[boardjunkie]

On Nov 26, 4:49*pm, Ludwig77 wrote:
I have noticed on multiple occasions that my guitar tone may sound
great to my ears, but when listening back to a recording, my ears tell
me that I'm using a little too much distortion.

In other words, the guitar tone on the recording sounds to my ear like
it is a little more distorted than it does in person.

Is this a real phenomenon?

If so, why would it be? Its not like I'm simply clipping levels on the
recorder....

Alot of guitar players go for this "huge" overblown gained out mushy
mess to make them sound better to thier ears. It don't translate that
way in a mix. Less gain will define your part and make it jump out of
the mix. Be generous with mids, keep the lows and highs under control.
Some of the sounds players try to emulate are actually tracked
multiple times, so it gives the illusion of that super smooth generic
"boogie recto" tone. Gained out tones get easily lost in a mix and
notes are all mushed together....nothing stands out. Listen to some
Free or Thin Lizzy.....those guitar sounds really pop in the mix and
the overall "gain" is pretty tame.