help with guitar sound

[martyfireball]

hi guys, merry christmas and all that guff, but if you have a minute, please listen to my guitar sound and give me feedback and help with how to improve it.
http://www.martyfireball.f2s.com/dm3/shameonyou_guitar.mp3

and here it is with unmixed/unprocessed drums & bass etc....
http://www.martyfireball.f2s.com/dm3/shameonyou_music.mp3

I was aiming for the Carcass-Heartwork type sound, but with my gear and knowledge, that didn't seem to work!

The signal path is:
Ibanez 550ltd with Dimarzio Evolution pickup into Daphon Overdrive pedal into Peavey 5150 mk1 into old Marshall cab with 25watt speakers (Rotel) into cheapass T.bone condenser about 2/3 inches from grill & Chinese SM57 copy about 3/4 inch from grill and slightly off centre into Spirit Folio Sx mixer into terratec Phase 88 Soundcard.

Rawk & Roll over.
Marty

 

[martyfireball]

[cough]
Come on guys, please throw a few comments/suggestions/tips my way.

Cheers.

 

[Hammer Bart]

[cough]
Come on guys, please throw a few comments/suggestions/tips my way.

Cheers.

Hey Marty,

Note that I am definately not the man, nor do I have much experience with recording / mixing, but I'd try adding some more highs to the guitars. Doing this on the amp may give different results from doing it when mixing, I have no idea what would be better. The basic tone is cool I think, the sound has the body, but it could be a little more 'in your face'. Think of Nevermore's tone on DHIADW, it is brutally heavy, low and huge but still breathes and feels upfront in the mix. My ideal sound might be very different from yours though.

I think when you dial in more highs you'll probably hate it at first, thinking that the guitars don't sound heavy anymore. Nevertheless, mixdown a track that way and tomorrow listen to a cd you like and then both the old and the new version of your song with fresh ears. See if it works for you. Depending on the outcome, come back here and call me a dork. :Spin:

 

[2dark]

Ok, what I could here at my pc speakers is that the tone in general isn't bad at all.
I agree with Hammer Bart that it just needs more high ends.
And to get more into the "Heartwork" direction I would also add more distortion.

 

[vile_ator]

Sounded good to me too. I think you could actually compress the guitars a hair to get them a little more to the top though. Dont do this if you dont have a compressor you are familliar with but it can help. Also I would be very careful adding more distortion. Ask Andy, but I guarantee that he uses as little as he can get away with. As you turn the gain up past a certain point, you just add muddyness, loose note definition, and you get that high end bumble-bee. On the extreme end you can wind up with what I call Fly-in-a-Glad-bag tone.

PS Dont steal my fly-in-a-glad-bag line now.....

Colin

 

[Exsanguis]

I agree with everyone else here. Your tone needs some more highs, as well as more compression to make the sound punchier and tighter. I don't think you really need much more distortion, if any more at all. It sounds like it's real close to the general idea of the Heartwork tone, but you just need to tweak it now. Sounds good so far.

 

[martyfireball]

cheers guys. I definately will NOT be adding more distortion - that sound is more distortion than i've ever used. Ever!
More highs. This is something that i'm slowly coming around to. I keep thinking it's going to make the sound to bright and not heavy enough, but the more I compare "real" recordings, the more I understand.
I think there is too much mid going on somewhere, as i think I hear a slightly boxy sound. Any ideas?

Thanks again.
Marty

 

[Hammer Bart]

More highs. This is something that i'm slowly coming around to. I keep thinking it's going to make the sound to bright and not heavy enough, but the more I compare "real" recordings, the more I understand.

Hehe, I'm this close to saying "Told ya!", but I won't. I had the exact same thing with my own guitar sound.

Anyway, the sound was pretty cool to start with, so I figure it will turn out nicely. Post a link to the new version please.

 

[MR NINE]

As you turn the gain up past a certain point, you just add muddyness, loose note definition, and you get that high end bumble-bee. On the extreme end you can wind up with what I call Fly-in-a-Glad-bag tone.

PS Dont steal my fly-in-a-glad-bag line now.....

Colin[/QUOTE]

It's like bzbzbzbzbzbzzbzbzzzzbzbzbzzzrzrrrzrz!!!!


Nice one Colin!
Oh I just steal it!
Here I use to call it a "bee sound"! (zoom distortion everyone?!?!) Ha, ha, ha!

 

[vile_ator]

I knew I should have kept that one a secret!

But hey, one more thing. Remember that the mixes you are listening to are mastered. The limiting brings the guitars right up to the front. So you can use those recordings to get your general start, but you will have to settle on a sound and then make it work. Then mix and master it.

Colin

 

[Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral]

Beginners tip: Always listen hard to the mastered version before settling on it, its easy to rush at the end and miss something important!