Introduction: My struggle with home recording

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with home recording. I can understand how frustrating it can be. I started learning about recording myself a few years ago and it can be a lot of fun but also a lot of work.

I'm glad to hear that you've been gradually learning more and more about recording. It sounds like you're on the right track. The best thing to do is keep practicing and learning as much as you can. There's no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to recording so the more you learn, the better equipped you'll be to find your own way of doing things.

I hope that helps and good luck with your recordings!
--
Jason Hook. Audio Enthusiast and Software Developer
Remove or Isolate Vocals from any Song 👉 https://www.UnMixIt.com/
 
IHateHomeRecording said:
Thank you guys for the compliments. That means a lot. I think the riff is good, it's just not the style I'm going for. It was too "thrash". I'm trying to sound more light, "sunset strip" 80s metal kind of like Poison, Dokken, Ratt... It's a more loose, and "party hardy" kind of sound.

I also agree about the guitar. It's a copy/paste of the same track panned left/right, so it's essentially mono. Something I didn't know until someone in this thread pointed that out. It would be less up front if done with two separate performances and hard panned. I think I'm going to work with that riff again and maybe try to play a bit looser and sustain the notes a bit longer to maybe "hair" it up a bit.
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Try wearing Spandex. I think that has a lot to do with it - the secret ingredient.
 
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IHateHomeRecording said:
. It would be less up front if done with two separate performances and hard panned. I think I'm going to work with that riff again and maybe try to play a bit looser and sustain the notes a bit longer to maybe "hair" it up a bit.
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Try mixing two different amp sounds together. Or compressing the high band with multiband comp and slower attack.
 
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Can you get a loudness estimate on the top track? Like if it says -15 Lufs. you could set a limiter in the track for -15Lufs and push your gain against that limiter to get the hair. I would try to match the target with all the tools you have.

Screenshot 2022-03-02 132611.jpg
 
I'm trying to write something right now but everything I write sounds odd and sucks. Why?? I can't figure out what is wrong with me! Why can everybody just pick up a guitar and everything they play sounds normal and decent but everything I play sounds oddball and bad?
 
ecc83 said:
(yes, peeps do use headphones, I am not a fan for 'proper' monitoring)
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You are trying it with a decent set of phones? Dave like headphones.

The track you are playing doesnt sound like anything is wrong with equipment. I think you just know what you want, but don't have the VSTs in order to make the final product.

A lot of it is gain. A lot of it is the pan spread. There is probably some nice reverb or ambience happening too. Use your tools. Match that to your ears.

Chin up man, continue. Youre fine.
 
That riff is literally ripped off of Round and Round and "She's My Cherry Pie". I mean, literally ripped STRAIGHT OFF from it. But it sounds nothing like it, and does not come across the same. Why do my riffs suck no matter what?
 
Btw, EZDrummer and EZBass sound like absolute shit. Whoever thought these sims sounded good were smoking crack. You add them to your recording and they instantly make everything sound wonky and wrose
 
IHateHomeRecording said:
Why does it not sound right? It sounds.....weird. What am I doing wrong?
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You need to elaborate. What is not happening? It just doesn't meet your expectations? Technically, it seems working. No latency type issues.
IHateHomeRecording said:
The worst part is everybody telling me its good when its not. Its not helpful.
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There is no excessive noise and the amp sims are functioning. Use the tools to check if the recordings are in the green for dynamic range.

IHateHomeRecording said:
Btw, EZDrummer and EZBass sound like absolute shit.
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The drummer is ok. It needs external add on compression. The internal comp doesnt go far enough.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
You need to elaborate. What is not happening? It just doesn't meet your expectations? Technically, it seems working. No latency type issues.
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I don't even know man. It just doesn't sound right or normal. I'm not knowledgable about this stuff enough to tell you what it does or doesn't have.

LazerBeakShiek said:
There is no excessive noise and the amp sims are functioning. Use the tools to check if the recordings are in the green for dynamic range.
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Those weren't amp sims. That's my Marshall miked. I did use the reverb and delay pedals in my AMPHUB plugin though.

LazerBeakShiek said:
The drummer is ok. It needs external add on compression. The internal comp doesnt go far enough.
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I honestly just need a producer to work with me and help set me straight. I don't know how to do that, but even without all that stuff, my recordings should at least sound like music, but they don't. They sound just... weird. I don't know how else to put it. Nothing stands out to my ears as sounding..... right or correct. It just sounds off.
 
IHateHomeRecording said:
I don't even know man. It just doesn't sound right or normal. I'm not knowledgable about this stuff enough to tell you what it does or doesn't have.


Those weren't amp sims. That's my Marshall miked. I did use the reverb and delay pedals in my AMPHUB plugin though.


I honestly just need a producer to work with me and help set me straight. I don't know how to do that, but even without all that stuff you're talking about, my recordings should at least sound like music, but they don't. They sound just... weird. I don't know how else to put it. Nothing stands out to my ears as sounding..... right or correct. It just sounds off.
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IHateHomeRecording said:
The worst part is everybody telling me its good when its not. Its not helpful. I feel fucking helpless with this shit.
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First off, a riff is not a song. It's a part of a song, but it won't stand up on it's own. You need more elements to make it interesting. Lyrics, chorus, chord changes. A 4 second riff that repeats for 3 minutes is boring.

Second, learning how to balance the parts is something you need to work with. In the clip you have above, the drums are pretty much all kick, but it isn't blending well. The bass guitar is completely buried as soon as the guitar comes up. Plus, I don't feel the bass you have selected has much body to it. It's pretty thin and "boinky" to me. The drums and bass should set a foundation for the other elements, guitar, vocals, keyboards, whatever.

Go back to some of those 80's songs and I think you'll find that the guitar parts are layers deep. There might be a half dozen things going on at one time.

Finally, are you hearing the guitar sound you want in the room? If you put your ear where your microphone is sitting, do you hear the same sound? I'm sure the answer is no. It's a common issue. A mic 2 inches from the grill cloth doesn't hear the same thing you do 10 ft away in a room with the speaker firing at your knees.

Just because you have a basketball and a goal in the driveway doesn't mean you'll be shooting hoops like Seth Curry. It all takes practice, lots of it.
 
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