Recording Electric Guitar Techniques - I cant get a good tone!?

Question

Ok, so heres what I got.

Mesa single rectifier with mesa cabinet

line 6 pod xt live

Presonus firebox

I've been playing around with all of my gear for a while now and i still cant seem to find the right tone that im looking for. Im looking for a hardcore tone like The devil wears prada, underoath, august burns red...something like that.

When I mic my mesa i get this gross airy tone. It doesnt sound good at all. Im not sure if its the mic that im using or if im micing it wrong somehow. Ive tried a dynamic mic and a condenser mic but they both have the same effect. Is it where im micing it that could be the problem? Or should I just buy an instrument mic and see how that works?

My pod xt live is a different story...Theres no good sounds on the this thing at all! I've been playing with it almost a year now. Ive downloaded the the gearbox sofware for it and I STILL cant get anything close to worthy of recording. Am i hooking things up wrong?

Give me your opinions please!

Answer 1

If your going to stick with the Line6, check this forum for tips:

http://www.guitarampmodeling.com/viewfor...

If you want to know more about micing a guitar amp in general, try here:

http://studio-central.com/phpbb/viewforu...

Remember, in your recording chain you have all these elements: guitar pickups, guitar cable, outboard effects (including the Line 6), amplifier, speaker, microphone, preamp input (audio interface), soundcard (very important), and then your DAW. Even how old your strings are can muddy the tone! Are you recording in 24 bit resolution? It can make a big difference when using microphones. What about your room acoustics? A "dead" room needs to be compensated for with plugins that emulate room reverb for ambience or your sound may be too flat. If you're not getting the results you want it could be any of these elements. Check the websites above, read what you can find, and develop lots of patience. Recording electric guitar to find the sound you want can be difficult without top gear and recording skills.

Answer 2

You may want to try differant places you mic the amp... Now I'm not sure of the setting, so I will assume it's at home... If that's the case, if you are in a room or a basement, place the mic in a differant room... Or try putting the amp and mic in the bathroom, then run everything to the mixer from there.  

You didn't mention what kind of guitar you are playing... I'd be interested to know if that may be the culprit