at least in the initial stage, and perhaps even live, the less effects the better.... Effects, of whatever kind can certainly become a safety net......

[GuitarSlinger]

My advice is to a/b your song with a similar song that has a mix that you think sounds great. I use Soundgarden's Outshined quite a bit, I don't know why, I just think it's a good mix. This will help you get the levels correct. Ever hear a song where the vocals are too loud are one instrument is dominating everything else? It just kills it. You want to hear everything, not just that killer solo.

[GuitarSlinger]

Riffworks does not reamp via VST, but if your using a Toneport or a Pod X3 you can most certainly monitor wet and record dry. There's just no way to reamp it in Riffworks.

[cwight]

Thanks guitarslinger. I suppose it's time for me to think of moving from guitarport to Toneport then.... I also see that LIne6 are now offering Gearbox as a plug in....Got an email about it the other day...

[GuitarSlinger]

What does the guitarport driver look like in the input panel on the bottom left? Are there any options other than send 1&2?

[cwight]

Hi Guitarslinger, sorry, I'm not at home at pressent, so I can't answer that at present. I'll get back to you in a few days. But I think theres a send 2 & 3 as well....

I did have another issue re drums that I was wondering if anyone had a workaround to. This is obviously one of the limitations of Riffworks (although the benefits massivley outweigh this). But normally when you record drums you might want to put some effects on one part of the kit (maybe get a nice crack on the snare and a touch of reverb). Obviously with instant drummers, you can only put compression or reverb on the whole kit. I find this muddies up the sound particularly the bass drum, so I tend not to. I maybe add a bit of compression, and maybe EQ, but generally not reverb. I was just wondering what you all do...

[Charvelguy]

It would be great if the drums eventually had the ability to be eq'd separately as well as panned.

[Wedgebill]

Have you tried these Tom ?

http://www.sonomawireworks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1781

[Charvelguy]

Hey Bill, I recall seeing that post awhile back, but I didn't download that..(I didn't do much of any effects or EQ'ing to my mixes for my posts I did early on other than guitars) I'm gonna have to give that a try... thank you!

[pooterpatty]

I'll use a tad of compression on the drums, maybe some EQ, that's about it. Would be nice to edit on a drum-by-drum basis, but that might be a bit lofty of a goal for what is, after all, loop-based software.

[blue4u]

This is where I hope we'll see a "professional" version of RW in the future. Drums on Demand offers two versions of their drum loops on the site. The more expensive one gives you each drum on its own layer. That would be amazing in RW! But yes, I'm dreaming here...

Rich

[ThrobbyRobby]

Under the factory presets is "drums", Tight and Punchy". I use it every time, it really brings the drums up in the mix. It adds eq and compression and is the preset that I use for every song.

[cwight]

Hi Robby, Yes I use that all the time as well. I think it's quite nicely set up. I'm with Rich as well, but I suppose once you over complicate things some of the virtues (eg simplicity of use) of Riffworks might be lost. Rex files of course, are a big help here...

[gatorjj]

Sometimes I use eq to tweak a specific drum or cymbal up or down, or change the tone of a drum. Usually just a notch will make a difference to tighten things up.

[blue4u]

Just reading through this GREAT thread and thought I'd share with you guys:

http://www.line6.com/support/thread.jspa?threadID=24152&tstart=0

One thing I found interesting here, referencing Jimmy Page's famous tone: "One of the biggest challenges being a recording guitarist/producer is separating yourself emotionally from things like individual tones. Page was able to do that. In most cases, Page EQ-ed his guitars to Bonzo and relinquished his ego, especially after Zep 3 and onward, and that was the trick to Zep, and why it still sounds massive.

Today things are done a little differently, and it seems like the drums are Eq-ed to guitars (especially in Metal). In the end, I think it is a less powerful sound." -- lion_tone

What do u guys think? Agree or, disagree? Regardless, it makes us question as guitar players whether or not we are EQing to fit the music or making the music fit our guitar tone. I think BOTH have their place in different applications!

It seems that the larger point being made here is to be conscious of these differences when we EQ.

Rich