Michael Nielsen (Big Hairy Guitars ) Ask Me Anything?

Michael

AMA - routing when using pedals, amp switchers, attenuators... into recording gear. Would love a video on different ways to route into my apollo from pedal board or PowerStation. You have an amp switcher in your vids - how is it routed to the recording gear. Stuff like that.

thanks
 
BigHairyGuitars said:
Hi Michael. Thanks! I use Logic Pro X. I used ProTool in the 90's and 2000's, but then hit a point when I needed to upgrade and couldn't afford to stay in the ProTools ecosystem. I've been on Logic for well over 20 years. I don't really have to think when I'm working. The only bummer with it, is that it's SO configurable, that when you use Logic at someone else's place, it can be like using a completely different software. "How do I make this thing play!"
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. Long time Logic Pro user here too.

On the subject of guitar rack preamps, if you can find an old Jackson JX-3 I'd grab one. I believe Laney made them for Jackson at the time. 1992-93ish I believe. Like an idiot I sold my original one, and the replacement is barely hanging on. Epic 80's shred...even has a "shred" button on the front.
 
loowood said:
AMA, The right power supply (wall wart) for the A/DA MP-1 / MC-1 MIDI Foot Controller? The one I was trying to fix is beyond repair. Can you spare a link to one that will do the trick? Peace and you rock man!
Click to expand...
Found it on Amazon:
You still rock man!
 
Hi, Michael, first off, wanted to say: great channel, with content that I really never thought I’d find “out there”. Thanks, your vids are a ray of light. Question: have you ever played around with a Lexicon Vortex, or would you have one on the channel?
 
Hi Michael,

In a video you mentioned your had a PRS/Waves Gtr di, I've got one too but never end up using it because I get the same crappy sound going into my Presonus audiobox with our without it (could be the player :) What do you like about it and how can I get the benefit out of it?
 
BigHairyGuitars said:
I wouldn’t say that. If you look at the guitar as just a component of the big picture, it changes things. We get super nerdy about guitars, but that’s like a chef being really nerdy about the wine that pairs with the dish. There are other major elements in a mix that dictate how the guitar will be received. So the figuring out has always been about arrangement, and learning how the other instruments work. If the rest of the instruments sound great, it’s almost impossible to have a bad guitar sound.
Click to expand...

Love that. Michael. Shout it from the rooftops. I am guilty of this, too, and I think every guitar player gets way TOO
obsessed with "tone" in isolation. It's really a fool's game, and fails to address what you share above: that everything
impacts everything else. It's like putting oregano in your mouth to determine how much is needed (or not needed!)
on your Pizza or in your Marinara. ;)

Not that there is anything wrong with chasing tones in isolation, just that if one's aim is to play music with others,
or record complete tracks it is all about balancing the guitar with everything else going on.
 
Last edited:
Michael,

This is an awesome idea. Also, I love your channel. So informative and so great to have real helpful information from such a pro!!

Also love your playing, you are very talented.

Question....I use AxeFX for home recording and love the tones I get out of it and love to jam.

Recently got a Marshall DSL combo.....really dig the "nakedness" that a true tube amp gives in the room, but question is as follows:
How do I tighten up the amp and boost/overdrive without the mid bump that comes with a tube screamer and/or SD-1 (which I have).

looking for a pedal as I am running the Axe in the loop of the amp for delay etc....I know I could go 4 cable but seems easier and to put some kind of pedal in front. Do you have any suggestions for a boost that might give a few "eq" options including tightening up the low end.

Thanks in advance and I surely will be a regular here.
 
BigHairyGuitars said:
I wouldn’t say that. If you look at the guitar as just a component of the big picture, it changes things. We get super nerdy about guitars, but that’s like a chef being really nerdy about the wine that pairs with the dish. There are other major elements in a mix that dictate how the guitar will be received. So the figuring out has always been about arrangement, and learning how the other instruments work. If the rest of the instruments sound great, it’s almost impossible to have a bad guitar sound.
Click to expand...

Ah, interesting.
I guess you dissecting a whole lot of tones and tracks with great diligence on your channel led me to preconceptions about your approach to arranging and choosing tones.
It's soo much easier (and better for the channel statistics)(and admittedly good fun) to nerd out about gear and dem toanz than going big picture conceptual.

