Tutorial - Tracking DI Guitars - Video from 2013

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This is one of the video diary entries that was included in the Feared Vinter Deluxe Edition in 2013. It shows how I go about tracking guitars for albums. I track DI to later on reamp everything in the mixing stage.
To get the other two videos of the video diary get the Deluxe Edition of Vinter from here:
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[@JordanRobinson]

Hey Ola, I think it would be extremely helpful to many of your viewers if you did a series of creating a song from beginning to end, with all the small details included such as bass drum eq, guitar fx, etc. Thanks in advance

[@Julian66666666666666]

"when I track rythm guitars and when I wuueuwuwueueuwue"

[@afnan789]

Wow. Good Idea. just send the raw track out to amp or axe fx via analogue output. so we do not need DI in front of the preamp and link to amp. Im almost getting a DI just for recording. Thanks Ola!!

[@blackjackmcgack]

Water and fucking coffee sitting on top of a FUCKING AXE-FX!

[@noir4659]

I've been letting toilet paper sit on top of my Randall Satan ever since I had it lol

[@XMetalChefX]

blackjackmcgack Gangsta as F**k.

[@danieljwillen1993]

Ola I would maybe consider the Focusrite interface. It's perfect because you can just use monitor speakers. Not sure if what you use does that but just a thought.

[@nevgilhooly3382]

Do you have to adjust your playing when going DI as you can’t use your ear to modulate your playing in response to what an amp is doing to any sloppy playing/harmonics/ringing etc.

[@TurboCult]

I thought I already knew how to track DI guitars, but this video was very helpful. Monitoring through your Axe-Fx instead of within your DAW because of latency is a great idea. Recording one riff at a time and muting the other guitar tracks while you record are also great tips. I always struggled with recording tight performances because I had been doing the opposite of those things, and recording against latency was a pain in the ass. Thanks Ola. I'll try these ideas out.

[@nagol5178]

The problem I have with this, is I seem to play different with different amps. Very subtle nuances. It might be simply one little false harmonic that I wouldn't do with one tone, that I would with another tone. Although I do keep DI tracks just incase in the future I get some rig that I like more.

[@RiktigeKentsson]

Nice to see the work of a master :)

[@decadepasts]

I use Focusrite Control to route my first two outputs through my third output, which feeds into my reamp box. I use the output preset in Focusrite Control called System Playback. This way I'm able to channel my stems through my reamp box but the problem is that I have to solo the stem Channel in Reaper and mute the monitor in my miced channels, otherwise the entire mix comes out of the reamp box and out of my speakers.

[@JerEvil]

Awesome vid Ola! So I had never considered this but seems you have the whole album in one Logic project. I assume this way you can mix consistently across each song to streamline the process? Are you tracking to an external drive? If so is it Thunderbolt or USB 3? Thanks!

[@nguyenphambam]

How did Ola get Logic Pro X to record over his recording at 7:24 without making heaps of little 'take' tracks? He's also playing over his riff without logic recording anything!

[@BlakeMullens]

If John Petrucci played death metal 8:20

[@vice6650]

ecks dee

[@remnantsoftherising]

Hey Ola Englund, thanks for the awesome tutorial dude. I'm a little confused about the signal chain - how does the AxeFX monitor? Is it plugged in via USB and then the audio just sent out to your monitors? Wouldn't that make your Apogee redundant?

[@Famished_]

@Dylan Hunter Be nice to get an answer on that after all those years...

[@masterchain3335]

This is super late and I don't own a Quartet but I assume he's got an audio out that's monitoring directly (i.e. not coming from the DAW) running directly from the Apogee to the AxeFX which is running into a mixer. Then he probably has the other outputs from the Apogee also running to the mixer which has the mix from the DAW. Again, I don't know exactly how this would be configured on the Apogee but I would bet this is more or less how he does it.

[@musicman700]

why not use the DI track out of the Axe Fx? Is the DI signal better out of the Apogee? Thanks Ola!

[@OlaEnglund]

I think so!

[@milo90col]

You record all the album on the same logic file? And you do the same on all your albums?

[@OTCRock4one]

Wow! Apogee Quartet $1395.00 Nice vid! Thanks Ola!

