I have two guitar takes recorded with two mics (four tracks in total) how do I mix and pan these in a cohesive manner? I am unsure how exactly to do so
One take to the left. One take to the right. Blend the 2 mics on each side to get the sound you want. Assuming they are different mics, make one more prominent on the left and the other more prominent on the right
I would second this tip - I started my recording journey when I was really young, and when you’re using two mics to record a guitar cab, it’s best to think of them as a single microphone. I still often use a summing mixer and just commit to the blend right from the jump.
Using a summing mixer and committing is super smart and efficient - sometimes we get lost down the rabbithole of perfection, but tbh, especially with source tone, so much of that is gonna be shaped and cut away while mixing, whether through eq or mb compression.
Any ways to speed up the process, learn the sounds you like, commit to them, AND save dsp, are always dope.
I'd say maybe even record both into your daw, resample it as the blend, and then freeze the original tracks. That way if down the mix, something is weird, you can unfreeze, go back, and tweak the source. It'll save dsp and let you keep working
I'd kind of go off of this and say, play with the balance of one in mono C, find a healthy blend that shapes a great overall tone, and then you can use the same blend levels on your other track! Pan it back hard L/R, this is exactly what an IR will do if using a plugin. You don't need the mics to be at different levels, especially if you like the tone! Though it can be interesting, all depends on the type of mix you want.
A lot of old-school metal albums would have one guitarist R, one L, and sometimes they'd have different rigs, which is where some of that philosophy comes from. A lot of modern metal records will use the same IR panned hard L/R so that it's one, massive, full stereo sound, and then add the harmonic richness and variance (that'd normally come in a record from the other mic placements) by dialing in the low/high mids of the bass (200ish-800ish). That way there's sonic variance, but the variance is in the center. All depends on the mix!
Sometimes I make one guitar L-C and the other C-R spread, that way both guitars are stereo and mono at the same time filling it even more. That's with 2 different mics on 2 different speakers but all phase matched. Very massive sounding.
Hardcore punk, metal, industrial etc. when your vocals are screaming and your drums are bashing insanely no need for "Room". You want to fill it up so it's insane
I will use Sm57 and e906 or some ribbon or LDC depending, and use V30s and Vet30 or Governor or cream back, gt65, greenbacks, or whatever and vary it up to make it amazing and use the more high frequency signal on the edge and the more mid focused in the center. That gives the exciting stereo and mono punch. I have a slant cab with 4 different speakers that I have used each speaker and did spreads of all 4 mics at times and then reversed the spread for the 2nd take. It is amazing what that can do for your sound, makes it never thin or spikey.
Assuming these are rhythm guitars, if you want to stay out of the way of the vocals and solos panned to the center, pan both mics from one take left and the other take’s tracks right. If you pan a take’s mics opposite each other, even though the mics are different, it will sound more mono.
Two mics on one performance, panned hard left and right will collapse to mono (unless it’s a dual cabinet with stereo effects blah blah blah). The thickness in a multi tracked guitar performance comes from the inconsistencies of the multiple performances. If you dual mic the cabinet for tone, and do multiple performances of the part I think I’d still pan each performance hard left and right, but alternate the panning with each subsequent track, for example if you’re using a 57 and 414, track one would be 57L, 414R, track two would be 414L, 57R.
One take to the left. One take to the right. Blend the 2 mics on each side to get the sound you want. Assuming they are different mics, make one more prominent on the left and the other more prominent on the right
This is a good tip, thank you. I was just unsure if I would mix the mics from a take together or not.
I would second this tip - I started my recording journey when I was really young, and when you’re using two mics to record a guitar cab, it’s best to think of them as a single microphone. I still often use a summing mixer and just commit to the blend right from the jump.
Using a summing mixer and committing is super smart and efficient - sometimes we get lost down the rabbithole of perfection, but tbh, especially with source tone, so much of that is gonna be shaped and cut away while mixing, whether through eq or mb compression.
Any ways to speed up the process, learn the sounds you like, commit to them, AND save dsp, are always dope.
I'd say maybe even record both into your daw, resample it as the blend, and then freeze the original tracks. That way if down the mix, something is weird, you can unfreeze, go back, and tweak the source. It'll save dsp and let you keep working
And I’m always recording a DI track alongside that sum so if I want to I can go back and re-amp if needed.
U smart smart dood
I'd kind of go off of this and say, play with the balance of one in mono C, find a healthy blend that shapes a great overall tone, and then you can use the same blend levels on your other track! Pan it back hard L/R, this is exactly what an IR will do if using a plugin. You don't need the mics to be at different levels, especially if you like the tone! Though it can be interesting, all depends on the type of mix you want.
A lot of old-school metal albums would have one guitarist R, one L, and sometimes they'd have different rigs, which is where some of that philosophy comes from. A lot of modern metal records will use the same IR panned hard L/R so that it's one, massive, full stereo sound, and then add the harmonic richness and variance (that'd normally come in a record from the other mic placements) by dialing in the low/high mids of the bass (200ish-800ish). That way there's sonic variance, but the variance is in the center. All depends on the mix!
1) If the capsules were not phase aligned while tracking make sure to fix phase.
2) Find the blend of the two mics on each take you prefer then pan them together.
Sometimes I make one guitar L-C and the other C-R spread, that way both guitars are stereo and mono at the same time filling it even more. That's with 2 different mics on 2 different speakers but all phase matched. Very massive sounding.
What genre? I could see it with acoustic solo stuff, but that'd be a lot of space taken in a metal or rock mix
Hardcore punk, metal, industrial etc. when your vocals are screaming and your drums are bashing insanely no need for "Room". You want to fill it up so it's insane
Interesting! I only keep high layers or solos panned c and I mostly mix djent and nu-metal esque stuff. I'll have to give it a try
I will use Sm57 and e906 or some ribbon or LDC depending, and use V30s and Vet30 or Governor or cream back, gt65, greenbacks, or whatever and vary it up to make it amazing and use the more high frequency signal on the edge and the more mid focused in the center. That gives the exciting stereo and mono punch. I have a slant cab with 4 different speakers that I have used each speaker and did spreads of all 4 mics at times and then reversed the spread for the 2nd take. It is amazing what that can do for your sound, makes it never thin or spikey.
Assuming these are rhythm guitars, if you want to stay out of the way of the vocals and solos panned to the center, pan both mics from one take left and the other take’s tracks right. If you pan a take’s mics opposite each other, even though the mics are different, it will sound more mono.
I have used that for hardcore punk, metal, and industrial (Ministry) styles
I would just hard pan and only use 1 mic for each take, probably
A guitar take recorded with two mics is still just one guitar take.
Pan the guitar takes.
Two mics on one performance, panned hard left and right will collapse to mono (unless it’s a dual cabinet with stereo effects blah blah blah). The thickness in a multi tracked guitar performance comes from the inconsistencies of the multiple performances. If you dual mic the cabinet for tone, and do multiple performances of the part I think I’d still pan each performance hard left and right, but alternate the panning with each subsequent track, for example if you’re using a 57 and 414, track one would be 57L, 414R, track two would be 414L, 57R.