The process of getting excellent-sounding heavy rhythm guitars to sit well in a mix using amp sims is a complex topic, with a few different layers. Here’s each step, in chronological order, that makes a big difference in the end result.

Gain staging

The first thing to consider is gain staging. It’s been video-essayed to death at this point, so I won’t go into too much depth here - but as a general rule of thumb, you want to chug on a palm muted low power chord as hard as possible to set your input level on your audio interface. Increase the gain on your preamp until it’s just below red (clipping.) That will ensure the optimal signal-to-noise ratio. There’s a myth that’s still going around, that even I was convinced of for a while, that you should leave your input gain on zero. This is not true. You want the hottest signal you can get without clipping, while playing a palm-muted chug.

I’m Alan, a musician, audio engineer, record label guy, and writer. This is my blog. The purpose of it is to teach myself how to build and publish simple static websites, keep friends in the loop by posting updates about my music projects, and to talk about my books, when I have finished books to promote.

The newest thing on the horizon is a book that I’ve started writing. It’s a companion piece to the upcoming Pull The Strings album, which has yet to be fully announced. I can say that the first taste of it will be out before the end of the year, as part of a cool project at the label that I’m excited to announce.