Am I on the right track?

[eByte]

No pun intended...

Anyways, I am recording my band and want to know if I am on the right track so far. This is my first attempt at recording and I'm pretty much learning as I go.

I'm trying to go for a "grunge era" recording sound (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc...)

Any advice or suggestions on the mix would be greatly appreciated. Don't be nice either... I'm using a Yamaha MG16/4 with insert outs going to a Delta 1010 and mixing everything in Sonar.

Thanks!!

Oh, and heres the link for the mp3...

 

[ace516]

well.. you're doing a pretty good job, only that.. well the guitar in the beginning. .. something about the low notes.. sounds like a bass with cheap strings. the snare sounds a bit too dry .. but everything else is perty damn good .. nice mixing. boost up some mid and high frequencies on the guitar with distortion though.. or use the good old amplitube.

 

[eByte]

Thanks, yeah... the clean guitar was recording using a cheap Samick with strings that haven't been changed for around 8 months. I'm probably going to retrack the guitar with my Ibanez Prestige, though Im not too fond of the clean tone on it.

I know the distortion tone is lacking in something, I can't really pin it though. The mid and high tones? I'll try to boost them and see if it works!

I only have about 5% reverb mixed into the snare and the rest of the band thinks its too much... I think they are crazy.

Again, many thanks for the listen and comments.

 

[ace516]

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN... SCREW the band. and for that matter, screw ALL the bands they have an idea of what they want, but as the producer you should do whatever YOU think is right. does the band know how to mix? I think not. I've had MANY bands argue with me. suuuure, some throw in some good ideas but do they know how to acheive the sounds? NO.. YOU do ... if they start getting piss just bullshit them and invent some weird terms, they'll thank you for it later on when they hear the final track

 

[Dogman]

Nice tune. Definitly grungy sounding. I like it. Good vocals. Nice tone. Sweet.
ED

 

[eByte]

Glad you like it Dogman.

Ace, I know what you mean... the problem is that I've just started learning recording myself and am looking wherever I can for advise.

I did a remix where I added more reverb to the snare and I brought the mid and high tones up on the distorted guitars. I think it sounds much better. If anyone's interested, link's below.

 

[ace516]

............

 

[BentRabbit]

Glad you like it Dogman.

Ace, I know what you mean... the problem is that I've just started learning recording myself and am looking wherever I can for advise.

I did a remix where I added more reverb to the snare and I brought the mid and high tones up on the distorted guitars. I think it sounds much better. If anyone's interested, link's below.

I like the song...

The bass seems a bit too overpowering on the 'quiet/clean' parts... It blends better during the distorted/power verses... But maybe still just a bit too much... Needs to work more hand in hand with your drum levels...

Nice start!

 

[travelin travis]

is the intro guitar compressed? it sounds kinda weird.

 

[bbocaner]

how about some chorus and delay on the guitar arpeggios to make them sparkle a little?

Also, I hate to keep harping on this with EVERYONE, but please please tune your guitars!

 

[eByte]

BentRabbit - Thanks. I thought the bass might have been a bit too loud...

TravisinFlorida - Yes, the intro guitar is compressed... too much. It was recorded with a PODxt and the compression on the POD itself was set too high. I noticed this after the fact. I'm still going to retrack the clean guitar after I tweak the settings and change the strings on the guitar.

bbocaner - Out of tune? Hmm... each time before we start recording a song I make sure everything is in tune using a Korg tuner. Maybe its the dull sound of the guitar?

 

[giraffe]

i can hear the tuneing thing too, maby the git is in tune but the intonation is out? maby the notes are just being bent?????

here's what i think
i'd bring the snare down a little
the distorted gits are kinda small to me, a little thin, maby bring the arpeggio part up and hit it with a stereo reverb so it takes up more space
i'd like more bass (or more definition)
maby tweak a little 4K in the kik?

take it for what it's worth

 

[bbocaner]

most electronic tuners (even the "pro" rackmount ones) just aren't accurate enough to put you really perfectly in tune. You're better off tuning by harmonics and using your ears.

Also, make sure your guitar is set up correctly. In addition, sometimes old strings can have bizarre intonational properties.

 

[Hi_Flyer]

I would attribute tuning issues to a cheapo guitar, no big deal... Fresh strings and a good set-up by a pro luthier may help intonation issues though. Are the guitars recorded direct or mic'ed amps? Sorry, I know very little about PODs... If you want that clean guitar part to sound good, play it thru a Fender Twin Reverb and mic the amp.

The drums sound OK, but in modern rock stuff, I think you usually hear more compression on the kick and snare to get that punchy sound. The snare is a bit loud in the mix...

If this is your very first recording ever, I'm impressed.

 

[eByte]

Thanks for the help everyone! Every post has been invaluable to me.

I changed the strings on the clean guitar and it now sound MUCH fuller and warm… though it does still sound somewhat out of tune, even when I tune by ear using harmonics. Must be something with the guitar…

I’m going to retrack the clean guitar and add some chorus and reverb to it. The distorted parts are getting a major rehaul with a better, more powerful distortion. The snare will come down a bit and I’ll mess with the kick drum sound (using Drumagog because the real kick drum sounds like crap – very cheap drum set).

This is my first real recording attempt. I’ve been interested in recording for years now and spent a lot of time researching it. This site is great for learning and growing. Thanks all!