MKS "Raw Tracks" Thread

[MKS]

http://www.mksstudios.com/raw_tracks/

Buried By Angels - myspace.com/buriedbyangels
2 Complete Songs
No click used
2 Guitarists - Double Tracked
No Vox - It may be awhile for vox.


KiKDOWN - Non-Metal - http://www.myspace.com/kikdownreturns
3 Complete Songs
No click used
1 Guitarist - Double Tracked

If you can't handle anything but metal, don't download these tracks. These guys are like Green Day meets the Mars Volta. The singer was impressive. He may sound autotuned but he is not. His double tracking pitch control was really good. When tracking his double, he did not listen to the first take. His voice might appeal to you but he does have fairly good control.

Pain Waiting - http://www.myspace.com/painawaiting
1 Complete Song
No click used
2 Guitarists - Double Tracked (I think)

Please give this a try. I would like to share some samples with the band. I had no clue how to handle the vox.

 

[moose209]

why?

 

[moose209]

you aint seen me ...right ;-)

 

[MKS]

why?

Sorry, I was pissed but decided to grow up.

 

[Machinated]

Cheers for sticking these up man, going to give the Kikdown tracks a go. Are all the guitars DI'd again?

 

[CJWall]

Cheers for sticking these up man, going to give the Kikdown tracks a go. Are all the guitars DI'd again?

mmhmm.

 

[MKS]

Have fun with the KD tracks. The guitarist used the neck pickup.

 

[moose209]

Thanks for that mate - great resourse you're creating there.

 

[~BURNY~]

That's all good MKS. I think there is a lot of people who appreciate the efforts you put in uploading all these files, no matter if it is a contest with a winner or not. It's always good to have such material for trainning. I'll give the non-metal stuff a go.
Regards.

 

[MKS]

No, I dropped the ball. I admit that but I'm still working on it.

I'm just a grump today.

 

[~BURNY~]

I've got a problem with the KiKDOWN song 1 (not tried the two others yet). The guitars are badly out of tune. if I were in your shoes, I'd do myself (and them) a favour. I'd retrack them with a full intonation setup or another guitar... But that's just me.

 

[MKS]

I've got a problem with the KiKDOWN song 1 (not tried the two others yet). The guitars are badly out of tune. if I were in your shoes, I'd do myself (and them) a favour. I'd retrack them with a full intonation setup or another guitar... But that's just me.

2 issues (I think)

1 - as you said intonation is off
2 - I think he was bending a little to hard in some sections

 

[MKS]

One other issue, it will be awhile before I could re-record them. Once I'm done with The COAST CD, my studio is moving into a real warehouse space. I will be offline for awhile until everything is setup.

 

[dontletmedrown]

Hey MKS!

Just wanted to mention that I have a lot of fun practicing mixing with the songs you upload. Sometimes I will do a few very different "flavors" of the same mix. I think it has helped my mixing a lot and I always look forward to having a new band to practice with. Thanks for all your efforts.

 

[Zombietakeover]

i would think its almost a lost cause for that Pain Waiting band...The vocals are awful and the music is beyond sloppy.....I would give them a rough copy of the songs they did and send it home with them....And tell them to come back in 6 months.

 

[Machinated]

Here's a quick first mix of the first Kikdown song.

Mix No.1

Any feedback would be appreciated. Guitars are probably a bit loud, and I had getting the right snare sound. Lots of automation going on on this song.

 

[~BURNY~]

Ok, I made this modest mix of KiKDOWN second song from scratch.
As much as I dislike the first song, I must say this one absolutely rocks. Much more like the mighty Refused than Green Day. The singer made a faithful impersonation of Cedric Bixler which is cool.
Now I must point that there are several problems with the tracking. Every condenser tracks are overly bright (read chinese sounding).
I had to shave a lot of hi-end. Worked for the vocals but the OH and the hat remain very fatiguing.
The OH tracks have a crazy amount of snare bleed especially on the floor tom side. Wierd I you ask me... I had to limit the shit out of them, thus making them even harsher.
The DI tracks have a lot of hiss.
There's also the tuning problem... Maybe another string gauge could have solved this.
In the end, It came as a very raw harsh garage mix. I think it suit the music well though. So we're not talking about a cristal clear metal mix here. It need much work but I kind of like it and it was fun.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5l3uid

 

[MKS]

Ok, I made this modest mix of KiKDOWN second song from scratch.
As much as I dislike the first song, I must say this one absolutely rocks. Much more like the mighty Refused than Green Day. The singer made a faithful impersonation of Cedric Bixler which is cool.
Now I must point that there are several problems with the tracking. Every condenser tracks are overly bright (read chinese sounding).
I had to shave a lot of hi-end. Worked for the vocals but the OH and the hat remain very fatiguing.
The OH tracks have a crazy amount of snare bleed especially on the floor tom side. Wierd I you ask me... I had to limit the shit out of them, thus making them even harsher.
The DI tracks have a lot of hiss.
There's also the tuning problem... Maybe another string gauge could have solved this.
In the end, It came as a very raw harsh garage mix. I think it suit the music well though. So we're not talking about a cristal clear metal mix here. It need much work but I kind of like it and it was fun.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5l3uid

I wholeheartedly agree with your "kikdown" assessment. After some long discussions with CJWall, I'm going to try some new OH, HH and Ride mic setups.

My stereo separation has sucked big time lately.

That's why I love posting these tracks raw. It really sets me in motion to fix my tracking issues.

Honestly, I was not comfortable at all with the guitar tracking. I felt the guitar had poor output and intonation issues and I hate the sound of neck pickups. Plus, we had to tune it constantly.

On the other hand, I though the bass DI sounded good. I also think the drums (minus OH, AMB and HH) sounded pretty good.

I also think Vox tracking went well. The kid was very pro about tracking. He knew exactly what he wanted ahead of time. Damn, that was much appreciated.

 

[Machinated]

Heres a mix for the second song, mixed it very differently. I definitely preferred this song, and I think the mix is better for it. Pretty happy with how its turning out. If anyone wants to know how I mixed it, just ask. Guitars are JMP-1 through a poweramp and cab etc.

Song 2

 

[gumplunger]

Why the lack of a click in all the songs you post? To each their own, but I need practice with Beat Detective and sloppy drums make for shitty mixes. Note I haven't actually listened to the drums on any of these, I'm just speaking from experience trying to mix drums that were tracked click-less by amatuer bands.