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LEAD GUITARS

Reminder: we are working on the song Life, an original composition:


(mp3 file)

Life features two lead guitars playing the same part. However, I recorded both guitar tracks from start to finish; I didn't just copy and paste them. The first guitar is panned to the left and the other to the right. Both guitars were recorded with a Fender Stratocaster plugged directly into an M-Audio AudioBuddy preamp, which was connected to an Edirol FA-101 audio interface. I didn't use a real guitar amp recorded with microphones. Everything was done using amp and cabinet simulation plugins along with various effect plugins.

Here is the complete list of plugins used for the first lead guitar:
* Rea-Gate by Cockos, a free noise gate
* X50 by TSE Audio, a free guitar amp simulator
* LeCab 2 by Poulin, a free IR loader for my cabinet impulses
* EnglPro cabinet impulses from the RedWirez BigBox paid collection ($9 USD per cabinet, with bulk discounts)
* TrackPlug by Wave Arts, a parametric equalizer

Here is the complete list of plugins used for the second lead guitar:
* 808 by TSE Audio, an overdrive pedal simulation
* Harmony by Simple VST, a free guitar amp simulator
* LeCab 2 by Poulin, a free IR loader for my cabinet impulses
* Peavey 5150 cabinet impulses from the RedWirez BigBox paid collection ($9 USD per cabinet, with bulk discounts)
* Rea-Gate by Cockos, a free noise gate
* TrackPlug by Wave Arts, a parametric equalizer

And finally, the plugins applied to the bus where the sounds of the two guitars (previously processed separately) meet:
* FinalPlug by Wave Arts, a limiter
* WizooVerb by Wizoo, a software reverb that has been out of production for several years.

For the paid plugins, I will suggest free alternatives that can be used instead.

Lead Guitar 1 Track - Lead Guitar 2 Track - Lead Guitar Bus

We will now take a detailed look at how the plugins are configured on the tracks and the bus for both guitars.

Mixing in practice : Preparing the session | Bass | Drums | Rhythm guitars | Lead guitars | Synths | Vocals | Mastering
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LEAD GUITAR 1

Raw Sound - Noise Gate - Amp Head Simulator - Cabinet Simulator - Equalization

Mono audio track
Panning: 20% left. Lead guitar 2 will be placed symmetrically on the right. Since the sounds of the two lead guitars are different, they will complement each other without blurring in the center, thus freeing up the central space for the bass, vocals, kick, and snare, while the far left and right are reserved for rhythm guitars, cymbals, and two synths.
Volume: 0 dB
The plugins used are chained in this order: noise gate, amp head simulator, cabinet simulator, parametric equalizer.

Lead Guitar 1 Raw Sound

Here is the sound of lead guitar 1 before applying any processing


(mp3 file)

Note that the raw guitar sound is completely masked during the song. I'm including it here to let you hear guitar 1 exactly as it was recorded. A raw guitar sound is interesting in the case of an acoustic guitar recorded with one or more microphones placed in front of it, but the raw sound of an electric guitar isn't particularly useful on its own.

Noise Gate

I use this plugin to remove the background hiss of the electric guitar when its volume drops below a certain threshold. The threshold here is -60 dB. If the volume of the lead guitar 1 audio track falls below this threshold, the sound is cut. This plugin is useful because the settings used by the amp simulator chosen for this guitar generate a significant amount of hiss that becomes too audible when no notes are being played. Here are the settings used with the Rea Gate plugin by Cockos:

Rea Gate Plugin
Rea Gate Plugin

Amp Head Simulator

Here is the sound of lead guitar 1 going through an amp head simulator


(mp3 file)

As with real hardware, this sound isn't enough on its own; we'll need to run the signal through a cabinet.

For Lead Guitar 1, I chose the X50 plugin from TSE Audio, one of the best free tube amp simulators. It is available for download here.

