Recording and Mixing Lead Guitar parts

[doofie84]

My title for this might be abit misleading, but Im having trouble with this..basiclly I want to know how to set up a guitar tone that is very lead oriantated and how to get that tone on track and mixed well.
I thought that it was just a case of adding more treble but I still cant get a tone that really stands out from my more standard rythm tone.
Im mainly into heavy metal and when Im playing power chords that go from root sixth string to root fifth string, I really want those higher chords to stand out.

Any advice on this either in regards to amp tone or recording mixing.

Cheers

Chris D

[Ten Flew South]

Right so you need to master three distinctly seperate processes.

1. YOu need to learn how to get a good lead guitar sound, your first stop should be the technique section of the guitar portion of the forum, you'll receive an overwhelming amount of information from that lot.

2. You need to learn how to faithfully reproduce the tone when recording. Are you mic'ing up an amp or going through a unit like Guitarport?

3. You need to learn to mix. It's not really as simple as saying 'this setting for guitar' because how you treat the guitar is completely dependent on what else you have going on in the track, but you can pretty safely high-pass filter it at 80hz for a start. If you choose the right tone for the track to begin with, you shouldn't need to do too much eq'ing, but more than likely a spot of compression, maybe a lot if your technique is a bit random.

But ask questions about tone in the guitar bit, then come over here for mixing and we'll have you home in time for tea.

[Danny1969]

As with anything mix wise if you want something to stand out without excessive volume then you need to carve out a space for it EQ wise. That basically means cutting certain frequencies on the other guitars so the lead guitar can be heard clearly without clashing with the backing.
In terms of EQ boost anything between 1K and 4K will make the guitar more prominent as this mid frequency is what our ears are most sensitive to. Too much will make it terrible though, like a half cocked wah pedal. As TFS says you can normally cut everything below 80 to 100Hz to clean things up and a further cut at 200 to 250Hz will also help in terms of clarity.

Remember to mix down as well, as in lead guitar solo starts, rhythm guitars drop down in the mix slightly.

And arrangement, solo starts rhythm guitars simplify in their arrangment as to not steal focus from the solo.

And Garnish, most guitar solo's will have small to large amounts of delay, sometimes reverb as well to thicken up the sound. Use automation to make the effect less noticeable at the end of phrases. Other effects are also often used.

[Ziggs65]

Here's a tip I've found useful.
If your rhythm guitar is distorted, use a cleaner lead sound.

Mush does not mix well with mush.

[*Noodles*]

Using delays and such can bring it out a little in the mix, with headphones anyway..

It means that it doesn't have to be as "loud" but you'll still hear it clearly, and making it stereo will give a really cool effect for those ripping leads.

Beware, too much and you'll sound like you're in the 80s.