Symphony of Destruction!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheNightman77
  • Start date Start date
T

TheNightman77

New member
Hey there folks,

I've been hanging around the HomeRecording forums for awhile now, but this is my first time uploading something. So here is my first stab at a full recording! I did all the drums/guitars/bass and in one (too) short session had a friend provide the vocals for me (after a few failed attempts myself!).

I know there are many things that aren't sitting the way they should in the mix right now and the recording itself isn't perfect; I'm still not great at using EQ for each instrument to have its own place in the mix, so any info you may have for me on that would be very helpful. The vocals are also too loud in the mix right now so I'm still messing with compression and fader level on that aspect. If you hear some static/clicking after some symbol hits it is because one of the diaphragms was dirty on one of the SDC's that I was using for overheads....I did my best to EQ it out, and I have new SDC's in the mail so this won't happen again!

Symphony of Destruction 2 by TheNightman77 on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

I know I have a TON to learn which is why I appreciate your feedback!

Thanks in advance!
 
You'll need to work on the vocals or get another as this one doesn't really cut it for the intro - manages the rest.
Lots of guitars but not much power in them.
How did you record them?
The drums similarly aren't very powerful - hopefully someone like GregL or Poeticintensity will comment on those.
the bass is pretty good: it has definition and some bottom end. You might consider the following for it:
CUT 5db at 100 with a Q of 3 and boost 4 at 200 same Q.
Good start!
 
Thanks for the response Ray, I appreciate the feedback.

Agreed on the vocals.....certain spots seem ok but overall I haven't been happy with how they turned out. I may ask him to do it again and if that doesn't work out I'll just try to do it myself.

I've been using a Presonus Digimax FS 8 channel preamp for all instruments, and I have a MOTU828mk2 for my interface. The guitars were recorded with an SM57 up against the grill of my Marshall AVT150 Valvestate amp. I only recorded two tracks, one panned hard left and the other hard right. I was considering adding another track panned up the middle. I originally wanted to use as few tracks as possible on this recording since it's my first real one, just so I could concentrate on how to separate the instruments in the mixing stage. Do you have any suggestions on how to get a more powerful sound?

Drums were recorded using 2 SDCs as overheads, Audix D6 on kick and the SM57 on the snare.

Any additional comments on what I can do better would be most appreciated!
 
Power to the guitars - the main answer around here is more guitars. You'd be amazed at how another pair of guitars will beef things up if you EQ them differently. One up the middle would be good but you'd have to ensure that it was playing something slightly different or you'll pull the others in & get almost mono.
Have you listened to the Sex Pistols album? It sounds raw, ragged and simple but there are easily 8 guitar tracks on each song that build up to give it the power - it's just easier to get guitar menace live than it is in a recording.
 
TheNightman77,

Hey bud, honestly listening through some cans got me grinning. As much as I try to say I do not like Megadeth this song took me back to my garage days in middle school. I really liked the bass definition. The vocals, in a sense, they are you. It kinda reminded me of vocal cover I heard of a Pantera song awhile back. It was not bad but then it wasn't good either. Please don't take that the wrong way. I probably could not do anywhere near as good as you did. I did like the semi harmonies in the back. Gave the cover some flavor.

I will say not bad though, not bad at all, at least in my opinion.

Keep the metal alive!
-TMG
 
Thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated!

I decided to go home and record 2 more guitar tracks last night and pan them right/left, at around 20/-20. Definitely made a big impact in terms of power. Of course I've had to adjust the rest of the mix to compensate, but I appreciate the tip. It is perhaps slightly more muddy, but it is mostly due to my own imperfection in playing that I'll have to dig deeper into. Anyone have any ideas for making the drums more powerful, or are the issues more just trying to find the right volume of the mix?

That-guy-Tom: No offense taken, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The vocalist is primarily a hair/power metal type singer that was willing to help me cover this, with his own style. So it is what it is....he gives his own take on how he would sing it, and in some places I think it works and others it leaves a little to be desired. And when he's off-key....it's pretty glaring. But again, better than what I can do too!

I will continue working on the mix, and experiment with EQing the bass as Ray suggested, and post a link to the new mix once it sounds a little better.
 
I can hear a lot of the room on the vocal track. If you could get a more isolated take that might help the vocal fit better. It seems a bit loud in the mix too. Listen on a cheap boombox (or something small like a cell phone or laptop speakers)and you might see how out front the vocal is. On headphones it might not seem so.

The drums need a lot more "space" or air to my ears. Maybe they are too compressed?

Like the bass tone and guitar sound though.:listeningmusic:

My two cents.
 
Have you posted version 2 with the extra guitars?
You can EQ some of the mud away...
Find the interactive frequency chart in the resources section chart on this site: Independent Recording Network and use it as a guide to where you need to carve some mud away (centred around 315 I think) but take a different chunk from each guitar so that they sound a LITTLE different.
 
As mentioned by others here, you might want to lower the vocals but the song is definately a good one.
 
guitars sound good - bass exceptionally so. drums sound silly and plastic. vocals are too loud, but that's a given by now. upload ur new mix!
 
Here's my second attempt at the mix after adding the two guitars. I think it definitely makes the mix sound larger and more powerful. I didn't EQ the second group of guitars just yet but they were at a slightly different EQ on my amp so that should help. I didn't tweak the bass in this one as a few others thought it sounded pretty good, but I saved a separate mix with the cut at 100 and boost at 200 to work with that as well. Tried to bring the vocals down in this one, not sure if I did enough. I am finding that parts of the vocals in the chorus get lost a little, I may have to do some automation to help the vox maintain the same level throughout. Tried to pull back the compression on the drums too as it may have been part of the reason that they sounded so thin and weak too. Thanks so much for your help, and keep it coming!

Symphony of Destruction - 2nd mix 06Feb2012 by TheNightman77 on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
 
WAY better.
The bass and chugga guitar blend remind me of an Oz band called The Angels (Angel City in the US).
The vox do get lost occasionally.
Something is needed with the vocals but I'm not any use there.
Terrifc developments!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top