Question about recording guitar tracks

Best to record the guitar part a second time. The slight variances when you play it the second time will make the guitar sound fatter. Thanks.

I'm not sure if I understood the question correctly, but to me it seems like you basically copy the track to the other side of the stereo spectrum and then delay it for a couple of ms. Am I correct in assuming this?

If so, you are doing pretty much what people did in the 70s and early 80s - only they did it with a delay. You would sent your guitar part to a Delay and pan that to the opposite side of the stereo spectrum. Dial in around 12-15ms for delay time and you are instantly in the stone-age of guitar recording :hee

Seriously: The problem with that method is, the second part (or the delayed signal) is closely correlated in phase to the original - well because it actually IS the same part. You will have all sorts of phase problems especially when your song is played in Mono. And though it's 2020, people still listen to music on their kitchen radios, BlueTooth Speakers or other small devices which are essentially mono. But even when played back in stereo on a great Hifi-System you'll hear phase problems. That's why they invented the chorus effect, which is a delay that is modulated in time. If done right that sounds better and has less phase problems.

But whatever you do: With only one actual track it will never sound like that "wall of guitars" sound you are probably aiming for.

To do that properly you have to get used to "double tracking". That essentially means you play that part at least two times, pan one track hard left and the other hard right. Then get another guitar or amp or even change both and again record two tracks. Pan them left and right like above. It should be a reasonable thick wall already. It's not uncommon to go even further and record another two tracks with again a different amp or guitar. You'll end up with three tracks on each stereo side and a total of six separately played tracks.

For mixing always think in pairs. If you want to make the LP/Marshall combination louder, do that on both sides (both tracks). If you want to hear more of that Strat/Bassman combination, turn up both tracks. Grouping the channels respectively on your desk or DAW is your friend. So you "compose" the resulting "wall of guitar" sound by balancing the pairs against each other.

You will also find you don't need reverb or delay because the slight variances between your takes are perceived by the human brain as "room information". No need for additional reverb in that case. You will also find you won't need a compressor if you have sound with gain to speak of as your "wall of guitars" already has little to no dynamics.

You will need EQ though, but that's another story