[@waltersheens1087]

hey Ola, enjoyed the video thanks, just saying if you use a D.I. box with a ground function, in case of an electrical error in your home electrical system or gear....it prevents your gear and yourself being damaged by electricity. cheers.

[@walid7189]

wait wait wait, so... you plug in your guitar directly to your sound card and then use the outputs to the axefx inputs??? (i use a non amplified kemper and an apollo twin usb sound card - i connect my kemper to my soundcard).

[@jasonhorsley6820]

People honestly don't understand how much it truly takes to make this happen, and how intelligent one has to be to use all the hardware and software. The normal person just hears the greatness, but they don't have any idea just how tedious everything truly is. Even doing things part by part it still takes the intellect to manage everything and put it in order.

[@CliffThaRiff]

From what I understand, whenever you track DI guitars, it's good to have your DI level as loud as it can be without peaking. Is that a good general rule of thumb?

[@MrBrian-fq4lr]

CliffThaRiff Yes. The purpose of doing that is to maximize your signal to noise ratio.

[@FlankinspanK]

agreed

[@solitude208]

Do u still use apogee? Ever since using the Ensemble, I've absolutely fell in love with Apogee's converters and pre's! Especially on drums too, if it comes down to it, crappy ad/da and great mics VS Apogee and Cheap Mics ($100 MXL) and the Apogee takes the cake.

[@goatsurgeon]

You know, I actually need to quad track, I think. My guitars are getting buried by bass and drums in volume. The EQ is spot on but they’re so quiet, they feel far away.

[@LightCyrus]

Trying some different IRs might help.

[@Synathidy]

@@LightCyrus Totally. It can change things DRASTICALLY. I've tried tons of different impulses imitating different speakers and microphones from different positions. They can make a huge difference, and if you have a cab plugin that can utilize two or more impulses simultaneously, you can mimic the analog process of pairing an amp head with different combinations of speakers and microphone setups. It can be overwhelming, but the time of experimenting is worth it.

[@Elmapachito33]

Thanks for posting all this videos bro , very helpful 👍🏼🍻

[@Piekartz]

Been a great help, thanks!

[@PETROSBULLET]

awesome riff man

[@burningdarkness1308]

Awesome on every level! Doesn't having the whole album as a single logic file create a ton of extra cpu/memory overhead instead of having separate files for each song? I would be worried about the file getting corrupted and losing all the songs instead of just one song.

[@JoshuaDalviken]

+RiverblacK In my experience, the length of tracks doesn't tax the CPU nearly as much as the *number* of tracks, especially if you're using multiple plugins on each track. Although I imagine that an entire album in one project would still be pretty CPU-intensive... That's where having a good recording computer comes in!

[@masterchain3335]

It shouldn't really tax the CPU, which is really only concerned with how much is happening at the same time. Also, it's good habit to occasionally save a new project as you're going along, so if something gets messed up in one version you have previous versions to go back to. That said, I've been recording for over 20 years now and I've literally never had a file get "corrupted"... I don't think that's really a thing. I personally have different projects for each song but I can see if you want a consistent sound/template for all the songs on an album it could really help to have them all in the same project.

[@nagol5178]

What are you doing for re amping? Are you using the Apogee or a re amp box? The Apogee can be set to a good signal on the output for re amping right?

[@cpamiseso]

Wall of sound! :D Nice.

[@TylerSocholotuik]

Wouldn't it it easier to plug into the guitar input of your Axe FX and then record your dry signal with S/PDIF? I am doing this with my POD HD500X and it seems to work fine. Is there a significant difference in quality when recording a digital signal?

[@wolfmannoon]

Hi I'm one of your subscribers. I love the tutorial on tracking di guitars I have metal drum loops that I use any pointers on how to record them correctly? Many thanks.

[@sunnymittal1906]

I'm sure Ola has some ideas but in the meantime, checkout some of Misha Mansoor's videos on drums. He's also brilliant.

