Metal song recorded with new equipment. +/-?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jericho75
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What's the gear in question?

Okay...my oppinions may be completely wrong, but I'm going to throw them out there anyway

I think the main problem is the drum mix. The overheads are too low for my taste, it makes the whole mix sound empty. I tend to mix drums together starting with the overheads, and use the other channels to fill out the sound comming from the overheads. (Of course, I could be biased because of that)

I like the bass tone, but it could be a lot deeper, it doesn't dound like there's any bottom end to it. How did you record it? I couldn't tell you exactly what to do here, but mess around with boosting 180Hz and below

The guitars sound a bit muddy, but I suspect that's the guitar sound itself. Try playing with the gain lower, it may work better for multitracking and add some definition to the notes. Although you may be able to get away with it when the drum mix is there, It just all sounds a bit flat right now.

But if you want an opinion on the gear or something, you'll need to tell us what you've actually replaced (Mics, interface, e.t.c.)
 
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I'm interested in getting opinions on the mix, not the gear. The bass felt a bit boomy so I actually dropped the lower eq's. The drums are aiff loops and cannot be eq'd separately. A near future upgrade to better drum software is necessary! I'm still trying to find that happy medium as far as gain on the guitars. Too low and it sounds weak IMHO even quad tracked, and to much gets muddy, but it's mean. Thanks for the input, i will look into these issues.
 
Try taking some of the lower end off the guitars so that the booming of the bass can fill that gap. I agree with the other guy that the overheads could come up quite a bit, I don't like them to be too loud, but they should blend in nicely and not be so far in the background.

If you're going to put some vocals on this song you might want to do it now. Because a problem I always have is that things change massively once you add the vocals. You'll need to make more adjustments and it can get frustrating once you over kill the mixing by working on it so much that you can't tell if the changes you're making are any good or not.
 
At first glance, the mix doesn't sound horrible. Perhaps a little muddy, but honestly, already a better guitar crunch sound than I've ever gotten at home. I'd have to hear it with vocals
 
Alright, I boosted the low end a hair on the bass. Though it feels boomy on my monitors but it could be just my cheaper monitors. The guitars I havent touched, though I may take the advice and knock off some lowend. I through on some quick vox to give you a better "feel" for the song.
 
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I didn't notice any big boom problem in the bass.

To me the guitars are missing some sizzle. Maybe a little boost around 4K might help. Might want to couple that with a notch out at around 400-500hz or so. Just guesses.
 
TBH, I'm not concerned with this paticular song, but more of using it as a tool to fine tune my "ear". Thank you for the suggestions. Do you really hear mud in the guitars? To my untrained ears it sounds pretty clear especially after the treble bump. I like the aggressiveness of the distortion. I suppose I could try a retrack with less..
 
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It's not something I'd describe as "mud" - more like a little cloudiness. Subtle difference, but distinct in my opinion. There's also a lack of "sizzle" or "sheen." Hence my suggestions to notch cut around 400-500 and boost wide but small around 4K.
 
On my system the drum loops are really low in level, with basically the only thing coming through is the snare and the attack of the kick. I don't know if you did that on purpose. I think the guitar tone is actually pretty good and any tweaks you make from here are for taste. It is a little on the stoner end of metal tone, but I personally like it. The big thing is that those multitracked guitars take up 70% of the mix. Even if you were adding a lead guitar or vocals, you're going to have to change the mix alot. There's no way guitars this big will work with an entire song going.

Just my opinion, I'm learning this stuff too.
 
Alright, i messed with it a bit more with vox. The drum loops are'nt my favorite, but until I upgrade that, this is what I have to work with. They are pretty much the way you hear them. Eq'ing them really doesn't help since I can't individually eq each drum. I'm pretty happy with the guitars with the boosted treble, and bass I think. Still feels boomy on my monitors but I through it on a CD and played it in my car and it sounded good.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=28747
 
i like the sound. good guitar skills. drums are on point. maybe u can return the favor and leave me also some feedback? just click on my signatur
 
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.
 
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The EQ changes you made modernized the guitars alot. They sound great. Again, though, in metal, your tone is taste, and you have to decide what you're going for. The bass sounds better to me too.

Hopefully you can tell now what we meant by space when you put in the vocals. In the old 3D visualization of mixing, the two guitars are both standing right in front of my left and right hand while the vocalist is about 30 feet away and up. Way too much reverb on the vocals and too low in the mix. Vocals have to be the focal element if they're present in virtually every rock-based song, including this. Front and center. And to make space for that you're going to have to take some from those guitars.
 
OK so now you have a nice ROUND sound for the guitars and bass. Next you need to bring the drums up. They need to be louder. They guitars should be louder than the drums, but just enough for it to be apparent, you want the drums to seem pretty loud as well. The vocals could also come up some, but I would probably re-record them until the timing is perfect. I hear a few places here and there that sound like it could be off timing with the way you're saying things, if that makes sense. The same amount of time that went into recording everything should be spent on just the vocals. Perfect the timing and the way you say things. Most people notice the vocals first. If the music is great and they hear half-assed vocals it'll keep the track from being viewed as a professional recording. The goal I think is to have this unreal huge perfect recording of your music.
 
maybe i'm off but the drums feel a bit off at times (around 1 min). Love the harmony licks. I was listening to Waking the Fallen this morning by Avenged and this has a similar vibe I think.
 
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