Fave plugins for guitar

[JPickman]

What's are some of your fav limiter or compressor plug-ins for Rock Guitar? Not happy with the ones I have and am looking for something to brighten and thicken dull overdriven guitar....

[tsd3000]

it sounds like you need eq or filters not compression. there isnt too much point to compressing, as a distorted guitar has really flat dynamics, esp rhythm

it is usually easer to get a better sound from the amp. try turning down the gain and turning up the treble. its all about the high mids with rock guitar, get them right, keep the bass light and smooth off the 8kh+

make sure you dont over cook the distortion. less is more.

[chrispick]

I agree with Trent. If we're talking overdriven guitar, then mic placement and EQ are the tricks.

I do, off and on, apply compression to some guitar tracks, though never to those with a metal guitar sound (like Trent said, what's the use, dynamically speaking?). When I do, I use WaveArts TrackPlug -- and usually only to hike up some of the softer transients.

[duncan]

Nomad Blue Tubes bundle has a cool 3 band EQ/comp thing. It puts a compressor on the midrange and then lets you boost the highs and lows. This thing is incredible. It turns a dull sounding acoustic guitar into that bright jangly sound you hear coming out of Nashville, so it would probably do wonders for an electric guitar. It's so much more effective than EQ, it's just totally amazing. And I don't work for Nomad. I'm just trying to talk myself into dropping $499 for the package, since the ten day demo is about to run out.
You could do the same thing with the MW compressor that comes with DP 4.52 - clamping down on the midrange and boosting the highs and lows - but the Blue Tubes thing sounds better.

[laurence]

Hi duncan,

Which actual Nomad Plug in are you talking about ?

cheers

[FM]

i like the URS plugs a lot.
very easy on the cpu and great on bass as well.
you need an ilok to use them, which some find obnoxious.
so did i at first, but man, once you get past the ilok thing, they're worth it.

peace,

FM

FM looked back and now he's a salty mess.

[Trash Monkey]

Mic choice and placement are crucial. Also knowing eq frequencies is paramount. I like the sound of the Royer R121 on most guitars including ear bleeding metal, but there are many more that would compliment (if you even equate that term to recording metal guitar) the process. If nothing else read this thread from a solid recording/engineering forum. http://marsh.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/287/

[tsd3000]

here is a bit more info for ya...

i use u87's or sm57's for amp mic. in a quad box all 4 speakers will sound different. first up listen for the speaker that you like the sound of most ( I usually go for charractor and cut over fullness or quietness of hum/hiss, but it will different for your taste )

then I get a band member or assistant to "sweep" the mic around that speaker, listening in the control room as the guitarist plays. when the mic is in the best sounding post i lock it off.

i then move the mic away from the amp in that exact spot, until i get a good blend of bass and treble (distance increases the bass)

if you do something like this then eq is more for sweeting and less for correcting and shaping, so you end up with a better sound with harmonics and detail intact.

oh yeah, use software for cutting out bad frequencies (with a tight Q) and hardware for boosting larger areas you like (with shelf or larger Q).

hope there is something in there for ya...

[JPickman]

let me rephrase the question a little....I shouldn't say dull and lifeless guitars...they sound fine to most people...I can just tell a huge difference between recording direct into digital versus recording to analog. My 2" 24 track shot craps and until I can afford to get it fixed or replaced...... anyone know of any comps that add 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion or emulate the soft limiting produced by an analog recorder? One thing I have tried to do to do this is place a limiter in the effect insert to tame any transients and then put a compressor on the buss for the guitars and I am getting pretty close to emulating it using Blue tubes plug-ins but I still hear something missing....I didn't know if anyone had any other comp/limiter plug-ins that they have used to try to emulate this....

For anyone that has questions as to why I compress the guitars, I have found that in my experience, if you back off the gain compared to what your ears perceive as the sound you want and compress the guitars you end up with a really thick full bodied overdriven sound that cuts through and contains a bunch of life...has all the edge you want but without that overdriven saturation that happens when you record an amp with the gain too high....all be it I don't use too high of a ratio at the most 3:1 but usuually around 2:1 or 1.5:1.....

I do use little to no eq whenever possible but sometimes you have to carve some frequencies out for other instruments to fit in and give them some space up front.....so eq is subtractive and minimal when I do use it.....

[FM]

Originally posted by Pick Man:
anyone know of any comps that add 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion or emulate the soft limiting produced by an analog recorder?

i'm not a pro but here's MVHO.

i sum OTB using an API 8200a line mixer, on the way "back" into a final stereo track i insert my mindprint DTC pre/comp. it's a dual channel tube pre/comp with built in eq.
after that, i go back into a final track in DP, sometimes i throw a waves L2 and waves multiband plug.
this about as close to that tape warmth i've ever gotten.
i really like the results, an important thing to note is that i would not be doing this if i didn't use a "better" clock/AD/DA chain.
i use an apogee rosetta AD to track and to clock from and i monitor from a mini-dac.

i mention that also because, like you, i have a motu 2408mk3; and the converters/clock are ok, but not great.
i do love that thing, though.
one of the best purchases in my studio for sure.

peace!

FM

FM... dirty deeds, done dirt cheap.

[duncan]

The Nomad plugin mentioned above is in the Blue Tubes bundle. It's called Equalizer PEQ-2C, and it's one of sixteen plugs in that bundle. The other compressors in the bundle exhibit that old-school pumping and breathing thing going on, so you have to be careful how hard you hit them. There is also a nice tape echo unit, a good de-esser, and some other cool stuff. They also make a different bundle with a guitar amp simulator, but, not being a guitar player myself, I'll probably pass on that one.

[dmshep]

Vintage Warmer from PSP Audioware goes a good ways towards emulating analog tape compression and saturation...