I have been around the block a bit and I know that Slipperman's mantra of "everything affects everything" is true.

I am super interested in your thought process about arranging, though I get that this is a bit vast of a topic.
If you could sprinkle a bit of that in upcoming videos, that would be kinda cool!
If you have some quintessential realizings to share here, I'd be super thankful, though I am not even quite sure how to ask for specific things that don't require an whole essay as a reply...

Anyways, thanks for the reply, I really dig your videos and I already learned a ton from you.
And I spend a lot of money, too... :beer
 
Last edited:
L71 said:
Hi, Michael, first off, wanted to say: great channel, with content that I really never thought I’d find “out there”. Thanks, your vids are a ray of light. Question: have you ever played around with a Lexicon Vortex, or would you have one on the channel?
Click to expand...
Hi L71, thank you kindly! I haven't tried a Vortex. I'll keep an eye out for one.


mykllynyrd said:
Hi Michael,

In a video you mentioned your had a PRS/Waves Gtr di, I've got one too but never end up using it because I get the same crappy sound going into my Presonus audiobox with our without it (could be the player :) What do you like about it and how can I get the benefit out of it?
Click to expand...
I don't use it too much anymore. At my home studio I use the guitar input on my RME interface, on my laptop I use the Apogee ONE interface. When I'm at the big studio using Apogee Symphony interfaces, I'll bust out the Waves DI. It's nice for adjusting the level, and has a nice full bodied sound, and supposedly does some kind of impedance matching business 🤷🏻‍♂️. I used to use a $100 Focusrite interface with my laptop, and it was decent. Not bad, but not great. Just running a guitar into a mic/line preamp doesn't always sound the best. A lot of interfaces have a dedicated guitar input. They seem to really make a nice difference.


la szum said:
Love that. Michael. Shout it from the rooftops. I am guilty of this, too, and I think every guitar player gets way TOO
obsessed with "tone" in isolation. It's really a fool's game, and fails to address what you share above: that everything
impacts everything else. It's like putting oregano in your mouth to determine how much is needed (or not needed!)
on your Pizza or in your Marinara. ;)

Not that there is anything wrong with chasing tones in isolation, just that if one's aim is to play music with others,
or record complete tracks it is all about balancing the guitar with everything else going on.
Click to expand...
Exactly!
 
Eman7422 said:
Michael,

This is an awesome idea. Also, I love your channel. So informative and so great to have real helpful information from such a pro!!

Also love your playing, you are very talented.

Question....I use AxeFX for home recording and love the tones I get out of it and love to jam.

Recently got a Marshall DSL combo.....really dig the "nakedness" that a true tube amp gives in the room, but question is as follows:
How do I tighten up the amp and boost/overdrive without the mid bump that comes with a tube screamer and/or SD-1 (which I have).

looking for a pedal as I am running the Axe in the loop of the amp for delay etc....I know I could go 4 cable but seems easier and to put some kind of pedal in front. Do you have any suggestions for a boost that might give a few "eq" options including tightening up the low end.

Thanks in advance and I surely will be a regular here.
Click to expand...

Nice. My two favorite tighteners at the moment are the Friedman Buxom Boost, which is great to just but/tighten the low end. I also really love the Revv Shawn Tubbs Tilt. The boost side has a 3 way tighten switch. Also, it's a phenomenal overdrive.
 
woody said:
Ah, interesting.
I guess you dissecting a whole lot of tones and tracks with great diligence on your channel led me to preconceptions about your approach to arranging and choosing tones.
It's soo much easier (and better for the channel statistics)(and admittedly good fun) to nerd out about gear and dem toanz than going big picture conceptual.

I have been around the block a bit and I know that Slipperman's mantra of "everything affects everything" is true.

I am super interested in your thought process about arranging, though I get that this is a bit vast of a topic.
If you could sprinkle a bit of that in upcoming videos, that would be kinda cool!
If you have some quintessential realizings to share here, I'd be super thankful, though I am not even quite sure how to ask for specific things that don't require an whole essay as a reply...

Anyways, thanks for the reply, I really dig your videos and I already learned a ton from you.
And I spend a lot of money, too... :beer
Click to expand...