Here are the settings used with the TSE Audio X50 plugin (see screenshot below). To complete the sound of this amp simulator, a cabinet simulator still needs to be added.
X50 Plugin
X50 Plugin
X50 Plugin
X50 Plugin

Cabinet Simulator

Here is the sound of lead guitar 1 passing through saturation, an amp head simulator, and a cabinet


(mp3 file)

This sound could stand on its own, but it's very dry. We still need to add a bit of reverb.

As with real hardware, we now need to connect the amp head (simulated by the X50 plugin) to a cabinet. We'll use the free LeCab 2 plugin by Poulin, into which we'll load impulses. Impulses are "sonic fingerprints" of real cabinets. LeCab 2 allows you to load up to 6 impulses simultaneously. I only used 2 impulses for lead guitar 1, so the screenshot below only shows 2 of the 6 available slots. If you want to download free impulses, you can find some on this page of my site, a bit unorganized... feel free to browse for the ones you need or find others on the web.

Here are the settings used with the Poulin LeCab 2 plugin:

- I used RedWirez impulses, a high-quality paid collection. Specifically, I used impulses from an EnglPro cabinet equipped with Celestion V30 speakers (the real model costs around €1,000 and weighs over 50 kg!).

- First impulse:

- I chose an impulse taken at the speaker's cap edge with a Royer R-121 mic placed 4" from the grill.

- "Phase": Norm (normal). You can choose normal or inverted phase. This helps eliminate phase issues between different impulses, or when combined with "delay," can produce special effects based on the interaction between impulses.

- "Delay": 0 ms. This knob delays the playback of the sound using this impulse (between 0 and 4.6 ms). I don't need it here, so I left it at 0 ms.

- "HighPass": 128 Hz. I set this parameter to attenuate all frequencies below 128 Hz.

- "LowPass": Off. This knob attenuates high frequencies above the chosen frequency. I'm not concerned with it here, so I didn't enable it.

- "Pan": 10% left

- "Volume": set to 0.050, a very low value because the X50 head with these settings sends a very high volume to the cabinet. To avoid unwanted digital clipping, I had to set this volume very low. The plugin's Master volume is also set very low, at 0.1.

- Second impulse:

- I chose an impulse taken at the speaker's cap edge with a Shure SM57 mic placed as close as possible to the grill.

- "Phase": Norm

- "Delay": 0 ms

- "HighPass": 123 Hz

- "LowPass": Off

- "Pan": 30% left

- "Volume": 0.050

- The blend of these two impulses makes up the sound of rhythm guitar 1.
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin

Equalization

Here is the sound of lead guitar 1 processed with an amp, a cabinet, and reverb (in that order) before equalization...


(mp3 file)


And after equalization:


(mp3 file)

The sound of lead guitar 1 will then be sent to the Lead Guitar bus, where it will join the sound of lead guitar 2.

Now we need to sculpt the sound of lead guitar 1 so it fits as well as possible in the mix. I used the TrackPlug plugin from Wave Arts, an excellent paid parametric EQ. As an alternative, you can use Cockos ReaEQ, a free parametric equalizer that allows you to EQ the sound in much the same way as TrackPlug, though it is slightly less feature-rich for certain tasks.

Here are the settings used with the Wave Arts TrackPlug plugin:

- I placed a HighPass band at 200 Hz (red dot) to start rolling off low frequencies from that point.

- However, I boosted 3.02 KHz by 3 dB with a 2-octave width (yellow dot) to better bring out the guitar's mid-range.

- No compression is applied to this guitar for now. A slight boost will be added using a limiter on the Lead Guitar bus.
TrackPlug Plugin
TrackPlug Plugin
Lead guitar 1 frequencies
Lead guitar 1 frequencies
Mixing in practice : Preparing the session | Bass | Drums | Rhythm guitars | Lead guitars | Synths | Vocals | Mastering
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LEAD GUITAR 2

Raw Sound - Amp Head Simulator - Cabinet Simulator - Equalization

Mono audio track
Panning: 90% right
Volume: Variable, as I applied volume automation. From bar 1 to bar 11, the track volume is at -9 dB. From bar 11 to bar 13, I applied a slow exponential curve that rises to 0 dB. The track volume then remains constant at 0 dB. The goal here is to produce a volume swell (fade-in) to create tension and an "announcement" effect. Heads up—the intro is ending, something new is about to happen!
Life - Lead guitar 2 volume automation
Lead guitar 2 volume automation

The plugins used are chained in this order: amp head simulator, cabinet simulator, parametric equalizer.

