How do these re-amped guitar tracks sound?

[RAMI]

Good on the super champ x2 - sounds kinda classy with a super hot input instead of just assy like a lot of amps. I think if we weren't used to the dynamics of your playing, it might not have come up.

You know, I often "know" how something sounds, but sub-conciously deny it until someone else articulates it. I "knew" these tracks sounded different and a little too "80's slick", but until Greg mentioned it, I ignored my gut instinct on it, thinking it must just be my imagination. It certainly doesn't sound bad by any means. But it just seems so obvious now when I think back at how I was getting over-drive no matter how low I was turning my gain down. I've said this about so many things in my life, but I'll say it again: My instincts are always right. My problem is that I don't listen to them enough.

 

[suprstar]

..... too hot signal going into the amp made the amp perform some kind of saturated-compression or something.. I have no idea what I'm talking about.....

Oh BS yeah you do know! and you say that like its a bad thing, i love the natural compression from the amp/cab. Your guitar tracks have nice tone and sound really good, i dont think they sound over comp'ed at all.

I do have one nit tho - comparatively, the drums sound kinda dry, and you can tell me "I say that like its a bad thing" cuz I know it's just my personal preference, and Ive been here long enuf to know you like em that way.. You have a nice kit and great setup, wanna let em shine. More fx kind of obscure that, I know it's a fine line... The guitar tracks sound have more depth, reverb, somerthing.. idk what exactly what cuz idk what im talking about either

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

I see I'm a bit late to the party but I thought that the lead at the beginning definitely sounded a bit too compressed. I'm not a huge fan of those overly "creamy" sounds that Dream Theater uses for instance.

I liked the rhythm sound. It had that nice balance between not overly distorted and still heavy. Cool riffs.


I assume that these are in-the-box drums. What program are you using?


(ps the first big bend was a bit pitchy )

 

[RAMI]

Oh BS yeah you do know! and you say that like its a bad thing, i love the natural compression from the amp/cab. Your guitar tracks have nice tone and sound really good, i dont think they sound over comp'ed at all.

I do have one nit tho - comparatively, the drums sound kinda dry, and you can tell me "I say that like its a bad thing" cuz I know it's just my personal preference, and Ive been here long enuf to know you like em that way.. You have a nice kit and great setup, wanna let em shine. More fx kind of obscure that, I know it's a fine line... The guitar tracks sound have more depth, reverb, somerthing.. idk what exactly what cuz idk what im talking about either

Thanx man. Actually, I really don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to how an amp reacts to stuff, etc....I used the word compression but I don't know if any actual compression takes place.

Anyway, you're probably right about the drums, but this wasn't even really a mix. I threw faders up and sent the drums to a reverb without really taking the time to get it right. I'm sure the final mix will be better once the song is finished.

---------- Update ----------

I see I'm a bit late to the party but I thought that the lead at the beginning definitely sounded a bit too compressed. I'm not a huge fan of those overly "creamy" sounds that Dream Theater uses for instance.

Yeah, neither am I, really. It wasn't what I was going for at all. Once I get the box, I'll be able to dial in the sounds I really want.

I assume that these are in-the-box drums. What program are you using?

Hehe....I'm using that program called "real drums" and they're programmed by using a "real drummer".

 

[Greg_L]

Thanx man. Actually, I really don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to how an amp reacts to stuff, etc....I used the word compression but I don't know if any actual compression takes place.

Yes, tons of compression takes place. Natural tube compression inside the preamp section of the amp. Just look at the waveform. An overdriven guitar track is pretty much a solid blob waveform because the tube is clipping the signal internally. It's compression. A sparkling clean guitar track is very dynamic with tons of transients - no clipping. This is very general of course, but that's pretty much what's going on.

Hehe....I'm using that program called "real drums" and they're programmed by using a "real drummer".

Haha yeah, that's my response too.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Hehe....I'm using that program called "real drums" and they're programmed by using a "real drummer".

Those were real?
They sounded really upfront and powerful for a home recording if they were. Good job :O
I have this tendency to think everything is from Steven Slate Drums if the drums sound good in a home recording

 

[Greg_L]

Those were real?
They sounded really upfront and powerful for a home recording if they were. Good job :O
I have this tendency to think everything is from Steven Slate Drums if the drums sound good in a home recording

You're not the only one. Fake stuff that requires no effort or knowledge is so common now that many people don't even realize that it is possible to record real stuff and have it sound great.

 

[RAMI]

Those were real?
They sounded really upfront and powerful for a home recording if they were. Good job :O
I have this tendency to think everything is from Steven Slate Drums if the drums sound good in a home recording

Thanx man. I'm a drummer first, and all the rest second. So, if there's one thing I wouldn't fake, it's drums. I actually didn't put a lot of time or effort into mixing these drums since it was just a quick demo for the guitar sounds. But, like Greg said, real drums can sound just as good or better than canned drums. We've just gotten used to thinking "good=fake" and "bad/average=real".

 

[DM60]

You're not the only one. Fake stuff that requires no effort or knowledge is so common now that many people don't even realize that it is possible to record real stuff and have it sound great.

Based on reading and getting ready to set up for live recording, it seems drums are the most problematic of all instruments to record. Since it has all of the elements of frequencies, bleed, variants on the sound levels, drums are a challenge. Probably one of the biggest challenges of recording.

Get drums right, all other instruments are less of a challenge.

