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ascard

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Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
26
Hi everyone!
I recorded a song idea that i have, mainly to look for a drummer and singer, if you guys happen to know one in south florida (boward county - miami) Let me know!!! Besides that i would like to know what you guys think about the song overall and the guitar tone, i don't know how well i did in the mix but I'm learning.

The gear I used: MusicMan JP 13 7 String, Pro Tone Dead Horse Deluxe Overdrive, Mesa Boogie Mark V, Torpedo Live.

Thank you!!

https://soundcloud.com/garitos-e-thulu/song-idea-1
 

canuck6string

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Dec 8, 2014
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173
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Western Canada..eh
Hey and welcome,

I was only listening through my laptop's speakers, so my perception is a little skewed. I heard more of the drums and cymbals than your guitar playing.
 

ascard

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Mar 31, 2015
Messages
26
Hi canuck6string,

Thank you for your feedback!!!!, Lol i didn't know, i was mixing with headphones and is my first time mixing, i tried in the car and it sounded kinda decent but your feedback gave me a new vision of it :D i have to EQ those cymbals and do a little bit better for the drums too. Thank you!.
 

canuck6string

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Dec 8, 2014
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Western Canada..eh
My exposure to heavier instrumentals is severely limited. Since I'm a teen of the 80's I use Dokken's "Mr. Scary" as my reference point. Lynch does have some softer melody parts but they still stand out in the mix. Hopefully someone with a greater appreciation for newer instrumentals will chime in.
 

ascard

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Mar 31, 2015
Messages
26
Hi canuck6string!,

It's ok I really appreciate your comments a lot!, also hahaha is not supposed to be a instrumental lol, but i havent found a singer yet, that was one of the main reason I recorded this, too see if I can find a drummer and a singer.

Thank you!.
 

Firesource

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Jan 21, 2014
Messages
181
Location
Denmark
Your guitar tone is way too fat. If you want it to stick out in the mix, you will need to dial in some more treble and mid on the amp, and remove some bass. Perhaps try another cab on the torpedo.
I recommend you add a lo-cut at 100 Hz give or take on the guitar as well, if you haven't already.

What did you do to the "thin" sounding guitar part? It sounds like it has the cab simulation removed. For getting that type of filtered sounds I find it to sound way better with a very high lo-cut maybe at 800-1000 Hz. If the top end gets too overbearing, experiment with adding a high cut as well.
 

Bob123

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Mar 25, 2012
Messages
227
From purely a sound perspective,

the guitar has too much distortion and overly scooped mids honestly, its clipping the sound. If its not the distortion, then your input gain is too high.

Bass > distortion when in doubt.
 

DrKev

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Somewhere between Paris, Dublin, and Buffalo
Listening on headphones (cheap Sennheisers, but not totally sucky)...

I thought the guitar sounds were OK, and well played!, but too dominating in the mix. They are a little bass-heavy, which takes up space the bass guitar and kick drum should be using. In fact I'd be hard pressed to tell you what the bass guitar is doing at all. Like Firestorm mentioned, a low-cut/high-pass filter somewhere in the 100 - 200 Hz will help that and the allow the actual bass instruments more room to do their job. Remember the sound WE as guitar players like to hear standing in front of an amp are usually not what a good mix requires.

Personally, I find the drums really distracting. It feels like the snare falls in the 'wrong' place at times and misses the accents with the guitars (e.g. 0:34 to 0:37, and 0:42 to 0:45), which I find annoying. The drum sounds feels all bottom or top, no body or mid. Overall the drum 'kit' feel very unbalanced, mix-wise, and over complicated, programming wise.

Remember to use reference tracks when mixing - pro tunes you like and know the sound of as a reference to how you want yours to sound like, in terms of level and overall EQ and mix. And only think like a guitar player when playing the guitars. :)

So aside from my non-engineer-just-a-guitar-player comments, let me say that I can hear the work and effort. Well done!
 

ascard

Active member
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Mar 31, 2015
Messages
26
Hi everyone, thank you for your feedback!!!!.

Firesource: Yea you right about that, i did put it in a lo-pas at 80Hz and a hi in 4kHz, i'll try cutting at 100Hz to see what happend.

Bob123: Yea i realize that after I recorded everything, that either I have to much distortion or the guitar was clipping, judging for the waves in the DAW i think the guitar is clipping really bad I may have to re-record everything, although I recorded the song because i wanted to try mix something, is my first mix and the first time I record something by myself and I'm always looking for awesome guitar tone. I recorded the song too so i can ask for feedback, about how everything is sounding and to see if ppl like the song, and too see if I can find a singer and a drummer lol.

DrKev: Thank you!, and yea I thinks is true is really bass heavy and somehow is really pre-dominant in the mix. Ohhh and the drums I kinda like it and hate it at same time, you are right about the accents I over complicated things when i was programming the drums to make them feel more real, and I hate the sound of the drums specially the kick and yes is really unbalanced although i don't know how to fix that :/ I'll try to do something. I was trying to do reference tracks when i was mixing but maybe is because I'm to noob but I tried to some stuff in EQ and I couldn't also I think it sound over compressed even thought I hardly use any compression at all.

Thank you guys!
 

DrKev

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Don't be afraid to put a really big cut on the low end of the guitars. You'll be surprised at how much bass frequencies you can cut from guitars without making things suck. Remember, it's not a "hard cut" below the displayed frequency. Even though a low E on a guitar is 88Hz, you can put a low-cut at 160Hz or 200Hz or higher and the guitar shouldn't sound thin and the bottom notes won't disappear. Listen to the effect of the cut on the entire mix, not just the guitar you're applying the EQ to (i.e. nobody else will listen to the guitar rack solo'd out of the mix so you don't have to either).

Listen to your reference tracks. Listen to how those guitars are EQ'd and how that makes space in the low end of the mix for the bass guitar and drums while keeping the guitars present.
 

Firesource

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Jan 21, 2014
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Denmark
DrKev is right, do not be afraid to have a high lo cut. Also, I find that mixing is an art of setting your ego aside, because you have to face that in order to get the best result, you will not get the big fat crunchy, over saturated sound, that you may like when you are playing by yourself, and you need to realize, that the bass sound plays an important role in getting a great guitar sound.
 

ascard

Active member
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
26
Hi DrKev and Firesource,

I'm going to try that! Also now i have Superior Drummer, let see if I can make the drums sound better too.

Thank you guys!!! And what do you think about the song? I'm still looking for drummer and singer, I'm at least trying to see if someone can record the voices part but no luck on that yet.
 
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