Hi there,

I have been recording my own music for years. Recently I got kinda tired of recording guitar and decided to try full virtual guitars. I am using FL studio and Kontakt with some Impact soundworks intruments (shreddage). I can't seem to get a "full" tone. I have been playing with eq and compression, multiband compression, everything I can, and can't get what I want.

The sound send to be very thin and almost sounds like some parts have the neck pickup on. Palm mutes don't sound full and "chuggy" ( especially with Shreddage 3 Serpent. Just get super dead notes with Palm mutes).

I am also using TSE X50 V2 for the actual amp sim.

So yeah, the guitars just all around sound full and super middy and thin. No oomf. Is this just something I'm going to deal with because of what I'm using? Anyone know any tricks or settings or something else I'm missing?

Please let me know. Any insight would be appreciated!

 

You have to use automation to make virtual guitars sound the same way you would on an actual guitar. Think of the automation as what your fingers would be doing on the neck and strings.
Also, realize that our fingers and hands will move independently of our minds sometimes.

 

I have the same problem quite often and find that a good saturation plugin does a great job at fattening up thin sounds unlike just using eq or compression. Softube have a nice free one. But there are plenty out there.
I'd also add that different guitar processing apps will give you a huge difference. Often matching the right amp to the right cab is the solution.

 

Perhaps looking at shreddage tutorials online. I'm sure there are some great users on here who could post links to some youtube ones

 

The sound of a guitar comes from your fingers, and you make it sound how you want it. How can you replicate that?

 

You're never going to recreate Jeff Beck doing 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers, but simple chugging is possible.

 

Look, I'm well aware I'm not going to get realism. That's not even the issue at hand. I've gotten the automation and velocity set good. Just can't get a good tone.

About the saturation. Any settings I should try? Never used a solo saturation plugin. Usually used it in a combo like izotope or others.

 

No real trick to them, just push it until it begins to sound thick. Too far and you'll get unwanted distortion. Don't be afraid to try other guitar models. Quite often just a Les Paul from Ample or Musiclab will sound thicker than a lot of sampled guitars that are supposed to have the "ultimate awesomeness built-in"

 

Then try some parallel EQ/Compression.
Also, there's nothing wrong with running your signal through a actual distortion pedal.

 

Push it with an overdrive, use saturation and experiment with different CAB IRs (can't stress this enough). You will find the tone you are looking for in the CAB. Try it and you'll see how drastically a cab changes your tone. Don't just use large cabs either, try 2x12, you'll find all kinds of tone.

 

Trying to get a good sound from a sampled guitar is daunting to say the least, My trick is, in the sampler (I have been using Shreddage 3 guitars mostly, lately, usually Jupiter and Rogue) turn off ALL processing. Get that guitar as dry as a real one you're plugging into your interface. THEN run it through whatever you would normally use to get a decent guitar sound. Then you have to program program program. Get all those little articulations and velocities perfect. Listen, listen, listen and figure out what sounds fake. Really, it's so much simpler for most parts to just plug in a guitar. If you can't play it, get a guy. They're EVERYWHERE. Then it sounds like a guitar- because it is. But, that said, sometimes the perfection of a fake guitar fits the bill, especially layering real ones. If you layer you can make a crappy guitar part sound much better with much less effort. I actually have a song right now that I'm working on where I decided the fake guitar sounds so good I'm not going to replace it. But that is the first time it's ever happened and it's just a lucky accident of how the part itself is arranged.

 

Oh and plus 1 for the post above about the cab. That really is where it all gets made or broke. If you try enough cab sims you will probably get something that works. #2 tip, try less distortion. A lot of the time a good sound isn't remotely as dirty as you think it is. 3rd tip, echos is your friend. It covers up shitty playing by real players, and shitty programming by fake ones :D

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread, but if you like this, i can send you pics and explain in private how i got this tone.

I use same plugins for Rhythmic and solo guitars, only the parameters changes.

 

That friggin rocks dude! Seriously! I love everything about that

 

Also, Shreddage libs have presets that aren't the best sounding ampsims (Kontakt built-in effects) but are designed to suit the Shreddage sound.

Why don't you try them as an starting place? Then you can replicate in a dedicated amp-sim.

 

I agree, and I have already been through this process and experienced the frustrations. My solution was to get a few guitars

 

Same. I'm a keyboard player but I need this stuff if I don't want to get trapped making the same music every day. I suck as a guitar player, so rather than tell people I suck I just say that's how it's supposed to sound, then change the rest of the song.

 

is that the matrixbrute? I was just looking at that earlier today.. how is it?

 

Scary good. One of those synths that once you start messing about, it's late and you missed dinner time. On the opposite wall I have an original Minimoog and the Arturia is abosultely the boss. I have the Moog Sub 37 too and I never use it.

 

ooOOOoooo that is a good report!!!! Thank you sir!!