Any basic mix tips on electric guitars and vocal home recordings

I never really sang any. So for home recordings with my vocals, I'd like to double my vocals for them to sound fuller. Or other tricks if there any simple things to do.

Also when layering more than one electric guitar (or even guitar in general), I have trouble getting them all to standout in a positive way. Any pointers?

a Strat, MicroCube, Zoom H4 is what I use. Audacity for editing, because too lazy to learn Cubase or whatever it was that came with the H4.

panning is one easy way, and using different (contrasting) tones for your guitar tracks is another. going easy on the reverb and distortion can also help your guitar definition.

panning is good, and I agree keep the sustaining effects to a minimum. For your guitar tracks, a quick delay is a good clean alternative to reverb, but be sure to reverb your vox track a little bit or it will sound like you're singing in a vacuum.

try to have two distinct sounds to multiple guitar tracks, even if that means one track with the bridge PU and one in the middle position. avoid things that sound muddy.

there, a little 101 for ya :) good luck!

If your not doing so already, be very critical of the individual sounds/performances you record. Make sure you really like what you hear. If not, re-play, re-think, adjust, move mics, change strings/guitar/amp, etc... Experiment. Make each track as clear, full-bodied and clean as possible.

As long as the individual tracks are excellent, a bit of panning and carefully applied EQ and FX, as stated above, should get things going for you.

Thanks for the replies.

I read of a "John Lennon method" for vocals now doing my internet search: double the vocal track panned a bit left or right and some microseconds after the original. Does this make any sense?

Yes, that's a neat trick.
In my last demos I recorded the leading vocals two times. The little differences between the takes work out better than copying the same track with microseconds difference in my opinion.

Best way I know to get guitar parts to stand out is to use DIFFERENT guitars.

The net effect is similar to doing REAL double-tracked vocals -- yes, there are ways of electrically/digitally simulating double-tracked vocals, but they don't sound as cool as the real thing. Same with guitar parts. Switching pickups on a single guitar helps, but it's nowhere near as dramatic, in the mix, as using two completely different guitars.

Also, I'd suggest you invest the time and learn Cubase. Worth the effort.

Finally, the most important mix tip of all: USE YOUR EARS. Don't believe anything ANYONE says, including me. If it sounds good, it is... and vice versa.

Bonus tip: MONO can be really punchy! If you do a stereo mix and it sounds wimpy, try panning everything to dead center.

I got Cubase LE with my Zoom H4 a couple of years ago and, honestly, it's not too difficult to use - I dare say once you get into the real complex bits then it might take a bit of learning. But I'm no computer guru and find it quite straightforward to use.

It's worth its weight in gold for editing tracks recorded either on the H4 or my old Korg unit. Using Cubase for that alone is a real bonus to me.

And on the question of making vocals more punchy I find that simply copying the track to another track and panning the two tracks ever so slightly left and right of centre really adds more body to the vocals.

I've tried singing the same vocal twice but I've never been able to get the second take close enough to the first in terms of phrasing or timing to be happy with the end result - but that could just be my inability to copy anything perfectly!!

I've tried singing the same vocal twice but I've never been able to get the second take close enough to the first in terms of phrasing or timing to be happy with the end result - but that could just be my inability to copy anything perfectly!!

If timing is an issue, one can always cut up the wave form and drag phrases so they match up with the main vocal.

I've done the vocal doubling (tripling, actually) thing, and I love it.

Don't try to mix the doubled tracks in at the same level. Make 'em part of the ambiance. It thickens up the sound even if it's not super loud. I like to pan the doubles a little too.

The trick is learning the way you sing the song. The first time I tried it I figured out that I was going to have to sing along to, and learn, my own performance before I could get a good double. You might have to listen to yourself carefully several times before you get something you like.

all got better for me when i found a good preset on podfarm that i like. before that i tried all kinds of things, just to find out that i don´t have a clue about "making" a voice sound right. the guys at line6 know a thing or two... eddie