help with death metal mix

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durrrral

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hope this is ok to post here. im new to recording been playing guitar for about 10 years off and on. im using a line 6 into reaper with drum kit from hell and some vst effects on the guitar. im looking to get the best sound possible without having to buy anything else . any suggestions on what i can do to make my songs sound better .any input is appreciated thank you
 

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My first thoughts are your guitar is too distorted (it always takes a lot less than it seems it would to get a good metal tone in a recording), the kick is way too boomy and the cymbal samples are ear piercing in a bad way - there's some stuff to start with.

If you post this in the MP3 mixing clinic - you'll get a lot more eyes (and ears) on it there. :)
 
I agree with Hippo. On top of that, your guitar seems quite far back. I imagine some of that will be helped once you take some of the distortion down though. But for now, if you're using any reverb or anything like that, get rid until you get a sound you're happy with. Then start mixing in your reverb and such.
 
this may sound like a silly question, but are the cymbals and kick drum a volume problem? or should i fix that with the eq? and the reason i had my guitars so far back is because, when i had it mic'ed closer to the amp it was popping. if i fix the distortion on the guitars would i be able to mic it closer? i dont have any reverb on anything but the drums to make them sound a little more real. any other comments are greatly appreciated. its nice to have people comment that know what there doing, THANXX EVERYONE
 
Guitars are not present. They sound scooped to death!
Work on the guitar mids.

G
 
durrrral said:
this may sound like a silly question, but are the cymbals and kick drum a volume problem? or should i fix that with the eq? and the reason i had my guitars so far back is because, when i had it mic'ed closer to the amp it was popping. if i fix the distortion on the guitars would i be able to mic it closer? i dont have any reverb on anything but the drums to make them sound a little more real. any other comments are greatly appreciated. its nice to have people comment that know what there doing, THANXX EVERYONE
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What do you mean by pop? Do you mean the input is too loud when you close mic? If so then turn down your pre amp and/or amp. A bit less distortion and a close mic should get you a good recording.

G
 
yes im glad you understand what i mean. im new to this so its hard to make sense of what im trying to ask. also are you saying i should turn my mids up or down im going to work on this tonight and ill repost thank you very much for your help :) also im using a cheap pair of sony studio head phones so what i hear may differ
 
Yes don't scoop out the mids so much, so boosting the high mids a bit will bring out the presence and boosting the low mids willl bring out more meat and have less a scooped sound.

Keep at it!

G
 
I said it in the other thread, but the sounds you went for are fine (that IS the sound of death, thin snare over gained scooped guitars etc...).

It's the timeing, it's not tight at all guy. Song would improve quit a bit if you played the guitar in time.
 
Guitargodgt said:
I said it in the other thread, but the sounds you went for are fine (that IS the sound of death, thin snare over gained scooped guitars etc...).

It's the timeing, it's not tight at all guy. Song would improve quit a bit if you played the guitar in time.
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The mix is definitely not sounding right, it can sound much better. Yeah this style asks for a scooped mix, but this is taking too far.

G
 
i do appreciate all the input.. this is my first attempt so i do need the help. its nice to have unbiased opinions.
 
Thin snare over scooped guitars is more Black than Death. Death Metal really calls for a lot of mid punch. It really wants to get you right in the chest and gut.
 
I got some suggestions, from one death metal head to another. Have you given it any thought about using amp sims and cab impulses? I love them personally. Your choice but, definitely remember less can and is always more. As for the drums, don't mess with them. I know you want to but don't, they are pretty much pre mixed, maybe just a hair of compression on the kick to bring it out alittle. As for guitars, don't scoop so much mids out, roll the gain down, double track, and quad track, but be tight. Pan guitars fully to the left and right, bass in the center, did you even have a bass track? Use distortion on bass, brings the metal guitars to life. High pass filter around 125 hz, and low pass at around 9.5 khz for guitars, bass I normally high pass at 60 hz, and low pass at 600 hz. Just give that a try, see how you like the results. I can help you out more if you need it. Here is a little sample of something I have been working on, like I said all digital, guitars modeled, ez drummer, direct bass. Also gate the the guitars and bass, first in your channels. Well, it wouldn't let me upload it for some reason, but yeah, I am getting pretty good results these days, and we are very similar guitarists, so if you want some more help, send me a message. And definitely pay attention to what the guys say on here, they can definitely help. Just remember you don't have to follow all of it, mixing is suppose to be fun and a learning experience so live and learn bro, keep chugging.
 
I'm not talking about line6 amp sims, those things are horrible in my opinion. I am talking about Poulin, Ignite amps, tse amp sims, with impulse cabs, I find that they are much more satisfying. I personally love the Ignite NRR-1 amp sim for death metal.
 
Here is a recording I did using the ignite nrr-1 amp model and impulse cabs, I think that this is kinda what sound you are going after.
 

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Oh yeah I have them as well.

Actually here is one with Poulin's LE456 and Ignite's TS999 I did (small clip). I ran SIR 2 with a cab impulse I made.




I don't really mess with the fake stuff much other than demo reasons. I have some nice amps that fit the bill and micing up the real thing (once you get decent at it) really does sound better in the final result.
 
Yeah, amp sims and impulses are a long and bumpy road, but once you figure it all out and find something that works for your individual sound, then you can pretty much count on everything sounding exactly how you want it.
 
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