Condensor/limiter/sonic booster/ help me please!

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Pirateaz

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I've been recording for 4 years now just basics. by that I mean just a mixer, computer and software. but after 4 years of just recording potential compositions for my band I feel like I want to take my music to a clearer more proffesional state (please dont laugh proffesionals) So I look through my musicians friend and I see sonic boosters, compresors, limiters and other such things and i have no idea what I need to be able to have a more stereo/proffesional sounding composition. Whats a sonic boostser for anyways, do I need a good pre amp, equalizers um im a reck please help me I got like 600$ but i dont want to spend it on something that wont help me at all. So I turn it over to the experts.
 
You record punk and hardcore?

A compressor will help with that a bunch. Especially as a front end for the vocals.
 
yeah I Love the hardcore!!! so a condensor will help alot ok cool, thanx. How would I get a more "full" and stereo sound cause the songs I make right now are mixed well but they lack that feeli9ng of like fullness. sounds to bland like the stereo depth of a dictaphone lol. Would a sonic booster help with that? whats the plus to a equalizer
 
Pirateaz said:
yeah I Love the hardcore!!! so a condensor will help alot ok cool, thanx. How would I get a more "full" and stereo sound cause the songs I make right now are mixed well but they lack that feeli9ng of like fullness. sounds to bland like the stereo depth of a dictaphone lol. Would a sonic booster help with that? whats the plus to a equalizer
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Not sure what you mean when you say full. Not knowing how much you have mixed in the stereo field, but you could start by recording say two guitars parts, one hard left, one hard right, and put the drums and bass in the middle. That should make is sound a little fuller in the stereo aspect of it.
 
Pirateaz said:
yeah I Love the hardcore!!! so a condensor will help alot ok cool, thanx. How would I get a more "full" and stereo sound cause the songs I make right now are mixed well but they lack that feeli9ng of like fullness. sounds to bland like the stereo depth of a dictaphone lol. Would a sonic booster help with that? whats the plus to a equalizer
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Ya, a condesor will help too, but I said compressor. There is a slight difference...not much...but a slight difference ;)

I would deffinately say you should double your guitar tracks. Infact I actually have even gone as far as having 4 guitar tracks of the exact same thing.

This is some doubling and quadrupling.

The intro is basically 2 somewhat clean ( :rolleyes: ) LesPauls with one side rhythm, and the other side lead. Then when the chorus kicks in you have the same only with an extra guitar track on each side that is overdriven...but I change it so the rythem overdriven is on the lead clean and visa-versa.

And I apologize for the shitty casio beats.

This one uses whole note power chords to accent and smoothout the fast strumming. Of course I did it on both channels...left and right....so I THINK there is 4 guitars here too but I honestly cannot remember.
 
Hey thanks again everyone for the help.
well right now my setup is a 8 track mixer plugged into a pc card I bought from terra tec, I believe its the ews88 i think. From there I mix and do all just basic recordings through samplitude. I was thinking mabey I should buy a compressor a equalizer and a somewhat nice condensor mic. then route it through such stuff and magicly it would sound better. I guess thats what I thought but It has to be way more complex, im just lost being an amature. I was also looking at a sonic booster, It looks really pretty with lots of flashy lights, will this help the sound though? how should I go about makeing my basic computer mixer system into something more proffesional?
 
Sonic boosters and maximizers can kiss my ass. They might put a finishing touch on the track, but by no means will it give you what you seem to be after. First things first...

Are you using a real sound card built for music recording? Or is it one for PC games?

Second.......People are going to kill me for this......the preamp in your mixer is fine for now...I think. What kind of mixer is it?

You mixer should have some EQ.


I think a big issue is what kind of amp, guitar, effects, and mic are you using? Or is Samplitude an amp simulator?

To improve the stereo field a touch of reverb would do you good.
 
Hey Pirateaz,

Do you have any MP3s we could hear to help figure out what you need?
 
Thanks Outlaw for being strait with me about the sonic boosters and helping me for that matter. Umm lol I use, dont laugh a "tascam?" 8 track mini disc recorder just as the mixer. I use that to mix the signals into the computer, but yes this pc card was made souly for the purpose of recording. The mixer on the mini disc im useing has just low mid and high end knobs plus the mic/line knob that you can adjust. But once inside the computer I can use there equalizers and mixing tools. about the guitar details Im useing just plain old zoom distortion put through the mixer, I was thinking about starting to record the distorted guitar useing a condensor mic set up next to a half stack, I read about methods of the sort. Also Im most definetly going to order a metal zone distortion pedal my old one got stolen. Amp simulator? samplitude is not. should I buy one? so far I know I need to buy A good condensor mic, a compressor my reverb is definetly weak as hell so a reverb pach bay and im sure countless others. Im sorry I havent got any mp3s to play you guys. All i can say is when I put it in a cd compared to just another indie recording of a local band. My stuff sounds soft and almost like it was recorded through something alittle better then a good dictaphone. Its not that ghetto but it sounds quite and almost like i was in a room listening to a cd from a cd player behind a closed door instead of that other indie local bands sound like its in a freakin nice warm room, Im starting to confuse myself along with you guys im sure, sorry
 
Pirateaz said:
The mixer on the mini disc im useing has just low mid and high end knobs plus the mic/line knob that you can adjust.
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The high, low, mid stuff is the EQ section, the mic/line knobs are the micpres aka preamps aka trim aka gainknobs.