Lead Guitar 2 Raw Sound

Here is the sound of lead guitar 2 before applying any processing


(mp3 file)

Amp Head Simulator

Here is the sound of lead guitar 2 passing through an amp head simulator


(mp3 file)

As with real hardware, this sound isn't enough on its own; the signal needs to pass through a cabinet.

I'm adding an amp head simulator. I chose the Harmony plugin by Simple VST, as its tone complements lead guitar 1 very well. It is available for download here.

Here are the settings used with the Simple VST Harmony plugin (see screenshot below). To complete the sound of this amp simulator, we still need to add a cabinet simulator:
Harmony Plugin
Harmony Plugin
Harmony Plugin
Harmony Plugin

Cabinet Simulator

Here is the sound of lead guitar 2 passing through an amp head simulator and a cabinet


(mp3 file)

This sound could stand on its own, but it's very dry. We still need to add a bit of reverb.

Just like with real gear, the amp head (simulated by the Harmony plugin) must now be connected to a cabinet. We will use the free LeCab 2 plugin by Poulin, into which we will load impulses. Impulses are "sonic fingerprints" of real cabinets. LeCab 2 allows you to load up to 6 impulses simultaneously. I only used 2 impulses for this part, so the screenshot below shows only 2 of the 6 available slots. If you wish to download free impulses, you can find some on this page of my site, though they are a bit unorganized... feel free to search for the impulses you need or find others on the web.

Here are the settings used with the Poulin LeCab 2 plugin:

- I used RedWirez impulses, a high-quality paid collection. For lead guitar 2, I used impulses from a Peavey 5150 cabinet equipped with Celestion Sheffield speakers (the real model is no longer in production but weighs nearly 45 kg!).

- First impulse:

- I chose an impulse taken at the speaker's cap edge with a Royer R-121 mic placed 4" (about 10 cm) from the grill.

- "Phase": Norm (normal). You can choose normal or inverted phase. This can be used to fix phase issues between different impulses or, combined with "delay," to produce special effects that play on the interaction between different impulses.

- "Delay": 0 ms. This knob is used to delay the playback of the sound using this impulse (between 0 and 4.6 ms). I don't need it here, so I left it at 0 ms.

- "HighPass": 128 Hz. I set this parameter to attenuate all frequencies below 128 Hz.

- "LowPass": Off. This knob attenuates high frequencies beyond the chosen frequency. I'm not using it here, so it remains inactive.

- "Pan": 10% right

- "Volume": Set to 0.050, a very low volume, but the plugin's Master volume is set to 1. Given the volume coming from the amp head, this is sufficient here.

- Second impulse:

- I chose an impulse taken at the center of the speaker's dome (cap) with a Shure SM57 mic placed against the grill.

- "Phase": Norm

- "Delay": 0 ms

- "HighPass": 128 Hz

- "LowPass": Off

- "Pan": 30% right

- "Volume": 0.050

- The blend of these two impulses makes up the sound of lead guitar 2.
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin
LeCab 2 Plugin

Equalization

Here is the sound of lead guitar 2 processed with an amp, a cabinet, and reverb (in that order) before equalization...


(mp3 file)


And after equalization


(mp3 file)

The sound of lead guitar 2 will then be sent to the Lead Guitar bus, where it will join lead guitar 1.

Now we need to sculpt the sound of lead guitar 2 so it sits perfectly in the mix. On this track, I used the TrackPlug plugin from Wave Arts, an excellent paid EQ plugin. As an alternative, you can download Cockos ReaEQ, a free parametric equalizer that works much like TrackPlug, though it’s slightly less comprehensive for certain adjustments.

