Guitar Tracks (Mix. & Mast. Help)

G

Grape

New member
Hey guys, I've been using Cool Edit Pro for about a year now and I've come down to this:
I Suck At Mastering - Still

I'm amazing at mixing bass, keys, and fairly good with drums. But guitars.. oh man,

I'm a guitar player and I recorded these files.
I tried mixing them but I get a really weird "hiss" even after I mix.

Can anyone please mix and mastering these files the best they can and please explain what they did??
I know I sound like a noob, I probably am. But everyone's gotta start somewhere.
Please PM me for the file or email me at rchoi54@gmail.com

Thanks!
 
Doesn't sound like a mixing/mastering issue to me. Sounds more like tracking issues.

For starters you've got too much gain going on there. Sounds like sizzle when you probably want snarl. It also sounds "scooped." You need more middle for a recording than what sounds good jamming in your room.

Tell us how you're recording the guitar parts (direct, mics, amps, etc.) and we can tell you more.
 
Well.. heh,, pretty bad method.

The amp is in a corner facing outward and the mic is leaning on the amp.

I don't really have the best equipment in the world Recording wise.

Amp Config(Fender 25R):
Gain: 7.5
Volume: 2
Treble: 6
Mid: 8
Bass: 7.5

There's a lot of background noise (from computers, birds, ventilation)
But most of it was compressed away.

Here's my rough track:
http://media.putfile.com/GuitarL-98

Also, I usually have the bass take frequencies 650-900 Hz for more a "mid" sound.
 
For starters try less gain. Use volume instead for the right sound. And on rhythm tracks I almost always double track. By that I mean record twice--pan one far left, pan one far right. That gives you the "big" sound you're looking for in the gain. (I know the high gain sounds good in the room, but that because it's got a room to fill--when you close mic a high gain amp, it just turns into sizzle.)

Now for a lead, you do need more gain than the rhythm usually (I usually do anyway). In that case, you have dial back the bass & treble. Dialing back the bass cleans it up and helps it sit in the mix. Dialing back the treble cuts the "fizz" that the high gain creates.

Another quirky little thing: when you record rhythm guitars this way (double tracked, less gain, etc) you'll hear the effect right away. It'll sound good just like that. But with the leads (again, for me anyway) it's much harder to judge until it's in the mix.

My thoughts...
 
Alright, well my band is the hardcore/screamo genre so both guitars have equal value.

I can copy a track and have it play .05 seconds after the normal track for each guitar which'll give a fuller sound.

I'm recording another song at the moment, it'll be up soon.
 
Yeah the problem is not your mixing but rather your tracking. The saying "crap in equals crap out" applies in recording as well. Your guitar tone sounds very thin. First of all I'd take that gain down to around half maybe a little more. Then I would either double up the guitars, or in some cases even quad track the guitars. Pan those tracks hard left and right to taste. Lastly what mic are you using to record you amp, and how do you have it positioned. The mic position is a very important part of how your tracks will come out in the end.
 
Copying and pasting (even with a bit of delay) won't have the desired effect. I mean to play it twice. And if you have two guitars--try each guitar twice--for a total of 4 tracks.

I just recorded a band with two electrics going on most of their songs--slightly different parts in each case.

Each of the two players played and recorded his part twice. Now in this case, it get's muddy if they're equal, so one goes far left at full volume and far right at half volume. The other goes the other way--far right at full, far left at half. (These are just examples, you have to play with the panning and volumes to make it work for your mix.)

But it's the slight differences in the 2 separate takes that give a guitar track real texture and size. Just copying and pasting it doesn't accomplish that.
 
Grape said:
There's a lot of background noise (from computers, birds, ventilation)
But most of it was compressed away.
Click to expand...

First off, that ain't gonna happen. Compression is going to bring out the background noise and make it worse. Much worse.

Does the amp sound good in the room? I don't think it's so much the amp settings as the mic placement. Where is the mic at EXACTLY? Can you take a pic? What mic are you using?
 
Okay, I did four separate tracks.

Here's the mix:
http://media.putfile.com/BothGuitars

Here's just one rough guitar part:
http://media.putfile.com/roughtrack-36

So you can critique on the mix and the rough sound as well.

NL5 said:
First off, that ain't gonna happen. Compression is going to bring out the background noise and make it worse. Much worse.

Does the amp sound good in the room? I don't think it's so much the amp settings as the mic placement. Where is the mic at EXACTLY? Can you take a pic? What mic are you using?
Click to expand...
I meant I used dynamic processing to take noise below -45db down and everything else the same, until I reached around -10db and made a flat line until 0db.

Also, I know some people like to place one mic 3-5 inches away from the amp for a low pickup with a 10ms delay and another one 10 yards away for a high pickup.

But.. I'm not going to do that, until I get a mixer.

https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m280/korean54/2008_04_09002.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m280/korean54/2008_04_09001.jpg
 
Grape said:
Okay, I did four separate tracks.

Here's the mix:
http://media.putfile.com/BothGuitars

Here's just one rough guitar part:
http://media.putfile.com/roughtrack-36

So you can critique on the mix and the rough sound as well.


I meant I used dynamic processing to take noise below -45db down and everything else the same, until I reached around -10db and made a flat line until 0db.

Also, I know some people like to place one mic 3-5 inches away from the amp for a low pickup with a 10ms delay and another one 10 yards away for a high pickup.

But.. I'm not going to do that, until I get a mixer.

https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m280/korean54/2008_04_09002.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m280/korean54/2008_04_09001.jpg
Click to expand...


No mic stand? I have a feeling the mic is getting a lot of bounceback off the magazines. That is where the phasiness is likely coming from. Find some string or something, and suspend the mic with that, and try again. Get the mic right up about 1 inch from the grill.
 
NL5 said:
No mic stand? I have a feeling the mic is getting a lot of bounceback off the magazines. That is where the phasiness is likely coming from. Find some string or something, and suspend the mic with that, and try again. Get the mic right up about 1 inch from the grill.
Click to expand...

Well I do have a mic stand.. I'll put my amp on a stool or something so it's high enough.
 
Definitely get that amp up off the floor, and away from the wall.

Take your time and play with where the mic is pointed at your speaker. Track from different mic locations and figure out which one you like best.

And definitely keep the gain lower than you think it should be. Dial it back to where you think it's undergained. Then drop it just a tad more. Double track your takes and you'll have great heavy sound that maintains clarity.
 
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