[@slade3x]

Hey Ola, I have been getting a lot of information from your videos that is helping me record better. I thank you very much for your hard work! I was wondering if i could bother you with a simple question. Watching this video how you are tracking parts in on guitar. What is your snap to grid settings? I noticed when you show how to delete a mistake and just record at the end of the cut your start position go`s back into the 1st riff some rather then just record from the end of the previous track. I was wondering how you have things set up to do that. It appears that it played part way in from the 1st riff then didn`t start recording until it reached the spot to start recording. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you for your great talent! Slade

[@ayeapprove]

slade3x I was wondering how that works in Reaper. I don't know how good it will sound, if you cut a riff in the middle like that an record over it though. I always crossfade 2 cuts a little bit, so it sounds more natural.

[@mksmkv]

have you ever thought about using your axe fx to recording di guitars? ive seen it done before it cuts out the need for an amp sim.

[@XMetalChefX]

What would be the difference between recording through an axe fx and going to studio monitors, and just using a direct monitor feature on the interface? I have a pod hd prox and I go direct from the pod hd to the interface, but just make it so that i only monitor the input signal.

[@robmlisanti]

Do you always record dry? I would think it be less inspiring

[@temptor7585]

When recording guitars DI (metal style guitar playing going int o a Presonus 192 Mobile interface). Should I Crank the volume on the GUITAR all the way up , then turn up the gain on my interface, or is it the other way around? Do I need aDI box? or should i just get a tube preamp? The Presonus 192 Mobile interface has good preamps and converters and it sounds great, so maybe I don't need a DI box??? Not really sure, I need some help! Thanks in advance!

[@aalbassplayer]

boss, how many sets of string you need to record an album like that?

[@sunnymittal1906]

You're brilliant as everyone knows but the most enlightening thing in this video was, "Who gives a shit..just record part by part." Might be obvious to everyone on the planet but me but I have always thought it'd be easier to record longer chunks, if not the whole song, at once...and for my latest project, I did small snippets and it took about 25% of the time.

[@timlingebark2007]

Do you need a di box before you audio interface or is it unnecessary? im not very happy with my guitar sound when i play directly to my audio interface witch is a Focusrite 2i4 or whatever.. sounds kind of cheap.. any suggestions?

[@gingataff]

@ola Those DIs look pretty loud, what are they peaking at!

[@subhamgogoi3989]

Man, after recording different parts of a song separately how do you mix everything up so that it sounds like one single song?

[@AdamRainStopper]

I *can't* just do guitar parts with a bunch of punch-ins spliced together. Maybe it's because my style (punk rock and some sort of hardcore/thrash type shit) is different, but I also track into a digital "console" thing (Tascam DO01FX) so I have limited tracks (8) available while tracking, at least until I import the tracks I've already recorded to my pc. It's no big deal to me, if I can play it, I can do it one take (not always the first take, but it doesn't need to be done in short segments), and when I fuck up, I just delete the track, check my tuning again, and start over. I've never written a song long enough for this to actually be a hardship.

[@noir4659]

When you chug the strings as hard as Ola does and if you don't have an evertune bridge on your guitar, you sort of have to do small segments just in order to keep yourself in tune throughout the whole song.

[@A-deebeedee]

Ola how do you route axe fx into apogee? just one of outs on apogee to input of axe fx? or then output from axe fx to another apogee input? i mean, how to hear the signal from axe fx, and still listening the metronome for example, and whole mix or drums etc.. so why i'm interesting - i want to buy apogee duet, but i don't know - does it 2ins and 2 outs are enough for that connection scheme? Thanks a lot man!

[@PainterDans]

I would go from the apogee to the axe and back to the apogee where you can hear a custom mix between your recorded daw tracks and your latency free live guitar monitor through your headphones. Your interface has to have direct monitoring

[@omarsharif927]

Cool how many tracks for solos and lead

[@stevenmarque8260]

Very helpful!

[@nasmetalVOX]

***** QUESTION! Is it better to run ezmix on each individual rhythm track vs putting those 4 guitar rhythms on the same bus running ezmix? great video thanks!

[@olejason]

I think it would depend on what you want. 4 separate instances would allow you to use different presets if you wish but would obviously tax your system resources more than a single instance on the bus.

