Been listening to power metal for 2 days straight...

896 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by 7deadlysins, Sep 3, 2010

7deadlysins

Discussion Starter · Sep 3, 2010 (Edited)

and THIS is what comes out of it. :yesway::metal: Falsetto vocals coming very soon.

(^Old)
http://soundcloud.com/7slinger/power6
(^New)

I need some input on the mix, I completely hate it, especially the drums. What can I do to bring them out in the mix and make them sound huge? I'm tuned to A Standard, 3 guitar tracks, one "bass" track, 2 harmony tracks, 1 drum, and then 1 parallel compression/reverb for the drums. On the drums i've got the superior drummer compressor, trans, etc. and I also have a sonic maximizer and classic compressor VST on the drums.

I was also writing an epic solo for the last riff, but I broke a string 20 mins before work on the V, and the Tele has a dead fret currently that hinders me from playing the specific solo. :noway:

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1

· #2 · Sep 3, 2010

Maiden vibe = :metal:

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Vince

· #3 · Sep 3, 2010

This is a nice piece to start with. I dig it. I'm hearing this on basic laptop speakers, so take this with a grain of salt.

You asked about the drums, the first thing that comes to mind is the cymbals are way too loud. Bring them back in the mix to where they're just audible. Loud cymbals are very.... 1990. The bass drum sample needs to be changed IMO. It sounds like an alesis drum machine. Use drumagog or another sampling program if you have the availability to bring in a better sounding bass drum. A good bass drum sample shouldn't need much mixing, maybe a little compression and EQ to taste, but the initial sound should be there to start with, or you're not using a quality sample IMO. Speaking from experience, it's insane and horrifyingly difficult to sit there for 6 months trying to get a subpar sample to sound good. Just get yourself a good sample. How do you determine a good bass drum sample? Crank the fucker up and if it hits you in the chest with bass and you hear a defined SNAP to the high-end, you're on the right track.

The snare sounds fine, maybe add a little highs for snap and back off the reverb a little.

As for the guitars, maybe back the gain down on the rhythm guitars a touch. Also the rhythm guitars and leads blend too much together and the harmony guitar is too loud. What works for me is to cut a bit of the mids out of the rhythm guitars and add mids to the lead guitars in the same area, say 1100 Hz. They will pop out from the backing rhythm tracks if you do this. Also maybe duck the rhythm guitars back a dB or two when the leads are playing, so that the overall perceived volume doesn't change when the part comes into play.

Another trick I really like to make the leads and harmony guitars play nice is I like to put 1 track of the melody guitar up the middle, and then I double track the harmony guitars, run them 6-8 dBs behind the melody and pan them hard left and right. It creates a better spectrum, more separation, and a prettier sound IMO. I do this on the harmony guitars in the clip I posted here yesterday.

Lastly, the harmony guitars and lead guitars should have more consistent playing. You have some parts where you can hear them being played slightly off rhythm or one with vibrato and the other without. Work on evening those up for more consistency I think. You definitely have the skill, now get it to tape to show the world.

That's what I can pick up from here, I think you're on the right track and I love where it's going! :yesway:

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Naren

· #4 · Sep 3, 2010

Love the lead guitar. :yesway:

The mix is pretty horrible, but it's obviously a song in progress. :lol: I think the lead guitar tone sounds pretty good, but not the rhythm guitar tone. And I think the rhythm guitar volume needs to go up and the bass guitar volume needs to go down a bit.

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7deadlysins

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 3, 2010

Naren said:
Love the lead guitar. :yesway:

The mix is pretty horrible, but it's obviously a song in progress. :lol: I think the lead guitar tone sounds pretty good, but not the rhythm guitar tone. And I think the rhythm guitar volume needs to go up and the bass guitar volume needs to go down a bit.

Yeah, it is a song in progress to say the least! :lol: I started fooling with TSE's ENGL 530 clone, the good news: I can tweak until my heart is content since I am using all amp sims and implulses :yesway: and I will definitely be tweaking the shit out of the guitars to find a tone I really like. Also, the bass is actually a pitch shifted guitar. :lol:

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7deadlysins

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 3, 2010 (Edited)

Been doing some work!.... Still not there, but its getting there. I did a LOT of tweaking on the drum velocities and it sounds a bit better, also there are 2 bass drums now, slightly panned, and keys. (I can't help being a bit OTT :lol

I also decided to use all 4 rhythm guitar tracks, I have 2 panned 100& L and R, which are higher in the mix, and then two that are at 55%, lower in the mix, and also a "reverb" track right in the center, also low in the mix.
(Edited first post with new mp3 :yesway

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