Thanks Woody. I hear stuff from the top down. My partner in my scoring company hears things bottom up. I'm sure it's because growing up I was listening for the guitar, and ignoring the bass, and keys. When I remember many songs from my youth, I sing the harmony line, not the lead line. So there are some weird things that I've had to sort of unlearn myself. (if you will)

Thinking about it, one of the biggest challenges to me for rock music is the separation of bass guitar and E guitar. Until I was 20ish I would always try to cover both areas with the guitar. Listening to most hard rock, when the bass is following the guitar part, it just sounds like a huge deep guitar sound. Like I said, I'm listening top frequency's downward. I suppose if I was listening bottom up, I'd focus on the bass, then hear when the guitar takes over. So the idea of HPF / cutting the guitar bottom end to make the overall mix sound bigger was something I couldn't grasp.

Once I had to dig into orchestral arranging, it opened everything up for me. You can't really fudge an orchestral arrangement by adding distortion to the double basses, or massive low end EQ to cellos, or quad tracking cellos. Everything has to have it's place, and less is more, OR the end result is small the out of balance.

Guitar gets more complicated because the tone of guitar/pedals/amp can drastically effect it's optimal range, and how it blends with the other instruments. I think that's where the fascination comes from, because the tone of the guitar is almost as important as the parts. There are still some miracles out there like Pantera... how can everything be so scooped and cutting, but also full and punchy 🥷
 
BigHairyGuitars said:
Thanks Woody. I hear stuff from the top down. My partner in my scoring company hears things bottom up. I'm sure it's because growing up I was listening for the guitar, and ignoring the bass, and keys. When I remember many songs from my youth, I sing the harmony line, not the lead line. So there are some weird things that I've had to sort of unlearn myself. (if you will)

Thinking about it, one of the biggest challenges to me for rock music is the separation of bass guitar and E guitar. Until I was 20ish I would always try to cover both areas with the guitar. Listening to most hard rock, when the bass is following the guitar part, it just sounds like a huge deep guitar sound. Like I said, I'm listening top frequency's downward. I suppose if I was listening bottom up, I'd focus on the bass, then hear when the guitar takes over. So the idea of HPF / cutting the guitar bottom end to make the overall mix sound bigger was something I couldn't grasp.

Once I had to dig into orchestral arranging, it opened everything up for me. You can't really fudge an orchestral arrangement by adding distortion to the double basses, or massive low end EQ to cellos, or quad tracking cellos. Everything has to have it's place, and less is more, OR the end result is small the out of balance.

Guitar gets more complicated because the tone of guitar/pedals/amp can drastically effect it's optimal range, and how it blends with the other instruments. I think that's where the fascination comes from, because the tone of the guitar is almost as important as the parts. There are still some miracles out there like Pantera... how can everything be so scooped and cutting, but also full and punchy 🥷
Click to expand...

Great post, Michael!! I love this stuff. It is so interesting. :)

Songs and production are where the gold is for me (along with performances).
I truly believe that the era of Metallica, then Nu-Metal, and then 7 and 8 string
guitars kind of warped the traditional notions of what guitar is, where it lies in
a mix, and how different the 90's onward was compared to the 60s/70/s80s.
Guitars simply did not have so much bass and occupy those lower registers.

It's as if Metallica killed the bassist! Just ask Jason Newsted. ;)

I wonder if and when the pendulum will swing back to placing guitars in a mix where
they are not competing/syncing with the Bass and Kick. Hell, we are in an era now
where a lot of sub-harmonic bass and synth bass is brought into the mix to make the
guitars sound/seem even heavier. As if they were lacking before??!!

Again, for the guy playing at home on his own it really warps the notion what we should
all be aiming for tonally, and what we can achieve with our meager gear.

"Help me get that Muse tone," says one guy with one amp/modeler and one guitar. Kind
of not happening, is it? :idk

That said, I love heavy guitars and drop-tuning. I just like mids and a bass line I can hear, too.
I believe we can have it all! Brutal and biting guitars and letting the bassists be bassists!!! :beer


Edit: Not hating on any genres. I love a lot of those genres that emerged with more bass-heavy
guitar tones. Just that skewed a lot of perceptions/ideas of how the guitar should sound.
 
Last edited:
Michael.
I think I have found the lady of my dreams. I can’t find anywhere if Japan do this model
 

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