Home recordings sounding like crap...for the love of god please help!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dananlayleigh
  • Start date Start date
Danny, After hearing the clip u attached it is lacking mid range but it is undisputably a Marshall I'm a Guitarist that records on a DAW and My tubed Marshall has always sounded pleasing to me! Now you haven't specified weather or not your amp is tubed or not because Solid State Amps always sound boxy unless you fatten them up a bit but I would invest in some more recording gear such as some decent monitor's, a good sound card and a Shure SM-57 microphone then you should have a better sound keep in touch with your future recordings


Animal
 
Double/triple tracking the parts and panning the guitars hard left/right goes a long way towards making a big guitar sound.
Also ....keep in mind the limits of the gear you have....I can pretty much bet SoaD and Pantera dont use Boss pedals for their distortion sound lol! So learn to make the best out of what you have, and upgrade your gear as you can.
 
Yea, I'm waiting on some money from my grandma who passed away recently. She left me some money so I'm gonna use it on buying a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. I've been eyeballin' one for quite some time now and the more I look into them the more I like them.

So once I get that I can get rid of the metal zone and get rid of the staticy garbage. And hopefully a little tone....that would be nice.

I'm trying to look into some soundcards and preamps and all the other things that everyone insists that I get and I'll probably end up putting the URL's on here so I can get everyone's opinion.

One problem I've found with panning them left and right is that it doesn't sound like the guitars are on the same "plane" as the rest of the crap that's centered. I don't know if it's the guitar itself or if I'm only supposed to pan it most of the way and not all of the way or what.... On my recording it's mostly to the center with a little to the sides just because I couldn't stand it the other way.

So yea, just another one of my many problems...

Thanks,
DAnny
 
Dananlayleigh said:
Yea, I'm waiting on some money from my grandma who passed away recently. She left me some money so I'm gonna use it on buying a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. ........One problem I've found with panning them left and right is that it doesn't sound like the guitars are on the same "plane" as the rest of the crap that's centered. ......Thanks,
DAnny
Click to expand...


Yum, beats the hell out of my Mesa boogie mark 3......i would almost say thats kind of the point of hard panning them, you want a separation in the stereo field from stuff like vocals and such that tends to run up the center......BUT do it to taste, if you dont like it, so be it! one trick i learned was putting a tiny little bit of delay (100%wet) on half of a stereo guitar track, that kinda adds a bigness to it, now thats on mostly hard panned tracks so YMMV...
 
Hi,

1st of all, get yourself a Shure SM-57

and also have a look at the M-Audio Audio Buddy (best pre's in the lower price range) and the M-Audio Delta 44 (a good recording sound card, or the Delta 66 if you want midi).
PC soundcards are not really designed for recording; they're designed to make your games sound cool. The mic pre might sound like a luxury rather than a necessity, but trust us it is not. The signal form a microphone is very weak, and this must be amplified if you want a good recording.

How much money do you have to spend? Do you have a job, i.e. will you have more money at a later date? Are you serious about recording?

Also, once you have the stuff above, then monitors will be your next purchase. Monitors are transparent - they allow you to hear exactly what your song sounds like. Speakers change the signal, as the have a non-flat frequency response. PC speakers tend to boost the low end - because that’s what most morons today what to hear.
 
Well as for money to spend...I get a little here and there. I'm in the Navy so I get a steady paycheck every two weeks. Although most of it goes to bills and food and stuff....I still have a little to spend on recording.

And I'm pretty serious about recording. I would love to do it for the rest of my life if it were possible but I know that it's probably not one of the easiest to do well in so I'm working more on electronics and stuff. Once I get out of the Navy I'd really like to work for some type of music related company. So I don't stray too far from the whole music thing. I'm one of those I want a studio in the back yard that I can go into whenever I want and I don't have to worry about stupid neighbors or anyone bothering me.

I really want to record for local bands because I've seen so many people in my little town that have sooooo much talent but everyone wants to rip them off to go into their studio. And the studio sucks and it sounds like crap anyways.

But yea, not that you cared to hear all of that but I guess you get the point.

The only thing I really lack as far as recording goes is the time. The Navy's pretty demanding sometimes and this next year is gonna suck so I'm not gonna have much time to do anything. But I want to get a start on it so I can record something before I go on my 6 month deployment....you know...so I can jam to my own stuff and all. *S*

Thanks,
Danny
 
I haven't listened to your stuff... But I found that some stuff may bring clarity in heavy guitar sound:

1. Record BOTH ways. Use the distorted amp for the fatness and a direct out for the clarity. Blend these tracks.

2. The doubling trick with panning is really nice. It may be the case that you need some compression on both sides to get a more precise stereo image.

3. Sometimes it's not the guitar giving that fat sound, it's the bass in addition that gives the killer sound.

4. You might try to use a slight compression on your guitar that is sidechained by the vocals. The guitars will duck a little when there is singing, but come back if it is off. Gives the impression of much more power...

aXel

Pah, there is nothing that changes with the 200th post...

Imply depressed :(
 
mic - $70 sm57 on ebay
mic preamp - $80 audio buddy on musician's fiend
sound card - $140 audiophile 2496 on ebay
monitors (you are wasting your time using computer speakers for quality audio) - $130 edirol ma-10d digital powered monitors on ebay

$420

Definitely need the 1st 2...
 
After your first hitch is up, why not think about cross training into Audio/Visual for another hitch?

Free education in the audio field and you may gain some experience recording. Surely the Navy has produced band albums in the past. A good friend of mine got his start in the Air Force recording the Military Airlift Command Band, The Starlifters, Senior NCO Men's Choir, etc. He has engineered/produced six albums.

Something to think about.
 
mic - $70 sm57 on ebay
mic preamp - $80 audio buddy on musician's fiend
sound card - $140 audiophile 2496 on ebay
monitors (you are wasting your time using computer speakers for quality audio) - $130 edirol ma-10d digital powered monitors on ebay
Click to expand...

...Rock N' Roll - Priceless. :D

I really want to record for local bands because I've seen so many people in my little town that have sooooo much talent but everyone wants to rip them off to go into their studio. And the studio sucks and it sounds like crap anyways.
Click to expand...

...Good for you Danny. With a man like you, wish I live in your town. While you're on duty, it would be a good time for you to train your ears. I dunno if Navy lets you bring some CD walkman, but if it's okay, then you can do the ear training. Many of musicians/engineer don't take that much of listening to the mix. They rather dance to the song instead. :D Bring on some good CD's which you think have a good sound. Listen to it in your break. Figure out how they do the sound by your ears. From capturing, leveling, panning, Eq's, effects, etc... It would be very usefull to have an "ear skill" for your future. Good luck.

;)
Jaymz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top