How is this mix? (8-string, instrumental prog. metal)

[Santuzzo]

I just re-recorded and mixed one of my songs.

What do you guys think of the mix/playing/song, etc.

Any kind of constructive criticism is very welcome

https://soundcloud.com/larsbauer/metal-3-3-1-mix1

Thanks,
Lars

 

[Santuzzo]

 

[axxessdenied]

Hell yeah! That's fucking brutal and evil! Love those chords
Nice mix. I just got some new monitors yesterday so I'm learning what they are supposed to sound like. Sounds killer cranked on here

 

[Santuzzo]

Hell yeah! That's fucking brutal and evil! Love those chords
Nice mix. I just got some new monitors yesterday so I'm learning what they are supposed to sound like. Sounds killer cranked on here

Thank you very much!
Enjoy your new monitors

 

[Santuzzo]

anybody else?

 

[iceythe]

I like it!

Seems a bit more punchier than your previous mix. Good balance on everything. I'd experiment on trying a little less gain on the guitars. I used to have tons of gain on my tone during recording process since it just feels easier to play, but in actuality it sounds much better with a little less.

 

[Santuzzo]

I like it!

Seems a bit more punchier than your previous mix. Good balance on everything. I'd experiment on trying a little less gain on the guitars. I used to have tons of gain on my tone during recording process since it just feels easier to play, but in actuality it sounds much better with a little less.

Thanks!

I tihnk my mistake was I used the POD patches that I normally use on my RG1727, but the d-Activators of the RG2228 are high output pick ups so I should have turned the gain down accordingly.

But to me it actually is more difficult to play with more distortion when recording, not easier, since I have a harder time to get things tight and clean.

 

[Santuzzo]

another bump

 

[Santuzzo]

Do you guys think the guitars need to sound tighter?
Before recording this I tried a patch with a hard gate on it which made the sound much tighter, but in the end I decided against it in order to get a somehow more natural sound, dunno if that was a good decision, though?

Is it common practice is this kind of style to have a hard gate in your guitar signal path?

 

[Santuzzo]

Do you guys think the guitars need to sound tighter?
Before recording this I tried a patch with a hard gate on it which made the sound much tighter, but in the end I decided against it in order to get a somehow more natural sound, dunno if that was a good decision, though?

Is it common practice is this kind of style to have a hard gate in your guitar signal path?

one final bump in the hope of getting some more feedback/constructive criticism

 

[Plant]

Do you guys think the guitars need to sound tighter?

Guitars are Ok.
But be more attentive to bass and drums. They sound somewhat unnatural. Seems like a midi.

 

[iceythe]

Do you guys think the guitars need to sound tighter?
Before recording this I tried a patch with a hard gate on it which made the sound much tighter, but in the end I decided against it in order to get a somehow more natural sound, dunno if that was a good decision, though?

Is it common practice is this kind of style to have a hard gate in your guitar signal path?

I'd reckon it depends on the style you were going for. Most of the hard-gated tones I've come across sound really aggressive and you don't get to use the tone dynamics for what it's really worth. That extra bit of dynamics is like adding that little extra bit of colors to your palette.

Personally, I'm more into a blend of dynamics and a fast (but not hard) gate so I can hear string friction slides, ghost notes, pick attacks of varying degrees and even those super soft picking where the tone will slip past much of the distortion stage. It makes it sound that more organic and analog.

In practicality you do have one last dynamic gate (two, actually) that aren't found on any pedals, ampsims or amps. They are so great in the way that they will always gate (I mean always) what you want to gate. The gates sit so close to the strings that it's absurd not to use them. Points for figuring out that one!

 

[Santuzzo]

Guitars are Ok.
But be more attentive to bass and drums. They sound somewhat unnatural. Seems like a midi.

Thanks!

Yes, drums and bass are indeed programmed.
Maybe I should vary the velocities a bit more and also change the position of some hits on the grid.

I'd reckon it depends on the style you were going for. Most of the hard-gated tones I've come across sound really aggressive and you don't get to use the tone dynamics for what it's really worth. That extra bit of dynamics is like adding that little extra bit of colors to your palette.

Personally, I'm more into a blend of dynamics and a fast (but not hard) gate so I can hear string friction slides, ghost notes, pick attacks of varying degrees and even those super soft picking where the tone will slip past much of the distortion stage. It makes it sound that more organic and analog.

In practicality you do have one last dynamic gate (two, actually) that aren't found on any pedals, ampsims or amps. They are so great in the way that they will always gate (I mean always) what you want to gate. The gates sit so close to the strings that it's absurd not to use them. Points for figuring out that one!

Thanks!
Yes I know, and I do use my hands to mute quite a lot, and I agree on the more natural sound you get when not using a hard gate.
I think I have to tighten up my playing as opposed to using a hard gate.

 

[Plant]

Thanks!
Yes, drums and bass are indeed programmed.
Maybe I should vary the velocities a bit more and also change the position of some hits on the grid.

If you want, I can help you with programming.

 

[Santuzzo]

If you want, I can help you with programming.

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it!
But I tihnk I just need to put in more time when programming drums, and maybe also look at some of the MIDI grooves I have that came with AD EZD and SD2 to learn how to get programmed drums sound more realistic.

 

[Santuzzo]

one other question to you guys:

Do you think the toms on this track sound too similar to the kick? in terms of pitch but also in terms of EQ?

 

[Santuzzo]

I just uploaded a new mix,

is this better than my previous mix?

https://soundcloud.com/larsbauer/metal-3-3-1-mix2

 

[MrCthulhu]

I think the mix is decent. I think there are a few parts that could be re-tracked to tighten up the sound, but I also am not a fan of the super heavy gated tone, kudos to you for keeping it natural. I like there to be an organic feeling to the playing, and I feel like someday that will become popular again... While I'll admit this isn't my style of riffing, I do think that the song flows generally well. Have you thought of adding any lead guitar lines over the top of some of these chuggy riffs?

 

[Santuzzo]

I think the mix is decent. I think there are a few parts that could be re-tracked to tighten up the sound, but I also am not a fan of the super heavy gated tone, kudos to you for keeping it natural. I like there to be an organic feeling to the playing, and I feel like someday that will become popular again... While I'll admit this isn't my style of riffing, I do think that the song flows generally well. Have you thought of adding any lead guitar lines over the top of some of these chuggy riffs?

Thanks !

Do you think my 2nd mix is an improvement compared to the first?

I had the intention to keep this song as it is, ie no leads. All my other songs have leads, and for some reason I thought this song would be better to not have any leads on.

 

[Ryan-ZenGtr-]

Nice drum sounds!

WTF Soundlcoud recommended me the following "Artists";

Soundcloud said...
"Follow Lars Bauer, 50 Cent, Al Jazeera and others on SoundCloud."

Made me think of barges and canals....