Death metal Mixing/Eq

[vegravelsesnatt]

Ok, i decided id post this in the newbie section because im half retarded when it comes to using search functions, as i could probably find my answers somewhere in this forum.

I have absolutely no formal knowledge of anything recording, mixing, mastering, etc.

Im trying to achieve that full sound from my tracks, but im having a bit of a hard time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I record direct through a preamp, then apply amplitube metal for my guitar sound, and i use DFH for my drums.

Heres a few sample tracks

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=950666&songID=8256392

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=950666&songID=8087756

 

[I Got Riffs]

You want a full sound, then you're going to have to add keyboards.

Just kidding... But honestly, your stuff sounds pretty good. Nice and tight. A beefier kick drum would help. And you'd be suprised how much a bass guitar changes everything. Many guitarists try to get that heaviness out of their guitar tone when they're playing alone, but once you add a bass guitar in there, you'll most likely end up lightening up your guitar tone.

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

Thanks man, ive been messing around with the kick a lot, havent really stuck with anything as of yet.

If i had a bass guitar, that would definitely help add more low end to it, so i could mix the guitars better, but im lacking that as of now.

I was considering finding a nice bass vst to at least fill up that space.

 

[Massive Master]

That stuff is so distorted I can't even think of anything else to address off the bat. WAAAAAAAYYYYYY too hot. Far too distorted. I don't know where it started (if it's just the buss processing on the mix, the mix itself, or perhaps it was tracked too hot), but you're never going to get "that full sound" if you're killing the mix (especially at the wrong stage - and especially with aggressive music).

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

Yeah, i think its too hot from the gain being practically on 11, and my pickups are extra hot as it is. I dont think recording direct is helping to much either, but its all i can do at the moment.

I just was looking for some steps to achieve a full, thick, heavy sound. I dont know answers to tons of things, maybe i shouldve started the thread with those questions.

How many tracks should i be doing minimum per channel to achieve a sound like that? Im assuming the more i do the less gain ill want to use to avoid muddying the mix?

Whats like a basic formula for panning to get that wall of sound? Does panning have a lot to do with that, or is it just panning all tracks hard left and hard right?

Im a total retard when it comes to anything like this, and im just looking for anything that will help me build my knowledge of this topic and improve my recordings.

Thanks

 

[Massive Master]

I'm not talking about the core sound - I'm talking about recording & mixing levels. The mix is crushed. Can't tell you anything about it without hearing it as it 'wants' to be (and it doesn't 'want' to be crushed to death).

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

haha, well, could you recommend some things for me to read up on so i know how to hear what the mix wants?

Anything you feel that would help me achieve my goals, would me much appreciated.

 

[kcearl]

turn down the faders...dont try to record everything at the max...give your tracks some headroom so the "real" sound is heard..I think under "mixing" in the dictionary it should say "take away, dont add", thats a general rule Im finding out


Is it possible to humanise the drums more...I know its meant to be a bit mental but at times It just sounded far too fake...I didnt think the guitars were too distorted..good playing, I also didnt think amplitude metal was up to scratch but that sounded pretty decent


to tell the truth you should post this in the MP3 clinic so more can critique it..I imagine they'll give the drums a hard time but will be able to talk you through it

not bad attempt at all imo

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

Thanks, the drums were more intended to sound that way though, 250 blasts are going to be difficult to sound real no matter how i set the velocities up.

I actually had the gain set at around 12 o'clock when i did that first track, i agree with Massive in that it is tooo hot. But im not sure what sort of tweaking i should do to get it to not sound so whiny. The mix overall feels flat, like the thin hissy guitar tone just has no presence.

I think ill try getting my takes extra tight, maybe turning down highs, adding a tad bit more mids, and playing with the panning to see if i cant get it to sound any better.
Ill post the links in that section to see what sorta help people can give me over there.

 

[kcearl]

Thanks, the drums were more intended to sound that way though, 250 blasts are going to be difficult to sound real no matter how i set the velocities up.

I actually had the gain set at around 12 o'clock when i did that first track, i agree with Massive in that it is tooo hot. But im not sure what sort of tweaking i should do to get it to not sound so whiny. The mix overall feels flat, like the thin hissy guitar tone just has no presence.

I think ill try getting my takes extra tight, maybe turning down highs, adding a tad bit more mids, and playing with the panning to see if i cant get it to sound any better.
Ill post the links in that section to see what sorta help people can give me over there.

How many tracks of guitars have you got on this?

A simple (but very good) punk track of a member here has five separately recorded guitar tracks....maybe experimenting here would help? sorry its hard to offer anything else as Im pretty much a newb with drum difficulties myself and this genres as alien to me as ET

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

In those tracks im actually only using 2 tracks recorded each, ive doubled and panned hard left, 10 o clock, 3 o clock, and hard right.

Im thinking that the sound would be much fuller if i recorded each track individually, and made it tight as hell. Its not so much drum problems as guitar problems. The tone im getting in there is missing a lot, and the mix overall just sounds boxed in and weak.

I guess the best way to learn is firsthand though, so ill just spend more time messing with things until it sounds decent.

 

[kcearl]

seriously drop them in the mp3 clinic with your concerns...these guys know their instruments..it doesnt matter your genre or level is they can help

 

[RAMI]

ive doubled and panned hard left, 10 o clock, 3 o clock, and hard right.

Im thinking that the sound would be much fuller if i recorded each track individually,

Doubling a track does absolutely nothing but make it louder. You have to record separate tracks, like you said.

 

[Kingofpain678]

Doubling a track does absolutely nothing but make it louder. You have to record separate tracks, like you said.

yup. you can stack and stack and stack but all your doing is just adding more crap to deal with and digging yourself into a deeper hole.

make it simple, just ONE track panned hard left and just ONE track panned hard right.

 

[suprstar]

When you track, DO NOT track too hot. All your tracks should average around -18 to -15 dbFS with peaks around -12. I think everyone tracks waaaay to hot when they start out, cuz intuitively they think a higher snr MUST be better.. Tracking as hot as possible without clipping is a sure-fire way to a flat dull mix.

Think about these 2 scenarios: tracking to -15 and leaving all your faders at 0, or tracking to -0 and the first thing you do is pull all your faders back to -15.. Theoretically it sounds equivalent. The difference is, all your gear, preamps, plugins, everything is optimized for a signal in the -15ish range. When I lowered my input signal down to -15 or so, my tracks sound 10x better. That was the single biggest improvement my sound ever got.

 

[vegravelsesnatt]

Great, thanks man.

Ill probably be redoing some things later on, ill make sure i give that a shot and post my results on here when im done.