[@nasmetalVOX]

olejason thanks for the tip. i asked that question one day prior to purchasing exmix2 so i didn't really know what it all had to offer. i can definitely see using different settings on individual tracks, or bus'ing rhythm guitar tracks together if i wanted them sound the same. cheers!

[@jwspitz35]

9:21-9:30 is absolutely fucking true, thank you Ola

[@TonyLorinz]

Send new videos about di guitars and plugins!!!!!!!

[@paveldev4393]

What preset has been selected ezmix? I can not see in a video))

[@marianogodoy696]

hi ola! Might you tell me that recording program you use? thanks you!

Ola was innocent haha

[@KNGxARK]

What's the first video like what's part 1

[@AlexJohn2us]

THANKYOU x

[@DonVictor9]

How do you record solos with wah?

[@RMN505]

considering the amp sim re-amp: how exactly would you do that (CPU problems)? are you going to put an amp sim insert over the DI tracks, and just let it sit there (uses a lot of CPU)?

[@joshikus]

You can do this a few ways, depending on your DAW. For example, in REAPER, what I do is have, for each Guitar (L & R) Parent folder track Child DI Track with a send to ↓ (while not being sent to parent folder track Child Track that has the Amp Sim Insert. This way, if you are concerned about CPU usage you can render the Child Track that has the Amp Sim insert to save resources, while still having the availability of the DI track to do with what you please. Of course, this would mean that you are satisfied with the settings of any of the inserts / effects. Then, generally I would put any EQ compression FX on the Parent Folder track as sometimes I'll double track.

[@metallpt147]

Is there a way of recording a DI track while having some kind of playback running into an amp or something so I can hear distortion even though I won’t be recording or using that sound? It’ll just be a reference then use EZMix2 to actually change the amp sounds

[@almostaskater133]

If you use a doubler pedal like the mimiq you could run a cable to your interface and one to your amp. Those pedals are used to split the guitar signal to two separate amp rigs so that’ll work for ya. If you haven’t figured something out yet.

[@donkiedik]

Hey Ola I've studied every reamping video on youtube and I just cant find the answer i'm looking for. Can you please explain how to send my recorded Di track in logic to my axe fx ultra for reamping? I recorded the Di through an interface and I know the signals not gonna be the greatest but its all i got at the moment. Hope this made sense, no body has made it completely clear to me. Keep doing you man!

[@ghettoshampoo]

He has a Torpedo Reload. You need a device that is either going to store the DI tracks them self, or route them out of the PC into the processor, back into the PC.

[@donkiedik]

lordofultima I plan on routing it from my mac to the axe fx back to the mac but i have no idea how to. thats where i am confused. Thanks for the help muh dude.

[@Wraithbound1]

Brandon Doing This link might be what you're looking for. wiki.fractalaudio.com/axefx2/index.php?title=Reamping

[@donkiedik]

Cody Weldon thanks that helped man!

[@MS.89]

Is there anyway to route the signal to an amp simulator, being that I don't have an AxeFX. Daw monitoring sucks. I have a 2i2 with the dm turned on but when I'm recording a guitar track, all I hear is the DI.

[@eggsamich]

+Mark Saunders so im in the same boat. just started messing around with di recording. i also have a 2i2. So i havent tried this yet, but im guessing the best way to do this with our hardware is to plug guitar straight into the 2i2 and have the audio recording into the daw on mute so you dont here the di signal and have the headphone jack output on the 2i2 route to your guitar amp input. second option, instead of using the headphone jack to monitor, send daw audio main output to only one of the 1/4 jacks output on the rear of the 2i2 and use the other 1/4 output to your guitar amp. again muting the audio being recorded in the daw but the dm signal path from the di going to the guitar amp. little messier set up that the first option but hey.... do what you have to. oh. third option would be to get a di box that basically splits the signal. one end going into the 2i2 and mute that signal and send the other output to your amp,....

[@SuperGuitarMark]

If someone can explain this to me, it would be awesome! When i try to play some of OLA's DI tracks into my amp (Mesa Roadster) from my sound card (Focusrite Saffire 6), The sound quality doesn't sound as good as my actual guitar signal. Same thing for my TC Electronics Ditto looper, when i record a loop on the modern high gain setting, the playback is muddier and less tight as the actual signal?