I am sure that the mixer on that is more than adequite for the task at hand.

I don't know too much about outboard gear interms of reverb stuff, but Roland makes some damn fine equipment in my opinion. I love the reverbs on my 1680. You should take a look at some of their stuff. Does Flag have GuitarCenter? You need to take a trip here to the valley and hit one up so you can listen to some of the different stuff.

Condensors are good. A 57/58 will work fine. I am using a condensor right now on some guitar tracks. This shit is tight. Tele into a Big Muff into my Super Reverb. You would never in a million years think I was playing a telecaster :) I'll post it in the MP3 forum later tonight.

What kind of halfstack would you use? That Zoom pedal might be something to replace. Keep it around, but find a new backbone. Everyone likes POD and J-Stations. I say get a good clean amp and you can do anything.
 
It sucks, this town had three music shops then all but one shut down. So the only one left, AMP (the worst out of the three) has HORRIBLE prices. I went in there to trade a 700$ ampeg hardly used bass stack for a new guitar cab and they offerd me 100$ for it, It was in perfect condition to, major unfairness! So basicly they dont let you touch stuff or try it out there and they are all pretty arrogant "country" musician types. I think I spotted one of the employees in that movie with the banjo kid, deliverance! I'm thinking about useing my v tec amp or mabey my crate stack for recording, not sure. But I am definetly getting a new metal zone pedal. So Does anyone really know what a sonic booster does? Seems like nothing!
 
Pirateaz said:
they are all pretty arrogant "country" musician types. I think I spotted one of the employees in that movie with the banjo kid, deliverance!
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:o

Maybe they have a reason to be so arrogant.

You gotta lighten up. There is nothing wrong with country. Waylon Jennings is the shit. I used to listen to all that crass nonsense style garbage. There is so much more out there.

Oh, and on the economics side...

Being in a small town they really are not overcharging you or trying to rip you off, its just that musical instruments are not as indemand as they are in the bigger cities, so they cannot justify selling the equipment (or purchasing for that matter) at lower prices because the cost of keeping the doors open is in direct relation to the amount of instruments sold. They sell less, they need to charge more. Simple really. If they don't charge more, then you won't even have a music store. THAT would suck.
 
Oh no, I didnt mean to attack country music, its just I went to school with 2 of the kids that work there and they used to talk alot of rasist trash to other kids at the school. Beating up me and my friends cause they were huge but thats all in the past. The music store is doing good buisness wise cause they have contracts with 30 bars for diffrent pa rental stuff, and there is a good variety of musical bands that buy from there its got a line most times but who knows how much they pay for rent. It could cancel alot of profit out. so sorry for attacking your music.
But do you think I should go with a compressor a better pre amp a better reverb box, a good condensor mic and a better distortion box. Is this a good addition or should I take something off or add something else?
 
Pirateaz said:
so sorry for attacking your music
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My music is all music.

By the way....you knock them for being racist, yet you just classified them as "country"...as in people from the country are racist. Thats the exact same thing.
 
Pirateaz said:
But do you think I should go with a compressor a better pre amp a better reverb box, a good condensor mic and a better distortion box. Is this a good addition or should I take something off or add something else?
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I would get a good condensor, a good compressor, a good amp, and a good reverb maybe.
 
ok Im gonna do that the and I thank you for all your help! but I said country cause these kids listen to country they drive old big pickup trucks they wear cowboy boots and tight levi pants and they both chew tobaco. Im not speculating or trying to be stereotypical its just the people they are. I call them country cause when it all comes down to it isnt that what the ideal country listener is? j/k j/k Im just jokeing trying to mess with you lol but thanx for the help
 
Pirateaz said:
but I said country cause these kids listen to country they drive old big pickup trucks they wear cowboy boots and tight levi pants and they both chew tobaco. Im not speculating or trying to be stereotypical its just the people they are. I call them country cause when it all comes down to it isnt that what the ideal country listener is? j/k j/k Im just jokeing trying to mess with you lol but thanx for the help
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Lets see.....of all the musci I listen too, country is one of them.....I unfortunatly had to sell my Bronco...'94 with a 4" lift and 35" tires.......I do like jeans, not that skin tight stuff, but..........shit, I never considered myself like that? But I do like to shoot guns......so I guess I am country. Huh? Thats wierd....now I get why when I stopped protesting stupid things all my PC friends stopped talking to me........

But I could stereo type them..........

Lets see......they listen to punk and hardcore and some metal, so............well we all know that people who wear studs and spikes and ripped clothes and have piercings and stuff like that are all PUNKS......so they must obviously have been in jail at one point in time and traded anal sex for cigarettes. :):):):)
 
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