how would I mix/master this riff more effectively?

  • Thread starter Thread starter bball_1523
  • Start date Start date
Hey B Ball

The first main problem is how you're tracking your guitar. I'm positive. What are you using because it doesn't sound like you're micing an amp? Are you plugged in direct? I mean you don't have to mic an amp just to get a good sound, but if you are recording your guitar direct there are definately better ways to do it. Just let me know what's up. I can probably help you improve the mix if you give me some details. Good luck.
 
hubble said:
Hey B Ball

The first main problem is how you're tracking your guitar. I'm positive. What are you using because it doesn't sound like you're micing an amp? Are you plugged in direct? I mean you don't have to mic an amp just to get a good sound, but if you are recording your guitar direct there are definately better ways to do it. Just let me know what's up. I can probably help you improve the mix if you give me some details. Good luck.

yeah I'm recording direct. I have an SM57 and mic stand, but I haven't really desired to try it that way since I'm not too experienced with it and have been lazy with it.

What are good ways to record direct?
 
I've only experienced two decent ways of recording direct. 1 is by using a pod or spider amplifier. (not really the best solution but it actually sounds pretty decent if you work real hard at layering some tones together). This can be used whether or not you have a computer.

The way I record directly however is through the VST plug in Guitar Rig. Not sure if you're using a computer to record or not, but I highly recommend it. Once again, it takes some work to get a decent sound, but it's 100 times better than what you are already doing.

Basically, you're not going to get a good sound by just plugging in directly from the back of an amp, or from a regular effects pedal. You sorta either need some sort of amp emulator like I mentioned above, or you may want to start using that SM57. Trust me, the SM57 actually can give you decent results IF you have a good sounding amp and you have something slightly decent to record onto. But if you're limited with equipment, you'll need to look into Guitar Rig.

Google search it or something, they might have a free demo out there. I hope that helps for the guitar at least.
 
bball_1523 said:
I have an SM57 and mic stand, but I haven't really desired to try it that way since I'm not too experienced with it and have been lazy with it.
Dude!!!!!!!!!
 
RAMI said:
Dude!!!!!!!!!

what? lol

well I've made some songs with my gt-8 recorded direct, but it uses spdif so that may be why it doesn't sound as good as the actual unit through an amp.

I think my recording may also be due to my cheap patch. My patch is very rough.
 
What do you mean by "cheap patch?" I'm not a metal guitar player,
but that riff's sound actually sounds, tone-wise, pretty good to me.
The problem is that infernal buzzing sound--sinlge-coil pick-ups? I've
noticed that I have to sit a certain way to avoid that when playing
a Strat. Your timing is about right on now.
S/PDIF should not make a difference, it seems to me. I send an analog
signal right in, processed in a Boss BR-532 first. You might have an issue
with the clock settings. The S/PDIF signal should be the same speed as
the rest of the software (44.1 or 48, 16 bit or 24 bit). It doesn't sound
to me like that's the case here though. Just re-do the guitar with a different
process--of course, Guitar Rig is great, but I believe it costs around $300.00.
You can always whack the finished track with EQ and other stuff like that
for now, but ideally you want the git sounding about right going in . . . .
 
TimN said:
What do you mean by "cheap patch?" I'm not a metal guitar player,
but that riff's sound actually sounds, tone-wise, pretty good to me.
The problem is that infernal buzzing sound--sinlge-coil pick-ups? I've
noticed that I have to sit a certain way to avoid that when playing
a Strat. Your timing is about right on now.
S/PDIF should not make a difference, it seems to me. I send an analog
signal right in, processed in a Boss BR-532 first. You might have an issue
with the clock settings. The S/PDIF signal should be the same speed as
the rest of the software (44.1 or 48, 16 bit or 24 bit). It doesn't sound
to me like that's the case here though. Just re-do the guitar with a different
process--of course, Guitar Rig is great, but I believe it costs around $300.00.
You can always whack the finished track with EQ and other stuff like that
for now, but ideally you want the git sounding about right going in . . . .


infernal buzzing? Maybe it's the patch, I noticed it had some weird noises in it. My other metal patches don't have odd noises. I'm using a humbucker guitar, and cheap one (Ibanez GAX70 w/stock pickups).

I've tried guitar rig before, but wasn't too pleased with it compared to my boss gt-8.

What is the main problem with my track? Do you think the volume is off?
 
Yeah, the sound of the guitar is off--it's too loud. Just turn down the
guitar, in relation to the drums. Do you have a bass? Put that in there,
and start working up the rest of the tune. This riff would sound nice in the
middle of a tune, as a bridge, maybe. Or, it could be the lead-off to a tune,
but I think you would have to lose (temporarily) the second part. So it
would be (in my mind, anyway): riff, into verse, riff, into verse (that is,
the riff then a melody line), bridge (something you haven't written yet!),
repeat riff, verse, repeat whole riff, bridge reprise, outro, done!
How about some keyboards? The riff is a good fragment, but the tough part--
lyrics and melody--are up next. The basic overall sound is good, for now.
 
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