Here are the settings used with the Wave Arts TrackPlug plugin:

- I placed a HighPass band at 200 Hz (red dot) to start rolling off the low frequencies. You can see further down in the frequency analyzer screenshot that the volume drops rapidly below this frequency, dying out completely around 120 Hz.

- I boosted 3.75 KHz by 3 dB (yellow dot) to help the guitar's mid-range stand out.

- No compression is applied to this guitar for now. A slight boost will be added using a limiter on the Lead Guitar bus.
TrackPlug Plugin
TrackPlug Plugin
Lead guitar 2 frequencies
Lead guitar 2 frequencies
Mixing in practice : Preparing the session | Bass | Drums | Rhythm guitars | Lead guitars | Synths | Vocals | Mastering
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LEAD GUITARS BUS

Here is the sound of the two lead guitars without the limiter...


(mp3 file)


And with the limiter


(mp3 file)

This stereo bus is where the sounds from both lead guitar tracks are summed. Here, I'm using the FinalPlug plugin by Wave Arts, a paid brickwall limiter that boosts the signal to make the guitars more prominent in the track. A brickwall limiter is a type of compressor that prevents the signal from exceeding a set level. If poorly adjusted (with too much compression), it can squash the sound and even cause distortion. When set correctly, it simply adds more "punch" to the audio. As an alternative, you can use George Yohng's W1 Limiter (shown here with the BetaBugsAudio interface), an excellent free limiter available for download here.

Here are the settings used with the Wave Arts FinalPlug plugin:

- "Threshold": -2 dB. The threshold is the level at which compression triggers to boost the signal. The -2 dB value chosen here is quite subtle, only boosting the signal by a maximum of 2 dB. The free Classic Master Limiter offers only this single adjustment, allowing you to set the threshold between -20 and 0 dB.

- "Ceiling": 0 dB. The ceiling is the maximum level the sound cannot exceed. In this case, any sound reaching within 2 dB of the maximum allowed bus volume is boosted by 2 dB but won't cross the ceiling. A 0 dB ceiling actually corresponds to the volume of the bus (or track) where the plugin is placed. Since the bus volume is -10 dB here, the actual threshold is -12 dB, and the actual ceiling is -10 dB.

Reverb

Here is the sound of the Lead Guitar bus processed with reverb.
You can only hear the effect of the reverb itself here.


(mp3 file)

I then set this reverb to 25% to achieve the desired effect.

Now that our lead guitars have passed through distortion, an amp head, and a cabinet, we'll add some "air" with a reverb plugin so the sound doesn't feel too cramped. I used WizooVerb, a plugin that hasn't been for sale for several years but still sounds great. It can still be found in the darker corners of the internet (I don't condone it, but you do as you wish), or you can use other paid or free reverb plugins. They are easy to find, and I suggest a few on this page. I commonly use SIR Convolution, which works with impulses, much like cabinet simulators. But instead of using cabinet impulses, we use room impulses recorded in various locations (from bathrooms to cathedrals, concert halls, or standard house rooms).

Here are the settings used with the WizooVerb plugin by Wizoo:

- I used the "Large Studio" preset (a versatile large recording studio). I reduced its "size" to 30% to avoid making it sound like a massive hall; the decay time is set to 1.2s and I adjusted the "Width" parameters so the reverb spreads across the stereo field. However, since the bus panning is set to 90% left, the reverb only propagates on the left side.

- The reverb amount is controlled with the "Dry/Wet" knob. At 0%, you hear no reverb at all; at 100%, you only hear the reverb without the dry signal. For lead guitar 1, it is set to 25%.

