Another DIY-dude looking for ways to improve.

[Alpha-Dee]

So, I've been following and reading the forums for a few years now, but I figured it was time to step into the community, and get some direct feedback about my mixes. This is basically a demo of one of my ideas, but at the same time I'm interested in making it the best it can be. My bands previous releases were done with VST's (and human performances of course), and I'm pretty sure we're gonna go on with that route for now. I'm basically looking for a stable mix, that I can use for demos, and probably later as our mix basis, since we're probably gonna be using much of the same tools on recording anyway.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7941939/SD_Nazgul_demo.wav

(offtopic: as the name suggests, just got a Nazgul & Sentient combo for my RGA7, so another excuse to record & mix )

These are the tools, very common set:
Drums - Superior Drummer 2.0 with Metal Machine as the core, and a bit of Metal! blended
Bass - My cheapish Ibanez GSR-205 ran through dozens of Plugins.
Guitars - TSE X50 with NadIR using God's Cabs SM57 impulses.

No vocals on that one, we rarely get the chance to demo them, although we did a Whitechapel cover, but it's a whole different mix:

Not quite happy with the guitars on this one, looking at it now. Comments on both mixes are welcome, but the top one is my priority right now.

NOTE: I've been through a couple of versions of the demo mix, and adjusted based on feedback I've got:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7941939/SD_Nazgul_demo2.wav
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7941939/SD_Nazgul_demo3.wav

FINISHED!!: This is the final mix for now, if I get more feedback I'll tweak this more sometime in the future, so comments are welcome as always. For now, here it is:

 

[Alpha-Dee]

Ok, I got some feedback and decided to take the Whitechapel cover mix as my new basis:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7941939/SD_Nazgul_demo2.wav

Information about this mix:

Drums - SD 2.0 again, but only Metal! this time, since it features kits from Whitechapel producers, and we we're doing a Whitechapel cover originally so...
Bass - The same, Ibanez GSR-205 and a dozen plugins.
Guitars - LePou's Lecto with orange_2_mics impulse.

 

[alex-sonic]

The guitar could be better but finally i really like it in the overall sound

 

[Alpha-Dee]

I agree, I'm just not quite sure what to do with those guitars. They have some odd quality, that I'm not a fan of. If it's the "digitalness" then there's not much I can do about it.

 

[paledecay]

Try experimenting with your IR's for your guitars.
Also, turn the distortion/gain down on them when recording.

I've been using a Catharsis Fredman impulse for the left side guitars and a JCM2000 for the right side guitars. I track 4 guitars for rhythm and generally do a 90% L, 80% L and 90% R, 80% R. With the EQs a bit different on each side.

These are still VERY rough demos, but can give you an idea of the guitar tone I'm using at the moment. Still needs a bit of work, but I'm happy with that aspect.

https://soundcloud.com/paledecay/nephilim_demo-testing

https://soundcloud.com/paledecay/tomorrowsghost_rough-demo

I'm still learning my craft and don't have near the amount of experience that a lot of people here have, but hope this helps a little bit.

 

[Alpha-Dee]

Gotta experiment with that. I've understood that impulses are probably the most important element when using VST amps. Meanwhile, here's something I worked on after I got some more feedback from a fellow Sneapster:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7941939/SD_Nazgul_demo3.wav

Most popular feedback has been, that I definetly should use the Whitechapel cover mix as a basis for my bands sound, so that's what I did.

 

[Alpha-Dee]

The somewhat final mix updated to the first post. I'll shut up now, and stop bumping