Quick backstory. I'm a big fan of the work done at Chango/Sturgis, it's the Genre I grew up on through my teenage years and now early adult years. Now getting in to tracking and mixing for starters I thought as I know their sounds inside out I'd try to atleast get close to them before turning off in to my own desired sounds as most people would suggest.
I've gone ahead and actually purchased a couple items from Chango's Big Cartel simply cause my skill level wasn't up to par to make things myself or have any of the free impulses/pod farm presets around the internet work. I needed something to learn from, and has been working out so far!
Here's what I'm aiming for at the moment. MMF was done at Chango (for those who don't know).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPi_ifScn0w
And this is what I have so far.
For those who like details here's what I'm working with (providing links too for those who are also coming here to learn. I like helping. ^_^)
RHYTHM GUITAR CHAIN:
-LTD 401-FM (Dual Tracked)
-Chango's PODFarm 'Mr Steal Yo Tone' (closest sound to MMF if not the exact same)
-EQ to make room for the Bass High/Low and Kick High/Low. Did zero change of the sound on the guitars in mix and solo'd, but let those instruments though nicely.
-Waves C6, crunch down to thresholds around 45, then gained back up to match input. Hoping to assist in getting that 'punch' sound.
-Waves CLA-3A Stereo, added a bit of transients.
LEAD GUITAR CHAIN:
-LTD 401-FM
-Chango's Rock Leads Podfarm Preset
BASS CHAIN:
-Zombass 4
-Chango's InsaneBass podfarm preset
-EQ to let Kick through. Didn't affect bass in solo or mix.
DRUM CHAIN:
-Chango Processed MMF Drum Kit (exact same used in the song). Room mics mixed in.
-Nothing else, as it's processed already, but willing to go in and change stuff up if needed.
BELLS CHAIN:
-NI FM8 Bells
-EQ on Top End.
VIOLINS/CHELLO CHAIN:
-NI Session Strings Pro
-EQ raised Violins Top End, raised Chell's High-Mid.
-Sends to Reverb Buss, Valhallah Vintage on Rich Chamber preset and then mixed in.
MASTER BUS CHAIN (Old, see below):
-Waves TR Meter
-The Glue
-Waves L1 Limiter (make it a bit louder while mixing)
Kenny Gioia at Groove 3 suggested mixing in to compressors (for this kind of music atleast), so I thought I'd give it a shot and it's sounding pretty good.
That about wraps it up. I feel so far the mix is missing that Guitar "punch", even brightness possibly that tracks like MMF have. Also I'm not sure how to "tighten up" the track like you'd here from other bands in this genre. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!
EDIT:
So I've come back to this track hoping to get some more improvement out of it with following the suggestions made here and learning a few new things. Four big changes were I threw a Waves NLS Buss on the Guitars as I liked the sound that came with it. Second I completely recorded the guitars to to be more timed and in a sense more "midi like". Third I added some glitches (and such) here and there that I like, but not completely sure on just yet. And last, I attempted mastering the track hoping maybe the sound I was looking for lays in that area (again, I'm still new at a lot of this.).
Master Bus Chain has the following (I can supply pictures of each if needed, just ask!):
-The Glue
-Ozone 5 Exciter
-Waves NLS Buss Stereo
-Waves J37 Stereo (Tape)
-Ozone 5 Imager
-T-Racks Clipper
-Ozone 5 Maximizer
To add some images, this is what my TR Meter over all looks like. Nice and loud, phase full (like I've seen in other songs). Peaks are first worried me but then noticed all other songs seem to do the same thing.
And last of course, the track:
Would anyone have any other improvements for this? Maybe something to kinda push the guitars more to the side? (If that makes sense) Thanks!
I've gone ahead and actually purchased a couple items from Chango's Big Cartel simply cause my skill level wasn't up to par to make things myself or have any of the free impulses/pod farm presets around the internet work. I needed something to learn from, and has been working out so far!
Here's what I'm aiming for at the moment. MMF was done at Chango (for those who don't know).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPi_ifScn0w
And this is what I have so far.
For those who like details here's what I'm working with (providing links too for those who are also coming here to learn. I like helping. ^_^)
RHYTHM GUITAR CHAIN:
-LTD 401-FM (Dual Tracked)
-Chango's PODFarm 'Mr Steal Yo Tone' (closest sound to MMF if not the exact same)
-EQ to make room for the Bass High/Low and Kick High/Low. Did zero change of the sound on the guitars in mix and solo'd, but let those instruments though nicely.
-Waves C6, crunch down to thresholds around 45, then gained back up to match input. Hoping to assist in getting that 'punch' sound.
-Waves CLA-3A Stereo, added a bit of transients.
LEAD GUITAR CHAIN:
-LTD 401-FM
-Chango's Rock Leads Podfarm Preset
BASS CHAIN:
-Zombass 4
-Chango's InsaneBass podfarm preset
-EQ to let Kick through. Didn't affect bass in solo or mix.
DRUM CHAIN:
-Chango Processed MMF Drum Kit (exact same used in the song). Room mics mixed in.
-Nothing else, as it's processed already, but willing to go in and change stuff up if needed.
BELLS CHAIN:
-NI FM8 Bells
-EQ on Top End.
VIOLINS/CHELLO CHAIN:
-NI Session Strings Pro
-EQ raised Violins Top End, raised Chell's High-Mid.
-Sends to Reverb Buss, Valhallah Vintage on Rich Chamber preset and then mixed in.
MASTER BUS CHAIN (Old, see below):
-Waves TR Meter
-The Glue
-Waves L1 Limiter (make it a bit louder while mixing)
Kenny Gioia at Groove 3 suggested mixing in to compressors (for this kind of music atleast), so I thought I'd give it a shot and it's sounding pretty good.
That about wraps it up. I feel so far the mix is missing that Guitar "punch", even brightness possibly that tracks like MMF have. Also I'm not sure how to "tighten up" the track like you'd here from other bands in this genre. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!
EDIT:
So I've come back to this track hoping to get some more improvement out of it with following the suggestions made here and learning a few new things. Four big changes were I threw a Waves NLS Buss on the Guitars as I liked the sound that came with it. Second I completely recorded the guitars to to be more timed and in a sense more "midi like". Third I added some glitches (and such) here and there that I like, but not completely sure on just yet. And last, I attempted mastering the track hoping maybe the sound I was looking for lays in that area (again, I'm still new at a lot of this.).
Master Bus Chain has the following (I can supply pictures of each if needed, just ask!):
-The Glue
-Ozone 5 Exciter
-Waves NLS Buss Stereo
-Waves J37 Stereo (Tape)
-Ozone 5 Imager
-T-Racks Clipper
-Ozone 5 Maximizer
To add some images, this is what my TR Meter over all looks like. Nice and loud, phase full (like I've seen in other songs). Peaks are first worried me but then noticed all other songs seem to do the same thing.
And last of course, the track:
Would anyone have any other improvements for this? Maybe something to kinda push the guitars more to the side? (If that makes sense) Thanks!
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