- Using reverb on a guitar is common practice. The dosage is a matter of personal preference, but too much reverb distances the instrument and can drown it in the mix.
WizooVerb Plugin
WizooVerb Plugin
- The lead guitar sound is now finalized for the mix. It will only be modified further during the final mastering stage.
FinalPlug Plugin
FinalPlug Plugin
W1 Limiter Plugin
W1 Limiter Plugin
Mixing in practice : Preparing the session | Bass | Drums | Rhythm guitars | Lead guitars | Synths | Vocals | Mastering
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MESSAGES

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hammer-on
le 08/04/2011 à 23h10

D'abord merci de partager tes connaissances.

Une question dans ce monde de Rock, existe-t-il des simulateurs et baffles plus dédiés pour les sons clairs, exemple le Jazz Chorus 120 de Roland (style Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, Carlos Santana).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<em>Bonjour,

Content que mon site te soit utile !
En ce qui concerne des simulateurs de têtes ou de baffles qui soient bons en sons clairs, beaucoup des têtes dont je parle ici, que ce soit les simus payantes ou gratuites, proposent plusieurs canaux, comme les vraies têtes. On trouve souvent un canal clair et un ou deux canaux pour la disto. C'est vrai que le canal clair produit souvent un son un peu crunchy s'il est réglé à un volume trop élevé. Pour garder un son vraiment clair, une utilisation du canal clean à un volume moyen, associé à un baffle de bonne qualité (Orange, Soldano, Fender) devrait faire l'affaire.

Les amplis typés Metal donnent en général de beaux sons clairs, mais peut-être un peu froids, tandis que les amplis rock vintage auront tendance à cruncher plus vite mais auront ce petit grain chaleureux en plus.
Dans les amplis gratuits, j'aime énormément le NRR1 de Ignite Amps, très polyvalent. Son canal clair, associé à un baffle Orange par exemple est à mon goût très réussi.
Le Fender Twin de SimulAnalog, gratuit également, est assez ancien mais très réussi et il inclut son propre baffle. C'est une reproduction fidèle (je trouve) du modèle original.
Le Lextac de Lepou est capable de faire de beaux sons clairs également, associé au bon baffle.
Dans les payants, je suis tombé amoureux du Amplifikation Creme de Kuassa. Il n'est pas cher (34 dollars) et il a une palette de sonorités assez vaste. Il inclut même son propre simulateur de baffle qu'on peut bypasser si l'on veut pour utiliser un simulateur de baffle externe. Peut-être pas le meilleur pour les sons vraiment clairs, toutefois.

Après, il y a les Guitar Rig, Amplitube ou mieux encore TH1 (TH2 maintenant) ou Peavey Revalver MK3 qui proposent un nombre impressionnant d'amplis divers et variés, et on peut y trouver de tout, du son clair au Metal le plus extrême, mais c'est pas donné.

Je vais pas être très original, mais le meilleur conseil que je puisse donner, c'est... d'essayer. Il ne faut pas hésiter à prendre un ampli et tourner les boutons dans tous les sens, essayer diverses associations d'amplis et de baffles. Personne ne peut savoir le son que tu as en tête, LE son que tu cherches exactement. Ça prend du temps, moi je n'ai pas non plus toujours le temps ou simplement la patience de prendre 2 heures ou plus à fignoler un son précis, et pourtant, c'est le meilleur moyen d'y arriver.
Les recettes miracle, déjà toutes prêtes, ça n'existe pas.
Bon courage !

Grebz</em>



NickiRage
le 23/02/2011 à 20h39

Salut Grebz !

Je voulais juste savoir, je voudrais vraiment me rapprocher le plus possible du son des Avenged Sevenfold ! Donc je voudrais savoir quel ampli, cabinet etc... et les réglages si tu as le temps bien sûr :)

Je te remercie pour tout le travail que tu fais et tout ce que tu m'as apporté !!

