Why dont my recordings sound professional (Progressive Metal)

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpiZZaa
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SpiZZaa

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I worked on these 3 songs alot and put alot of effort into making them sound as good as possible. aside from the drums i did everything on these tracks. these are the first recordings i have ever done and im guessing metal might be one of the harder genres to record

You can hear the songs on my bands myspace. www.myspace.com/arbitrarync

any feedback would be appreciated.

By the way i recorded DI through my Amplifier before you ask
and i use PT 8 with an Mbox 2
 
not to be an ass...but it's probably cause you're not a professional

but neither are most of us here, so don't feel bad about it
 
Well yea i know that but i want to become decent at this for.... you know... shits sake
 
and hey you didnt give me any feedback on what i should change or what you would have done different
 
get soundclick instead of myspace. people would rather check out a better quality audio file to assess it.

also consider the fact that these are the first three songs you've ever recorded.

did you expect to "professional" recordings right away?
 
SpiZZaa said:
and hey you didnt give me any feedback on what i should change or what you would have done different
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coming to this site was your first step.now you got take the time to read up as much as possible on everything you will possibly ask about.there's tons of info available here and many tips,tricks & lessons to be learned.
 
I mean of course i didnt expect them to sound like it paid for them i just want feedback from other people who record metal out of their house so i can take it to the next level. I have still yet to actually get any feedback on the songs haha. Anyone?

And here is Some Soundclick Links since you guys say thats the way to go

http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503451

http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503448

http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503439

Apparently you cant download them for another day here is the link to listen to the HI-FI streams of all 3

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=942453
 
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work at it more until you sound as good as you can with the mics and gear you have. then upgrade after time. its like holding a pen for the first time and asking why you cant draw a realistic looking portrait. there's no secret or magic thing that people do. there is just a lot of very very very little things that make a huge difference when you put them all together. and a lot of it, isn't stuff that we can just tell you, and then you do it, and its all better. a lot of it is experience, learning your monitors and your room acoustics, learning the best spot to place YOUR mics in YOUR room and what effects to use in YOUR recording software. people can spend a year recording with new monitors, or a new acoustic guitar, or new room treatments and STILL not know the sweet spots for the mic, or still not be 100% trained to listen threw their monitors. if you want to be better, do it more... experiment to see what sounds best in your room with your gear, and then take lessons. im not taking a shot at you im being serious. lessons are a great way to understand as much as you can in the shortest amount of time. mind you, it wont make you 100 times better over night, but it'll teach you ways to make YOURSELF better. knowing how to train your ears, know what the cleanest signal chain is... knowing WHAT a signal chain is. learning about phase and what preamp and compressors and everything do. im not saying you don't know some of this stuff already, but im sure there is more to learn then you may have thought. my one friend opened a studio here and tossed $20,000 at some AMAZING gear, and he sounds horrible. get comfortable with the gear you have until you know every aspect of it and how to make your gear sound better than any one els walking in there ever could. then upgrade. then relearn that gear, then upgrade again, and so on and so on. ;)

on a side note, what do you mean by "remastered"? did you send them to a mastering facility? or just remix the session?
 
No i just remixed them myself a couple times result in that final product.
 
SpiZZaa said:
I mean of course i didnt expect them to sound like it paid for them i just want feedback from other people who record metal out of their house so i can take it to the next level. I have still yet to actually get any feedback on the songs haha. Anyone?

And here is Some Soundclick Links since you guys say thats the way to go

http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503451



http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503448

http://www.soundclick.com/util/downloadSong.cfm?ID=7503439

Apparently you cant download them for another day here is the link to listen to the HI-FI streams of all 3

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=942453
Click to expand...

id love to give you some tips, but do what the one person here suggested, tell us how you recorded and what mics and amps you used, what rack gear if any. so we can give you some tips, maybe tell you what would could try to get a better sound.
 
SpiZZaa said:
No i just remixed them myself a couple times result in that final product.
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oh gotcha, remixing is not mastering. :) not likes its a huge deal, just letting you know. i would suggest changing the "remaster" to "remixed" only because its a completely different thing in almost every aspect. plus a lot of new people dont use the term correctly, or they tend to say "mastered" to sound more professional lol needless to say a lot of mastering engineers here get a bit touchy about that kinda thing haha
 
SpiZZaa said:
Like it says at the top. I went direct in out of a Line 6 Spider jam. No preamps no mics no nothing. Very simple. I used an Mbox2 no preamp nothing.
Click to expand...

There in lies the answer to your question.
 
SpiZZaa said:
Like it says at the top. I went direct in out of a Line 6 Spider jam. No preamps no mics no nothing. Very simple. I used an Mbox2 no preamp nothing.
Click to expand...

howd you do drums, bass and vocals then:confused::confused::confused:
 
Why can't I paint like Van Gogh? I mean seriously, I know what a good painting looks like, should be easy, right?

There is another important factor that is kinda taboo around here. The biggest reason pro bands sound pro is that they sound pro. It's a simple concept, but often overlooked on this bbs. I listened to a couple songs on myspace, and your biggest issue is your sound and musicianship. I'm not saying that to be mean, but to actually try and help you. Focus on tighter playing, and a better "sound". Well played / good sounding songs mix themselves. They really do. :D
 
Actually, not bad at all for your first attempt, but they are right. Expecting pro sound when you are not a pro is the same as me not ever going to school and expecting the start a job tomorrow as an accountant. Just keep trying. Read all you can grab. Listen to other recordings really closely and then listen some more.
 
Have a good read through this

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Tons of info on everything from hooking things up to micing, recording, mixing using effects plugs.

It's worth the time there's a ton of good info that can really help you get going
 
Hey I play/record metal so I figured I'd tell you what I do. I'm definitely amatuer but did so many hours of research on this site I should win a medal.

1. I built my own sound absorbotion panels and placed them in the corners for bass and and on the walls/ceilings for mids/highs. My room is f***ing decked out and it made the biggest difference I've ever heard.

2. individually mic'd drums with dynamics and two condenser overheads. Guitars with 1 dynamic and one condenser. Bass was DI. Vocals with a condenser. All the mics had specific placements, i.e. guitars had them off center of cone and at a slight angle.

3. Connected Mics to my a/d converter (firepod) and recorded with Cool Edit Pro. Recorded at -18db and edited with a touch of equalizer, compression and reverb when needed. Reviewed mixes with my Behringer Truth monitors.

4. My mixes are still well below professional. There are so many variations of everything I just listed you'll want to give up but don't.

This is just one of endless ways to have a setup. Your biggest problem is that you're ears aren't trained and you don't have the right equipment.

Hows that for a suggestion?
 
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