Metal, home recorded of course, help needed!

  • Thread starter Thread starter David_VI
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David_VI

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Hi,

I just started recording my own stuff since switching to Reaper. Cubase would crash and I guess I never got anything done, but since using Reaper i've gone nuts!

Anyway.
I'd like your feedback on this. Its bad but I dunno how to improve it yet so i'm here!

I'm using Reaper as stated, Superior Drummer. The guitars are recorded using an SM58 (don't have a 57 yet! but I gave a 58 a go just for tests). Also the emulated line out from my ashdown amp into my interface.
Each guitar (2) has two tracks, one from the mic and one from DI via lineout. Should I re-record each part more than once to layer them?


Please, please ignore the vocals, i'm not sure why I tried when i'm incredibly ill, but somehow I wanted to get a song recorded! so ignore those in your critique unless you have any ideas on how to make them sound better in the mix.

Bass is DI'ed through interface also.
http://www.myspace.com/camulodunon
I'd like feedback on both but mainly the full out metal number which is 'For Victory'

Thanks for your help!!
David
 
Hello, first, you need to upload the track to a better quality webserver like lightningmp3.com or soundclick.

Then you could double the guitars and pan them hard. The rest sounds great, except for the vocals :D, ok ok, i don't know really if they sound good or not, is just not my style and i really don't like those kind of screams. But the mix is good as is right now.

After 2 minutes the guitar riff was really annoying to me, not because it was bad, is just too repetitive.

Regards.
 
The mix sounds one dimensional...everything is fighting for the same space in the mix it seems.

The playing is good...the mix isnt.

------------

Have you thought about getting someone else to mix.

I wouldnt mind trying a mix or perhaps post it for others to try a mix as well.

All I ask for is individual drums stems...kick,snare, overheads ect plus all other instrument stems

I hear a sm58 is similar to a 57 if you take the ball off the mic...I could be wrong but I think I read that somewhere...probably on this forum perhaps.

Im offering to mix because I have not mixed a song like this yet and wouldnt mind trying a mix of it.
 
Thanks for your feedback.

I'm thinking of shortening it near the start by 4 bars which is the bit I think you mean the riff gets repetitive?

And to have someone else mix it, wouldn't I have to upload a lot of wav files? Any advice on this, I wouldn't mind giving it a go. Only issue along with uploading lots of audio is i'm using Superior drummer Metal Foundry, wouldn't the mixer need this? By individual stems do you mean just the midi of each drum on its own track, like Hi hat, kick etc?


Its part of a 4 track demo/EP including the intro so I remastered it along with the intro last night to give them a better sound when working together.
 
zero00 said:
After 2 minutes the guitar riff was really annoying to me, not because it was bad, is just too repetitive.

Regards.
Click to expand...

I want to improve the song, so do you mean at a specific point or throughout the song from that point onwards? If you have any tips on how to improve the song then please let me know :)
 
You're off to a good start, but still very far away from having something of real quality. The vocals don't sound as bad on some parts, but it sounds like you haven't mastered your growl yet. I would suggest spending at least 10 minutes each day trying to make various growling noises and rehearsing a long with the music. After a few weeks you'll be much more proficient and your throat won't hurt lol.

The guitar tones don't sound heavy enough for metal. You'll need to experiment on creating guitar tones until you can get a nice thick and heavy song. I've had a lot of luck using AmpliTube Metal. You'll want to pan the guitars left and right. I find that recording at least 4 rhythm tracks really gives you a super full and heavy guitar sound although it's a little harder getting everything just right when you're working with so many tracks.

Try this...
http://www.vtc.com/products/Audio-Mixing-Essentials-Tutorials.htm
 
Thanks for your input.

Im working on the growls, I find i made it hard for myself with the verses as I can't seem to sing them in one go, I cheated and recorded nearly each line on its own.. just need to work on my endurance and breathing I know.. but that issue led me to come up with those rather nice backing vocals I think work alright.

The guitars are straight from my amp. Do you think its more gain or bass or just more overdubs?

I have amplitube metal so i'll give it a go.. How do you create a preset from scratch? thats the one thing i've not figured out yet.
 
In recording it's not cheating it's just a little trick. The purpose of recording is to get the best possible sound. I do the same thing and I may do one line several times until I'm happy with the way it sounds.

I'm not sure what you're going for vocally, but I try to get a full guttural growl. Your vocals sound like you're trying to do that, but aren't pulling it off properly. I always have the same problem unless I practice doing it regularly. I could be wrong, maybe you're trying not to go all the way.

With AmpliTube Metal, I found 4 different tones in the "Extreme" category that I liked and just slightly edited them until I thought they were good enough.

It has a lot of settings like AMP, STOP, TUNER, CAB, BACK, etc. You click on those things and then you can add, adjust, and tweak until you come up with a custom setting you like. I use completely different configurations for each guitar track which adds more variety to the tone instead of just using the same settings for all the guitar tracks.
 
Thanks again.

Im interested in hearing your recordings/songs now, got a link? How are you recording? (Edit looked at your sig!)

Im aiming for not full death metal type gutterals but midway between them and higher stuff. Something near the vocals in a band like Ensiferum for example.. but my own!

David
 
My space isn't the best way to listen to music because they convert the MP3s down to a very low quality. Right now I'm using a Firestudio Mobile & Studio One Pro because I wanted something NEW for windows 7 64bit and my pro tools system ran best on XP. I was tired of the limitations, although it did sound a little better, but not enough to matter too much.

Based on my experiences you can use any pre-amps and DAWS as long as you're using the right mic for the right job. You get better and better as you go and if you can take online tutorials or courses for it you'll get a grasp on it much faster. Everyone swears up and down that their products are the best and if you don't use the same gear they do, you suck LOL. The main thing is taking the time to learn to use the tools you have to the best of your ability.

It takes years and years to get good at this stuff, but it's fun and a great hobby to have. Especially once your stuff starts sounding good and you're able to enjoy it without everyone telling you how horrible it is LOL.
 
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