NickiRage

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<em>Bonjour,

Voilà ce que j'ai pu trouver sur le matos du groupe, mais en ce qui concerne les réglages, je ne vais pas trop pouvoir t'aider :
<a href="http://www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/188-avenged-sevenfold-synyster-gates-guitar-gear-rig-and-equipment" target="_blank">Matériel de Avenged Sevenfold</a>
Surtout qu'ils utilisent non seulement des amplis (bien sûr !) mais aussi pas mal de pédales pour modifier le son. Dans quel ordre et avec quels réglages, c'est dur à dire et j'imagine que ça dépend des chansons. Ils n'ont probablement pas UN seul réglage pour toutes les chansons.

Grebz</em>



Gigi
le 05/02/2011 à 10h14

Bonjour,

Bravo pour ce site qui est clair, sympa et rassurant !

Je suis en train d'installer (moi aussi) un home studio...Novice, j'ai regardé vos recommandations pour l'installation... Je viens d'acheter un Neumann... Bon, maintenant, je suis coincée, car j'ai acheté la Harley des micros, sans avoir bien pensé à son garage, son essence, etc...

Bref, après ce gros achat, je ne sais pas quel ampli et quelle interface audio acheter le moins cher possible (d'occasion sur E-Bay il y a de bonnes affaires)... Mais quelles marques choisir ?

Je peux encore investir, mais le budget est devenu serré...

J'ai lu des tonnes de pages de forum, mais aucun cas n'est comme le mien... qui est aussi bête que moi me direz-vous ? (j'ai le 103 TLM)

Sinon, bonne continuation et vive la Musique !

Gigi

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<em>
Effectivement, investir dans un Neumann, c'est bien, mais il faut assurer derrière pour garder la cohérence de la chaîne audio. En interface audio, je dirai que les marques RME ou MOTU sont hautement recommandables, on trouve aussi du bon matériel chez M-Audio, Presonus ou Edirol.
(voir cette page sur <a href="http://fr.audiofanzine.com/carte-son-externe/" target="_blank">Audiofanzine</a>)

Pour ce qui est des préamplis, PreSonus propose des préamplis à lampe pas trop chers (modèles BlueTube ou TubePre). Après, les prix peuvent monter en flèche avec d'autres marques comme SPL ou Avalon.
(voir cette page sur Audiofanzine pour les <a href="http://fr.audiofanzine.com/preampli-lampes/" target="_blank">préamplis à lampe</a>, et celle-ci pour les <a href="http://fr.audiofanzine.com/preampli-transistors/" target="_blank">préamplis à transistor</a>)

Grebz</em>

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Merci de vos conseils, c'est vraiment gentil...
Votre site est vraiment indispensable et je vais suivre vos recommandations pour l'installation. Vous au moins, vous vous exprimez avec un langage clair et donc accessible aux néophytes.

Bonne continuation et vive la Musique !



SolartNow
le 02/02/2011 à 21h01

Bravo pour ce site, c'est du super job, sérieux, pédagogique, intelligent, méthodique, pratique, efficace, compétent, que des "complimentations" révérencieuses...

Je suis conquis Mr Grebz, mes meilleurs voeux pour vos projets... et puisque "qui donne reçoit"... J'espère que tu vas recevoir (ce que tu espères bien sûr !)

Signé un modeste MusicoBricolo : <a href="http://solartnow.c.la/" target="_blanck">SolartNow</a>.



M.M.
le 27/01/2011 à 01h42

Avec quel type de préampli dois-je utiliser un micro royer r121 pour l'optimiser au mieux ?
Ma liste de préamplis : Universal Audio 2610 et (6176), TL Audio vc1, SPL Chanel one, Presonus Digimax.
Merci d'avance.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<em>Désolé, je n'en sais rien. Pour des questions sur du matériel spécifique, voyez sur les forums du site <a href="http://fr.audiofanzine.com/" target="_blanck">Audiofanzine</a>. Il y aura soit la réponse à vos questions, soit quelqu'un qui saura.

Pour ma part, je me contente de parler du matériel et des logiciels que je connais et que j'utilise chez moi, dans mon home studio. Pour le reste, ça sort de ma compétence.

Grebz</em>

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Merci quand même ! Sympa ton site..

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