[@Nooneofconsequence47]

the impedance is different so the signal is hitting the amp differently. buy a reamp box and come out of the focusrite, into the reamp box, into the amp. the reamp box changes the impedance back to what it would be coming straight off your guitar.

[@down7unedpc740]

that noise at the beginning scared the shit out of me I thought my ear was exploding or some shit

[@CarnivorousRoach]

My di signal has too much bass in it (i'm recording guitars with focusrite 2i2 2nd gen) any idea why?

[@MinkinRoman]

Some options (you might need to combine some of them): 1. Lower gain on focusrite 2i2 2. Check if pick ups are too close to the strings, lower them (most likely this causing the issue) 3. Adjust tone control on guitar is there is one 4. Lower volume control on your guitar. (if steps above did not help means your guitar's signal is too string :)

[@Floral_Green]

I use that exact same interface; make sure the gain dial isn't flashing red or orange at any point while playing, as this indicates audio clipping.

[@nbhcchannel6573]

yeahhh, ahaak ahaaak :D

[@CunnyFunt92]

do you import your drum track from ez drummer?

[@phantasma669]

And i thought i was a lazy guy with all these punch in. It s good to see the lazy method used by pros

[@muaythai4lifelife]

Is it common to double track even solos? It's more difficult than the rhythm tracks. Thanx

[@ElioRigonat]

I double tracked my solos on an album (which got canceled because of our singers/rhythm guitarists severe sickness, but we're releasing a 3 song EP instead with vocals from our demo and the album later on. Trust me - it's not worth your time in the final mix because it will just sound as if you added reverb and some chorus... First, you need to track solos part by part just like when you track riffs because even a split of a second of difference will completely mess everything up - meaning you divide your solos into sections (talking about shredding here). All your bends must sound completely the same too, and you are limited in many ways - some stuff can't be replicated so you are forced to exclude that from your playing. Just beef up your tone and record it once. It takes me only one or 2 takes for a perfect clean mind blowing solo. It takes me 30-50 takes to double track it minimum.

[@muaythai4lifelife]

***** Thanx for the explanation and advices ;) got it! Randy Rhoads used to multitrack solos too, if I recall correctly, he was very precise. I've never tried myself yet but I suppose it is a pain just with simple sections, a nightmare, as you say with shred fullspeed and accurate runs. Thanx!

[@ElioRigonat]

muaythai4lifelife Glad to be of help :) It's probably the last time i multitracked solos xD something that would have taken me 1 day of recording took me a week and i lost my mind. - the end result not being noticeably better. Though I did "level up" in the terms of playing in that week. Recording 7 hours a day accurate to milisecond.

[@muaythai4lifelife]

***** all experience ;) cheers

[@guitarfusion6659]

I don,t have latency when monitoring software

[@Logstudent1988]

only if u had a god pc.

[@noir4659]

but with an external gear like the Axe fx you can do tracking at 1024 buffer size. Maybe you feel like nah 32 is good, but if your session already has like 30 tracks each having multiple plugins on the channel strip your computer would end up crashing, which never happens at 1024

[@bruhmusic6999]

what daw are you using?

[@MetalTalk666]

Why can't you just copy and paste the tracks to add more?

[@dracula7919]

Because you have to use different but complimentary layers. If you use the exact same recording as layers, there is no value you gain from that. All it does is make it louder and muddy up your mix. Change subtle things about each recording. (tone, guitar, pickups, mic positioning, etc..) that way you get really wide and thick guitars. Obviously pan them hard left & right.

[@MetalTalk666]

@@dracula7919 that must be why my mixes sound thin. Thanks

[@dracula7919]

@@MetalTalk666 No problem. Let me know if I can help you out with anything else regarding mixing/layering. :)

[@mindrust8]

Has an AxeII and using it only for monitoring. WeW L A D

[@kepatati9146]

Have you shared any of your tones? (Kemper profiling amp)

[@OlaEnglund]

Yes check out my website olaenglund.com

[@haleyhiatt6307]

Ola Englund bf

[@Adieu]

hi ola i just purchased ex mix2 and i wanted to ask. how do i route my axefx to the audio interace like you did? would really like to use it like this. thanks !

