Recording guitar feedback

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So like, yea, thats what I want to do. I want those sustained howls and crackly noises when I move the axe closer to my amp sort of deal. I am yearning for more of a live feel to my terrible playing. I keep thinking Mogwai or Arab Strap for some reason.

I have tried the freeware plugs like guitar suite Voxengos tube amp which sound good but none of them make me sound like a man outta control when I turn it up to 11 and stand in front of it.

I guess the best way to do it is to mic a cabinet and then record the amp & ambience through that right? I have done this and its been good so far.

Is there another way people have done this that produces the results I am looking for?

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I have a feeling any latency will kill that technique: valve amps and volume are the key..

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713 TSB wrote:I guess the best way to do it is to mic a cabinet and then record the amp & ambience through that right?
Pretty much the *only* way, so far as I'm concerned.

At least so far as dynamic feedback. There are some effects (e.g. PredatOhm) that will simulate feedback in a more static fashion, and I have an old Boss stomp-box that does a cheap version of it, but I like being able to move the guitar around in the projection field to get different tones in a more "playable" manner (a la Adrian Belew).

- m
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You're absolutely right, nothing can beat the real thing.

Instead of miking the cabinet I use a loadbox inbetween the amp and the speaker cabinet. Its like a DI that works on speaker signal. No more problems with mic locations etc.

Also, it works with the speaker disconnected. No good if you want the feedback, but I can record the real amp set at 11 without disturbing the neighbours.

Koch has a very good one (pricy!! but well worth it)

Edit: search for "Koch Loadbox" in the "everything else" forum, and you will find some cheap Behringer stuff that might do rather the same thing.
Last edited by C00kie on Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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713 TSB wrote:I want those sustained howls and crackly noises when I move the axe closer to my amp sort of deal.
You threaten your amp with an axe? Just to make it "howl" and "crack"? Pervert!

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You might not be able to beat the real thing, but a little bird tells me that a certain freeware development consortium might be developing such a thing...

Greg
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believe it or dont but I can get feed back through my Jstation and Sonar 4...

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Feedback is possible even with ampsims like guitar suite's jcm900. Low latency and high moniture volume help definately. However when I was asked to record some feedback samples I used my tube amp.

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Wow you guys, thanks. I guess I was barking (howling) up the right tree.

That load box is not an option for me right now, but will keep it in mind for the future.

As for now I will keep playing around with it in my room to get some decent sound...

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As someone who uses a lot of feedback themselves, I believe I can offer some useful advice...

1. As you and others have stated, nothing will give you a better feedback sound than turning up a (tube) amp and getting close to it with your guitar.

2. One option I have explored is using one of those really small "pocket amps"...Danelectro makes one and there are others like the Pignose. They aren't too expensive, and they will feedback easily if you crank it and put it next to your guitar (aim the pickups at it)...plus the volume isn't so loud that you will piss off your neighbors.

3. I suggest tuning your guitar into an open tuning before attempting feedback. Sonic Youth, Band of Susans, the Velvet Underground, and Glenn Branca all used this technique effectively. This also allows you to get some cool sounds by banging on the body of the guitar or on the strings with screwdrivers, mallets, etc.

4. Another way to get a My Bloody Valentine type of feedback "pad" is to stack multiple versions of the same guitar track on top of each other, at slightly different intervals. Just open the same track several times in Fruity Loops or some such program, and load multiple copies of the same loop or noise in (be sure to add envelopes to stop loop clicks). Add delay, flange, phaser, more distortion, etc. and you can get a dense guitar noise pad.

5. If you have a delay, a distortion, and a volume pedal, another trick is to set the delay to high feedback settings (adjust the rate as you like), put the volume pedal next in the chain, and finally the distortion. In this way, yoiu can build up a dense layer of sound, and then fade the result up using the volume pedal. You can leave the distortion on, or engage it after raising the volume level for a "distortion blast" sound.

Hope these techniques are helpful to you.

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Hi there pgarrison.

Wow.

I am still taking your exxellent ideas in and thinking, thinking thinking...

Thanks again.

Say does anyone have a rockin tube amp I can borrow?

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I bought a cheap-o ART tube mp, ran a big muff through it with the gain maxed and the output level reasonable, then use an ebow. Next, I usually use that octafuzz plugin (somewhere on the list here.) Fun stuff. Good MBV wall of noise sound.

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Waiting for that Betabugs plug.

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Yeah, you might be able to create certain feedback-type effects with post-processing, but since feedback affects the instrument itself as you play, for the most part, it has to be there while you track.

If loudness is the issue, there are a few things you can try.

I double pgarrison's suggestion of trying small speakers -- strangely enough they can give much stronger feedback than big loud speakers, particularly the squealy microphonic type. I've often used tiny computer/discman-type speakers. But be warned, they often won't survive for long.
If you don't like commiting your amped sound to tape (hard disk), remember you can split the signal from your guitar, sending one line to your amp for the feedback while you play, but recording direct from the other line.
Also, making physical contact between your guitar & amp works well -- for example with your headstock resting on top of the amp.

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713 TSB wrote: Say does anyone have a rockin tube amp
Yes 8)
713 TSB wrote:I can borrow?
No :P

Sorry! :lol:

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