u/CriticalSovereignty

Recently someone posted about well mixed songs on here and someone mentioned “Toxic” by Britney Spears. I listened to it on my monitors and I definitely heard a lot of elements that I hadn’t before. What surprised me was how loud, present, and punchy each element was. It was like it was slammed up against the speaker but it didn’t sound squashed, at most there was a little pleasant distortion.

Can anyone speak to the process of how to get elements so loud and present like that? I’m guessing it’s got something to do with compression but I’d appreciate any specifics anyone could offer. I’m just trying to learn. Thanks.

Does anyone have any tips or best practices for not having an amp sim sound like an amp sim? As a guitarist, I find recording so frustrating because I can’t easily dial in the tone I want like I can with a good tube amp. In the box it just sounds flat and digital. With every other aspect of recording (bass, vocals, drums, synths), I can get pretty close to what I want, but I’m just not satisfied with my guitar tracks.

I’m not in a place where I can record a great amp in a great room with great mics, so I’m stuck with amp sims. And while I know I can never get that big, 3D sound you can get from recording a great room, I feel like I should be able to get closer than this.

I’ve get a Gibson LP R7 going through a Helix and Apollo interface. I run the signal through a hi-z splitter so I can capture the Helix wet signal, Helix DI signal, and I’ll run a third signal through a preamp in the Unison slot on the Apollo. The DI signals I get always sound great.

As for the amp sims, I’ve tried a bunch: Helix native, Guitar Rig Pro, UAD amp sims, Saturn II, Logic stock amps. They all have their specific use cases but I feel like I’m hunting for the right preset rather than crafting a sound.

As for other signal processing I’ve tried preamps, compressors, EQ, saturation. Before, after, and everywhere in between. I’ve created summing tracks with multiple takes so I can run different “mic placements” to try and simulate the space of an actual room. Nothing quite gets there.

It’s don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it. I just want to plug in and have it sound great. Is that too much to ask?