looks like you need some nice pre-amps there Neps!...

So Tailon, basically what you're saying is... throw everything away except the neck ?

yeah, facebook ain't cutting it... ?

Sadly what Matt is saying is true.

On learning producing.... best way as suggested earlier is to job shadow with current producers in our country and to listen to music and the elements in music.

How does the guitar sound, how does the drums sound to you, where does the vocals sit, in what context is the band playing, what feeling do you get when you listen to a specific song? All questions that you have to consult when you're listening to britney spears or to Opeth. Does that sound translate?

And then asking yourself and the band/artist. What sound will suit the genre that you are looking at producing and what you can add or take away to make the music exceptional for the target market that they are aiming for.

I hear so many bands that want to go for the 'live sounding' feel on their record and they run to studio and record it in a week, mix it in a week and have it mastered locally and it doesn't sound like 'seether', because they have not done their homework and because Seether's records were produced by Howard Benson, Mixed by Chris Lord Alge and mastered by Tom Baker, 3 HUUUUGE names in the American industry, who all charge accordingly to their talent (a whole lot of money, maybe even as much as the average house X 2 in south africa... for the entire record). This being said, A producers role, in my honest opinion is to know which studios to track at, putting together a business plan for the band regarding the recording process, a time schedule and going into the band/artists practises and knowing what they want, what you(the producer) expects from them and being well versed in their material. Even a preproduction could be done at home and presented to you(the producer) to listen to and to brainstorm how you will make the artist/band's record sound much better than it currently does. Getting the right mix engineer, getting the right mastering engineer and what record label to present it to, IF the band wants to be signed and not stay independent.

the producer's role(in my opinion) is to know music, from the engineering and mixing aspect, to the songwriting process, what the artist wants, what the artist needs to get the result they want as well as the business side of things(when it comes to WHO you are going to use to make your bands product sound like they want it to).

the PODX3/XT/XTPRO/TonePort etc. is a great all round unit for high gain tones, given that you have the metal amp packs etc. installed(comes with X3).

The best way to get a really solid tone is to add a Tube Screamer in front of this. This tightens up most riffage for guitar tones and you don't need to run your guitar amp head that you've chosen (Mississippi criminal, Treadplate, L6 Big Bottom etc.) I have found that you really need to play around with the Presence and High's to get the tone to cut through, also I only use the Treadplate 4x12 (vintage 30's cab) with most of the preset amp models, most of the time the cabs that line6 have provided sound nasal and honky.

Quite recently I have been using BOOGEX VST Plugin (free) and a cab impulse called ThisOne.wav made by a guy called GuitarHack on the Andy Sneap forums. Its a mesa boogie cab that he modeled and it sounds waaay better than the line 6 cabs provided.

it comes down to personal taste and what tone you're going for, chorus might add the 'sway' effect to your tone and it will sound underwaterish or toiletish if you dial in too much mix.

thanks matt... ?

only compress where needed... otherwise, automate volume...

I have found myself not compressing anything in recordings lately, except a vocal, drum buss and very slight 2:1 on my master buss, just to tighten up the track's bottom end, if it was loose at all. I also set the release setting to the same milliseconds as the BPM of the song so that it doesn't sound too pumpy.

I have also emailed and liaised with the engineers who have worked with Paramore, Breaking Benjamin, The Almost, Underoath in regards to compression and what they use, and how they compress. These guys are literally slamming a lot of things just to make the transients pop out at you and in mastering the transients are tamed again, making the entire record sound like its attacking your face and ears. Good? Bad? I have no idea, I still listen to my dad's old Zeplin LP's and stand in awe of bonham's drum sound and Jimmy Page's guitar sound for that era. No Sampling, No Digital Editing... just pure music. recorded to tape, printed to LP. Huge dynamic range.

www.toontrack.com <- Drumtracker
converts Drums into Midi for you...

www.stevenslatedrums.com
Best sounding drum samples in the world... hands down...

do what I do... use those 2 and find a medium between acoustic VS Samples, bob's your uncle...

Alternatively, If you have EZdrummer or Superior 2 or BFD you can actually just midi-out into those and shape your drums how you want them to sound and fix them up via midi, without the hassles of phasing and hours of editing...

Ribbon Mics:

A ribbon microphone is a type of dynamic microphone that uses a thin aluminum, duraluminum or nanofilm ribbon placed between the poles of a magnet to generate voltages by electromagnetic induction.
( Wikipedia )

Ribbon mics tend to give you a very neutral and natural sound and they sound FANTASTIC.

Most ribbon microphones are in figure-8 configurations. Ribbon microphones sound on acoustic instruments, in stereo configurations for live recording of acoustic and jazz groups, and as drum overheads are amazing. Due to their sensitivity, ribbon microphones aren't recommended for harsh, high-SPL environments. Figure-8 microphones are commonly used in "mid-side" recording setups.

Ribbons on guitar cabs sound great!