hello guys i have a doubt about this thread title because i have a Lexicon alpha interface and it's a 24 bit 44.1 and 48 khz sample rate. When i use an amp sim (i've tried all, s gear, amplitube 3-4, bias amp-fx, thermionik) for metal and clean tones, the sound qualilty it's not good in the mix process, it's sounds poor when i mix it with ez drummer and modo bass. So my question is : What could it be? the interface? the software? my guitar (ltd ec 10)?.

I've tried eq, limiter, reverbs and all tools for mixing but the sound it's just not good.

thanks for read this thread, i hope you help me

 

hard to tell why you are not satisfied with your sound without hearing it. All i can say is that i get a satisfying metal, pop, rock what ever sound , with any of the big known guitar map sims. The feeling if you play the sims is shitty (except s gear), but i can mix the sound to my satisfaction.

 

Yup, some sound to hear would be nice to help you !

I usually don't use presets when it comes to amp sims, some are especially bad sounding (waaay too much distorsion or reverb in some case). Do your own, so you can tweak every aspect of the sound you want !

 

Last edited: Mar 27, 2017

i'm familiar with the lexicon alpha, not great sounding preamps

i used lepou ampsims in these videos. interface : old line6 ux1

https://www.youtube.com/user/2009korte

yes, i love Pantera and Dimebag is my guitar hero ;-)

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 27, 2017

No help here, but I used to be happy with my amp sim tones until I tried mic'ing a few different half stacks using the DI's I was feeding the sims with (Marshall, Orange, Krank). The difference is night and day. The sims just don't seem to capture the energy of an actual rig.
Nebula for speaker simulation may help get you closer. Ownhammer had a few Nebula presets floating around as did AE which were pretty dang good IMO. If you don't want to go the Nebula route (sort of hard to grasp at first), different cabinet impulses may help you as well. I prefer those over the built in speaker emulations in most amp sim packages.
My progression with this was 1.) Amp Sims, then I discovered 2.) Impulse Responses for cabinet emulation, then I discovered 3.) Nebula presets for cabinet emulation, then 4.) Just mic the damn thing!
I still use the sim route for initial mixing until I can get the mic'd takes done.
The effects chain I use on guitar tracks varies greatly dependent on if they are sims or mic'd.
A tape simulation in the chain may help you as well.
You may try some sort of Tube Preamp Simulation on the DI's before hitting the amp sims as well. It might help those Lexicon Preamps somewhat.

 

Try bias fx. I used all of the software including Amplitube,S-gear,Guitar rig,.... But bias fx give me best metal tone. But I use that tone just for demo or scratch tracks. If you wana get a killing tone for final track buy a good Amplifier and a mic

 

i don't use default presets, i have my amplitube presets and for those who say that amplitube is not a competition for today's software, they are wrong. Amplitube has the best cab modeler, just you have to tweak, tweak, tweak. But i fell that the software it's not the problem. It must be the DI signal. I ask : it's souch a difference between a lexicon alpha and a scarlett solo? i ask because the two i mention have the specs 24bit 44khz

 

how about your monitors and headphones?
25 years in studio and I saw great guitarist making rain with poor guitar.
One of the best bass players I saw had a lend guitar with one string (thrue)
The usual mistake is that newbies use lots of distortion and in the mix they wish had used less. Practically I do no offer recordings with mic or guitar preamps.
I have cheap guitars and custom made. Cheap can be the one for the track. Every guitar has a call!
The wrong is all about ear and the knowledge that a good track is made with thing tailored for the music.
Presets are good for demos!

 

and how about my interface? it's good ?

 

As Korte said, the Lexicon Alpha does not have great preamps. I think you can get good sounds out of it, just don't drive the preamp too hard (in fact, with some amp sims, lower input volume can be better !).

Also, you didn't send any tracks where we could here your problem, don't you think it would be better if we had one of your guitar sounds, and a reference track of what sound you expect to get ?

 

try some virtual guitarist stuff to determine if the problem is with your hands / guitar / audio interface (no offense intended)
I recommend those to try: http://www.musiclab.com/ and https://www.virtualguitarist.com/

if you'll feel the problem lies in guitars "not properly sitting in the mix", then you may need to adjust sound AFTER being played along the rest of the tracks, use subtractive EQ and (sidechain) compression, eventually reverb, haas doubler and other things which help overall mix breathe and let every instrument have some room to be heard at

 

i will send an audio file wait a second

 

I have to ask...Have you tried new strings?

And...Have you checked your cables?

Also, have you tried different picks? Despite being so cheap, picks have the most significant impact on tone.

By the way, are you accustomed to hearing music through your monitors? I mean, if you're used to listening to music on other speakers, there might be a reference problem there, meaning that the music you hear in your head is different in terms of tonality from the one you listen through your mixing monitors...

Also, if you're used to play with a big amp, don't expect you'll hear the same spectrum through a 5" desktop monitor...

Arrrghhh...Anyway, you MUST use some decent reference tracks (guitar songs you love) through the same setup, so you can eliminate a bunch of variables from this equation, just to make sure it's a real problem, not a perception problem.

 

Usually I do not use the preams from the interface (although RME UFX is very good).
The great wisdom says that you must invest your money with a good teacher and after see very good and cheap hiend preamps, eq and compressors from Alctron (neve and UA finity clones).

 

Also, if you have headphones, you should try to play with them, to see if the problem comes from your monitors ;)

 

Double what @ovalf said. Also, certainly your card could be better. I am aware of the interface you have and for what it takes it has a poor preamp and a/d. Your guitar being a cheapo doesn't matter much. When in a hurry, i've made convincing overdriven/distorted rhythm gtrs even with an electro-acoustic gtr and Guitar rig, Amplitube etc. As said, settings on the plugs are very very important, and the quality of your listening environment too.

 

it's a simple test that i made hurry don't kill me

 

Sounds like it is the same guitar tone up the middle almost. If you haven't tried, record 1 take and pan it hard left. Then with a slightly different sound, record a 2nd take and pan it right.

Let us know if that helps!

BR

 

i am bussy now but i will follow your seggestion!!! , keep the thread alive