Lou's 'Fat Tracks' Recording Tip

[Mannieb]

Do you want to really beef up your lead tracks? Are you jonesing for
that huge vocal sound? Maybe you're having trouble getting a track to
"sit" in the mix without sounding tacked on. This is a common problem
with vocals.

Try this:

Using the track copy feature in your software make at least 2 copies of
the track. EQ each track differently. Make one track very bright, leave
one flat and create a track EQ'd with a lot of bass. Don't be afraid to
get drastic with your settings.

Now you have three frequencies that you can simply access by working
your faders. If it is sounding a little thin, blend in the "bassy"
track. Too dark? bring up you "treble" track, etc...

You can also experiment with varying degrees of pan and effects. Try
creating a track that is soaked in verb and then just barely blending
it in with the others. If there is a certain frequency that you just
can't seem to hear create a track just for that one. Then blend it in
as needed. I have songs with ten or more tracks all EQ'd and effected
differently...very fat!

You can apply this technique to other instruments as well. A cool thing
to do with the kick drum is to create 2 tracks. EQ one for "snap"
and one for "thump". You can have both sounds and simply mix them
to taste.

This yields a much more of the "three dimensional" sound that you hear
on most recordings today.

This isn't a "cure all". There are lots of other factors to consider,
but I have found this technique to be very helpful.

Experiment...have fun!

Lou Lombardi, Your Guitarist
http://www.yourguitarist.com
http://www.myspace.com/guitartracks

[Randy]

The techniques listed below do work great. You can also use multiple
mikes on the same cabinet recorded onto seperate tracks. Blend them
together at mixdown to get the sound you like. Another thing I've done
is to aim the amp on a diagonal to a wall and mic the reflected sound
to mix with the original.

Try these techniques out, they're a lot of fun!

Randy

Post by Mannieb
Do you want to really beef up your lead tracks? Are you jonesing for
that huge vocal sound? Maybe you're having trouble getting a track to
"sit" in the mix without sounding tacked on. This is a common problem
with vocals.
Using the track copy feature in your software make at least 2 copies of
the track. EQ each track differently. Make one track very bright, leave
one flat and create a track EQ'd with a lot of bass. Don't be afraid to
get drastic with your settings.
Now you have three frequencies that you can simply access by working
your faders. If it is sounding a little thin, blend in the "bassy"
track. Too dark? bring up you "treble" track, etc...
You can also experiment with varying degrees of pan and effects. Try
creating a track that is soaked in verb and then just barely blending
it in with the others. If there is a certain frequency that you just
can't seem to hear create a track just for that one. Then blend it in
as needed. I have songs with ten or more tracks all EQ'd and effected
differently...very fat!
You can apply this technique to other instruments as well. A cool thing
to do with the kick drum is to create 2 tracks. EQ one for "snap"
and one for "thump". You can have both sounds and simply mix them
to taste.
This yields a much more of the "three dimensional" sound that you hear
on most recordings today.
This isn't a "cure all". There are lots of other factors to consider,
but I have found this technique to be very helpful.
Experiment...have fun!
Lou Lombardi, Your Guitarist
http://www.yourguitarist.com
http://www.myspace.com/guitartracks