Mixing and recording shoegaze-style music (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, etc...)?

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sk8man121

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Hello all..I'm new to the forum after a long time lurking. I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are on how to achieve a showgaze sound (My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive, etc.) in terms of the mixing and recording process. I've got a lot of time on my hands for the next few weeks, and I plan on putting together a record with my multitracker (which I'll record every instrument with). What are peoples thoughts on where to put each instrument in the mix, effects, etc? I could definetely use some help with this, as I'm musically inclined but am a bit of a beginner when it comes to the recording process. I really want a full, shimmering sound in the same vein as slowdive's souvlaki...any tips?
 
great albums. to sound big, you must first create the space in which to put the many instruments (reverb on the master bus). or record everything in a gymnasium (not likely). liberal usage of ebows (not a typo of elbows), fuzz, phasers, and volume pedals (to kill guitar attack) will put you in good shape.

generally I would just keep the bass frequencies dry and down the middle. everything else is fair game. maybe try recording yourself panning the instruments around manually to give that enveloping feeling?
 
Lots and lots of guitar tracks.

Lots of sustain.

Overdriven to the point of saturation ... but nothing at all like a "metal" overdrive. Think smooth power tube drive / saturation.

A lot of that type of distortion goes beyond typical tube distortion and in to all-out speaker breakup ... which, at lower volumes actually sounds more like a smooth, harmonic-rich fuzz. You really have to crank the amp up loud in order to get this. If this is the type of sound you're going for ... then you might go through a few amps in the process. And your neighbors might not like you too well. :D

The My Bloody Valentine sound is really a combo of the speaker breakup, overdrive / sustain, and definitely a lot of open-tuning. I believe he also did something fuky with his tremolo pedal.

If you want to get some different variants on this type of sound ... then there are some pedals you could try, but ultimately they're not going to be "authentic." Fuzz pedals can sort of mimick that basic kind of texture, but you're not going to sound like My Bloody Valentine by using a fuzz pedal. :D

As far as mixing techniques ... there really isn't as much to it as you might think. Just use a lot of layers and pan / spread things out in the stereo field. Other than that ... just experiment. See what you can come up with. I don't think any of these bands you mention used any sort of cookie cutter approach.
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coool thread....i also have a hankering to do some mbv type stuff ...

i was planning my approach on staying as far away from a computer as possible.....apart from the basic recording itself.

and just relying on overdriving a small amp ...with well placed mikes in some kind of small space .....not sure yet where ...but my big muff and jazzmaster might come in for some serious abuse.(you really need to ride that trem!!)

for me the guitars and vocals seemed dooable but drums less so ...this is where it becomes more me than mbv...but who cares as long as the feeling is there.

but ...this is a suck it and see excercise...would love to hear the result!!
 
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