 

[robgreen]

Man, I'd love to use/play real drums - but space and noise issues are insurmountable at the moment. Fake drums are the poor relation no question.

On the sample, I agree with Greg about the lead tone sounding a bit Satriani, but I figured that you're just exploring what the capabilities of the setup are here. It's by no means bad at all and nothing sounds too squashed to my ears.

I'd never heard of a reamp box before, but after a quick internet search it seems like it would add a lot of flexibility. I'm guessing you record the clean DI sound > route that clean sound back out from your DAW > into your amp > and then capture through a miked up speaker back into your DAW. Is that right?

 

[RAMI]

I'm guessing you record the clean DI sound > route that clean sound back out from your DAW > into your amp > and then capture through a miked up speaker back into your DAW. Is that right?

Exactly. I used a cheap amp sim to record so that I wasn't just playing while hearing a DI sound.

In case you missed the whole conversation, I agree with you. It's not the tone I wanted. I realized after that, without the box, I was sendng a way too hot signal to my amp. Hence, the Satriani-ness, which I do not want. Can't wait to re-do it with the box.

 

[Mr Clean]

I think it sounds pretty good for something so new to you. I'm sure it won't take you long to get the best out of it. I always thought re-amping would be a great way to really fine tune the tones that you want but I've never done it myself. Maybe one day.....

Got to love those programmed drums

 

[RAMI]

I think it sounds pretty good for something so new to you. I'm sure it won't take you long to get the best out of it. I always thought re-amping would be a great way to really fine tune the tones that you want but I've never done it myself. Maybe one day.....

Got to love those programmed drums

Thank you, Sir Hygiene.

 

[robgreen]

Exactly. I used a cheap amp sim to record so that I wasn't just playing while hearing a DI sound.

In case you missed the whole conversation, I agree with you. It's not the tone I wanted. I realized after that, without the box, I was sendng a way too hot signal to my amp. Hence, the Satriani-ness, which I do not want. Can't wait to re-do it with the box.

Cool, thanks for that clarification rami. Post up some updates once you've got the box

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

You're not the only one. Fake stuff that requires no effort or knowledge is so common now that many people don't even realize that it is possible to record real stuff and have it sound great.

True, but if I had the choice of recruiting a drummer, teaching him all my songs, finding an appropriate room with equipment, going through the recording and fine tuning process or just using Steven Slate drums and probably have it be tigher and more punchy in 1/100th of the time, I'd go with SS eleven times out of ten. Real drums are sadly the bane of most home recording studios. Plus, "fake" drums sound great nowadays.

 

[jimistone]

I listened to them a couple of days ago but was busy and didn't comment. I think the re-amped guitar sounds are great. Nothing wrong with them to my ears

 

[Greg_L]

True, but if I had the choice of recruiting a drummer, teaching him all my songs, finding an appropriate room with equipment, going through the recording and fine tuning process or just using Steven Slate drums and probably have it be tigher and more punchy in 1/100th of the time, I'd go with SS eleven times out of ten. Real drums are sadly the bane of most home recording studios. Plus, "fake" drums sound great nowadays.

Hey I don't care how you get your drums, or "drums". You could bang on suitcases and pots and pans for all I care. I just think it's funny, and sad, that someone records a good sound and the assumption is that it's fake. People's expectations and experiences are really out of whack these days.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Hey I don't care how you get your drums, or "drums". You could bang on suitcases and pots and pans for all I care. I just think it's funny, and sad, that someone records a good sound and the assumption is that it's fake. People's expectations and experiences are really out of whack these days.

I'm not sure I'd describe them as "out of whack". It's just that home recorded drums have a tendency to sound very dull. I've listened to so many raw tracks at Mike Senior's website and 7/10 are muffled or have lots of bleed. Especially the kick always sounds like a wet mop being whacked against a bean-bag chair.

Programmed drums are becoming indistinguishable from a good recording and well played drums, which is a definite win for every home recording studio. I can't field drums or record them but I can do everything else fine via DIs. Now it doesn't matter anymore. Personally, I'm glad that technology has brought us so far.


In the end, nobody besides gear enthusiasts give two shits about HOW you did it, it just has to sound good (like you said).

 

[RAMI]

Programmed drums are becoming indistinguishable from a good recording and well played drums, which is a definite win for every home recording studio.

I think this is the conun-drum.

Many drummers can play well but don't know how to record, and canned drums sound good but are often programmed by non-drummers, so they don't come off convincing, at least not to me. There's no question that fake drums sound great these days. The difference is in how they're used.

In the end, it's like you both said. Nobody cares how, it's about how good.

I get a personal satisfaction from knowing I played and recorded my own drums. But that doesn't mean I don't hit stumbling blocks along the way. Drums have a tendency to "Gremlin" on me. I can go along fine for 10 songs and get great recordings, and then all of a sudden I do a song, taking everything for granted, and end up with all kinds of issues, like a shit sounding snare for some reason, or whatever. This just happened to me yesterday with a song I posted and took down. I just re-tracked the drums today and am still not convinced they sound as good as most of my other tracks. That just happens sometimes, a lot more than it will happen to recording guitar or bass, for example.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

I get a personal satisfaction from knowing I played and recorded my own drums.

This is probably what a lot of people said when a lot of things were replaced by technology
I'm telling you, there is probably a metal record out there right now that is all digitally created and we don't even know it because it's so convincing.