Starting recording a band that is like metallica, advice please

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bradthefattest

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hello, in a few weeks i am starting recording a band that sounds like metallica. I have never recorded that type of band, closest thing is a Hardcore band i recorded. but just wondering if you had any tips of like EQ'ing or anything for anything.

I have an Aardvark Direct Pro Q10, and some decent drum mics, an Oktave mk-301, and a shure ksm-27, and of course a good computer to record on.

Just any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Make sure you EQ the mids completely out of the guitars and then boost them through the roof so that you can hear them over the bass.;)
 
Obtain the services of a good lawyer as the drummer is bound to want to sue you at some point :D
 
Don't trade their MP3's on line or they'll sue you.
 
Serious? Tell them to change their sound if they want to make any sort of progress. Even Metallica doesn't sound like Metallica anymore. And when's the last time you heard ANY popular band--besides Metallica--that sounded like Metallica?
 
bradthefattest said:
just wondering if you had any tips of like EQ'ing or anything for anything.

Well there is no actual sound sample to work with so there is no way to tell what needs to be EQ'd.

bradthefattest said:
I have an Aardvark Direct Pro Q10

Okay. I don't know what that is.

bradthefattest said:
some decent drum mics

As in.........? 2, 3, 4, 5? What are they? Can't tell you where to put them if we don't know.

bradthefattest said:
an Oktave mk-301, and a shure ksm-27, and of course a good computer to record on.

So theres one for the vocals and one for the guitar. I hope the band doesn't have two guitarists. :)


There. Serious.
 
I am not recording all at once
I will probably do drums first, then bass, then guitar, then other guitar then vocals. and have the drummer go with a click track. unless the band wants to do something different.

Also i do not have any sound clips because i have nto started recording them yet

The drum mics are Carvin. have 4 d42's 1 d44 and 2 CM90E
http://www.carvin.com/cgi-bin/Isearch.exe?CFG=2&P2=DMK7&P1=MIC

They might not be ther most well known mics but they sound pretty good.

oh and also i have a few shitty mics like an sm48, and 2 nady mics, but they dont do much good for recording.
 
bradthefattest said:
I will probably do drums first, then bass, then guitar, then other guitar then vocals. and have the drummer go with a click track. unless the band wants to do something different.


Bands ALWAYS want to do something different. You have to bitch slap them and make them understand that its your studio and you know what works. Otherwise you'll be there all night and even though you are probably geting paid, that still sucks. Its worse though when its your friends and you can't say, "sorry guys...recording session is over jackasses".

You can but............:rolleyes:
 
I watched a DVD documentary the other night on the making of the black album... it was brilliant; might want to check it out... i think it was called "behind the music" or something like that

worth a look

~TOR
 
The documentary on making the Black album is called "A year and a half in the life of."

I think the first part is making the album and the second part is touring behind it.
 
Alright . . .

For starters, I would recommend going with a square, wooden beater. No felt beaters. During sound check, listen really carefully to make sure you're getting some good, solid beater slap. If you're not, then you might try the silver-dollar trick. Kinda' cheezy, but supposedly works.

Secondly, I would come up with a good strategy on how to deal with what will likely be a lot of loud cymbal -- pretty common with that genre of music.

If he likes to use 3 crash cymbals, try and talk him down to two. If he uses 4, try and talk him down to 3. That sort of thing. Secondly, impose your authority and force him to use smaller, darker ones. :D Custom K darks are great, but there are a few others that work well (dark&crisp, etc.). Do whatever you have to do to get some for the day. Borrow or rent if you have to.

Make sure the bass player re-strings before the session. If he doesn't, then hit him in the face. Seriously. Do it as hard as you can. :D On second though, bass players are usually pacifists, so it probably wouldn't be nice.

Lastly, find out what kind of amps the guitarist/s are going to be using. Make sure they are of high quality. For that genre of music, I tend to think Marshalls are good recording amps. I just always seem to have good luck with them -- even the solid state ones aren't bad for the really heavy, crunchy death-metalish stuff.

Obviously, if anyone has access to a dual rectifier or any kind of Mesa, that would be nice, but most of these bands don't have that kind of cash lying around.

Just make sure that it sounds nice over the monitors and records well when micing it up. Pay attention during sound check. And I mean really listen and be honest with yourself; is it really getting you a good, ballsy tone, or does it kind of get lost sometimes and sound thin and noisy, screechy, etc. ? If that's the case, then keep playing and fiddling with it. And back the distorion off a bit -- you don't need nearly as much when you record as you do live. If it's still just not doing it for you, then stop the damn session and tell them to get a real amp if they want to sound any good.

The biggest problems I have with these kinds of bands are: Loud, harsh cymbals that sound like shit . . . bass drum that's too flabby, not tight enough, and not enough click . . . old bass strings that need to be changed . . . and guitar amps that sound good when rehearsing but just don't record well.
 
Well Chessrock, I just gave this thread 5 stars for your post. Lets hope this one doesn't fall apart. ;)
 
ToR said:
I watched a DVD documentary the other night on the making of the black album... it was brilliant; might want to check it out... i think it was called "behind the music" or something like that

worth a look

~TOR

I've got a similar dvd, just called 'Classic Albums' on the making of the black album. Some really interesting stuff in there, like how they took all the sound baffles out of the studio to get a liver sound, and how they took about 500 drum takes on each track and spliced them together. They also play some tracks of the pre mix and do some fader fiddling.

The interviews are good too, apart from the ones with Lars who comes across as a know it all wanker who appears to have an exceedingly high opinion of himself
 
Bulls Hit said:
The interviews are good too, apart from the ones with Lars who comes across as a know it all wanker who appears to have an exceedingly high opinion of himself

Well they did sell 10 million or so records with that album. He must have known something. :)
 
thanks everyone, i will definitely do many of the things you suggested chessrock, thanks.

keep them coming everyone!
 
Well they did sell 10 million or so records with that album. He must have known something.
He knew enough to get his sloppy-ass drum playing edited to perfection in Pro Tools.
 
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