[@noir4659]

I dunno if the Quartet has like a "thru" output that sends out clean, unprocessed input signal or not, but you can always hook up your interface to an Axe fx through digital I/O, just need to set the output right.

[@Adieu]

+Noir thanks man just figured it out last month on the axefx forum. had to buy a new scarlett interface.

[@akaizenso]

Hi man. I have the same issue. How you did it?. I want to record in my DAW a dry track and at the same time, monitor through the axe fx. Thanks a lot.

[@Adieu]

Diego López hey man i found a thread on the fractal axefx forum !! i think it shuld be titled reamping with axefx

[@akaizenso]

any help?. I just read so many threads. I can´t found anything. Please!

[@jamieparker99]

So many people put so much effort into tracking with latency, they just want to hear the processing while their playing, they need to understand that will never happen amywhere else than live, and then theirs room latency from you standing 10-20ft from everybody else, imagine that nightmare, everyday lol

[@AmrilAdib]

Nasi kandaq..

[@Carnstein]

Sounded like the playback after quad tracking was in mono.

[@OlaEnglund]

Correct, it's just the iPhone camera audio. In mono. Listen to the album if you want to hear it. The song is called Erased

[@Carnstein]

Ah I thought you had done a screen capture and wondered why the output would be recorded in mono, did not realize it was the camera audio.

[@rockstarali99]

I've started using FL Studio 11 for my recording with EZDrummer 2 with quite some enthusiasm. But, I don't understand shit. I'd be glad if someone helped me record my guitars... ;_;

[@ArjitSeth]

FL Studio is crap for recording guitars and core audio production overall IMO. I've just started using Samplitude Pro X after 3 days of trying to figure out FL, and is much more friendly and less complicated. FL has a great piano roll for drum programming, though. Point is, get a better DAW.

[@rockstarali99]

Arjit Seth I'd like if you could be a little specific. I mean like I haven't really experienced heavy latencies with FL Studio and Backing Tracks recording issues. Also, I only play guitar, so for song making I use EZDrummer 2, so please suggest a software with better compatibility. But overall if you have a better DAW in mind, could you please share and help me? It'd be really appreciated... :)

[@ArjitSeth]

I suggested Samplitude Pro X. It's similar to Logic's interface and has a very friendly workstation. FL Studio follows some weird system of using the Edison plugin to record tracks and drag them onto a "track playlist", which makes simultaneous production cumbersome. Latency issues won't be present as long as your processor and RAM aren't heavily taxed by some other applications. You can load EZDrummer onto Samplitude as a VSTi (Software instrument) and use the piano roll to create drum tracks.

[@rockstarali99]

Thanks a bunch, mate. I really appreciate your help! :)

[@ArjitSeth]

Actually, screw Samplitude. I just got Cubase and it's epic!

[@ezequielcoloradopaz3555]

what DAW ? is Logic Pro?

[@mcg413]

Ola fucking up? Next you're going to tell me that girls poop.

[@tooleralusaenima8601]

I can't afford any of these things for recording :\

[@GrooveDuude]

If you have a Mac or iPad. Garage band and bias will cost u less than $20! Have fun!

[@steelstrings500]

WTF? You're using the S7G?

[@OlaEnglund]

This video is from one year ago. Before I received my Washburn guitars

[@steelstrings500]

Ola Englund Oooh ok then haha. I was actually wondering if this was shot long ago. BTW, love your tutorials!

[@elblopex]

love the way he fucked it up lol

[@thothblastbeast2]

yeah uh huh uh huh

[@user-ji8tr8kw1t]

Ола на герыче сидит конкретно ;/

[@FDCSTUDIO]

money, money and more money!!! NEVER!!!

[@ehambright]

Made me pee a little thank you

[@okonomiyakki3007]

second

[@TrueRattlehead]

You should rap lol

[@bobaattila6832]

Too much talk about bullsths, and no actual stuff

[@mksmkv]

have you ever thought about using your axe fx to recording di guitars? ive seen it done before it cuts out the need for an amp sim.