Cutting Through with a DR

[Chris McKinley]

Keep in mind that what you can do in the studio is much different than the far more limited options you have playing live. That same thin but razor-sharp tone on MoP will virtually disappear live if EQ'd the same way, no matter what amp your using. It has to do with frequency dominance.

There's only so much sonic space to be had within the range of human hearing, and with several noise-making devices on stage competing, you've got to know your competition if you want to carve out your own spot and be heard.

Kick drums and low bass guitar are going to rule the range from about 60 - 150Hz. They can't help it; that's where their signal is strongest. The guitar's strongest range is between 80Hz to around 5kHz, with a noticeable peak between 500Hz and 3kHz. That makes the guitar a midrange instrument. Sorry, guys. I like crushing bass thump in my palm mutes, too, but on stage, that can't be the mainstay of my sound.

That also means that I'm sabotaging myself if I start cutting out the mids live. The "meat" of my sound will be gone, and all I'll have left are lows that have to compete with bass and kick drums and highs that are competing with vocals and cymbals.

All of this is why roadies and sound guys consistently report that that really great cutting sound that the guitarist had on stage live with the band sounded bass-less and a bit shrill when heard by itself in the sound check. It's okay to keep some low bass for percussive thump in your live sound, but for Recto guys especially, try substituting back in some mids in trade for some of that shrill Recto presence next time and see what that does for getting you to cut through the mix.

 

[andrewstcyr]

Try running EL34's with an overdrive. You'll be in metal heaven

x2 not to mention with the eq you should be able to find exactly the sound you are looking for.

 

[Ellero]

Yes, sorta, depends, etc. The Marshall's are a more mid-voiced line of amps. Scooping the mids give them that classic dark sound and they'll still cut. The Recto's,on the other hand, are already naturally scooped from the get-go. Scooping them on your EQ is only going to slice more mids out to the point where it would be exceptional for metal rhythm tones, but leads could get dicey. Of course, it all depends on the music that you;re playing. Not everyone is doing metal, that's why I got into the sorta-depends side of things. I still have my Recto, but I recently switched over to a Stiletto to get that cut that I was looknig for. They're both really good amps, but I feel that they both have opposite roles in the musical spectrum. My view: Recto=rhythm amp, Stiletto/Mark=lead amp. I'm sure I'll get roasted for that, but I'm just going by experience. Trust me, I would rather have not dished out the $$$$ for a Stiletto. Then again, I love the amp. Try cutting back on the gain on your Recto also, it may very well help. If you think you have just enough gain, cut back. I just listened to our last gig and immediately realized I didn't need as much distortion as I was using.

Ahh, That does manke sense, I got another practice today, I'll try cutting some Gain and see how that sounds with everyone. Thanks!

Keep in mind that what you can do in the studio is much different than the far more limited options you have playing live. That same thin but razor-sharp tone on MoP will virtually disappear live if EQ'd the same way, no matter what amp your using. It has to do with frequency dominance.

There's only so much sonic space to be had within the range of human hearing, and with several noise-making devices on stage competing, you've got to know your competition if you want to carve out your own spot and be heard.

Kick drums and low bass guitar are going to rule the range from about 60 - 150Hz. They can't help it; that's where their signal is strongest. The guitar's strongest range is between 80Hz to around 5kHz, with a noticeable peak between 500Hz and 3kHz. That makes the guitar a midrange instrument. Sorry, guys. I like crushing bass thump in my palm mutes, too, but on stage, that can't be the mainstay of my sound.

That also means that I'm sabotaging myself if I start cutting out the mids live. The "meat" of my sound will be gone, and all I'll have left are lows that have to compete with bass and kick drums and highs that are competing with vocals and cymbals.

All of this is why roadies and sound guys consistently report that that really great cutting sound that the guitarist had on stage live with the band sounded bass-less and a bit shrill when heard by itself in the sound check. It's okay to keep some low bass for percussive thump in your live sound, but for Recto guys especially, try substituting back in some mids in trade for some of that shrill Recto presence next time and see what that does for getting you to cut through the mix.

So for when I record, I could perhaps scoop out some more mids than if I were to be playing a gig? Well written post, I get exactly what your saiyng with the frquencies and so on, so I will keep my mids up, and some of my bass a bit lower and see how well I can cut through! Thanks a lot!

 

[colemaneuclid]

playing by myself my mids are lower and my presence is really low, but when the whole band cranks i have to turn up the presence a bit and my mids are pretty up there fill out the spectrum and get my ''voice heard'' so to speak. my studio settings vary greatly from my live settings. you can do more in a post mix in the studio to even some things out but live you gotta know your role and hopefully keep most of 'your' sound intact.

 

[primerib]

live settings always differ. when I record, I turn the mids up more, back off the gain and bass and some treble. go for a lot more power amp break up. it just records better.