Most controversial Sneap forum thread evar!

[Metaltastic]

Marcus, people scoop guitars not because of tone but so they sit in the mix better,
make it wider and create some space in the middle for ambience and such

I don't like very scooped tones myself but I think this is really the hardest part...
getting those mids just above "too much scooped" level and not muddying the mix.

Dude, I am WELL-aware, why do you think I went through all the crap I did to change cabs? Obviously everything in moderation, but for YOU, I'll revise it to "really scooped tones" - if it were anyone else though, no way

 

[Metaltastic]

I agree. Jester Race = gaint boobs.

Oh man, that one is MINE

 

[Cyanide_Anima]

hahaha. Demanufacture is probably my favorite guitar tone ever! opening power chords in Zero Signal are pure win and pwn. rofl

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I stopped using 2 sm57 mics. I just throw up one now.

 

[tomijm]

Ow, I'd point to At The Gates' "Slaughter of The Soul" as having even a bigger amount of both aggression and clarity. Nordstrom's finest work, of the well known ones, as far as I'm concerned

(and I remember I read somewhere that he considers it his best work too)

I've been trying to search for a topic on that album here but haven't found one. I'd like to see that album dissected by you guys as I love the sound on that one and would like to know your views on it. Anyone seen the Making Of -DVD? I tried to get it and ordered it from Play but I guess they are having probs getting it.

If there's a topic on that album somewhere here could someone of you point it to me? If not, maybe that should be created...

- tomi -

 

[Erkan]

I've never been any fan of In Flames.

I do feel FF's Demanufacture is awesome though, and is well comparable to the godly praised Clayman. Well, it's all opinions anyway. We'd need to consult a scientist to determine what is actually the "best" mix in terms of human physiology and psycho-acoustics etc. Someone feel free to do it!

 

[::XeS::]

I'm not a big fan of Fredman's works.
I like the bass sound on clayman (Huge sound!!!) but for the overall production I prefer Reroute to Remain (their best album since they changed style).
Their last album sound very bad in my opinion. If you listen the separate tracks (you know where you can find them) of Take this life....oh shit....the guitars have the gain maxed and sound really thin and fizzy, the bass is over distorted and UNDEFINED.
For the last one, same things...probably the bass sounds better this time, but the drums is too much natural and the guitars with the gain maxed yet.
Ops....I'm a bit OT

 

[abyssofdreams]

Dude, I am WELL-aware, why do you think I went through all the crap I did to change cabs? Obviously everything in moderation, but for YOU, I'll revise it to "really scooped tones" - if it were anyone else though, no way

okies

 

[crillemannen]

Ok, So not everyone likes Clayman. Fine!!!
I think it sounds great in its own way.
The sound feels a little bit dated today, but i belive it rocked when it came out. and almost everyone felt that way especially the public when the record came out.

And yeah the mids are soo scooped but thats what the general public thinks sounds nice
(listen to a car/stereo preset eq--> rock = scooped eq, allot of bass)
But the album is still balanced, and you can hear that it is a excellent production.

Atleast Fredrik developed a sound of hes own, even if you like it or not.
Isnt that what we all strive for?? A unique sound in what we produce.

I like Fredrik style (and hes co-worker , dont forget them) in that sense that the he can still make a organic and breathing mix even when they trigger and compress the hell out of it.
Wich i dont feel that Sneap or C.Richardsson do, even if there work is a class act and sounds awesome in their own way.

It all comes down to what appaels to one another, and what our personal refferences are.

Cheers

 

[dan weapon]

Name some albums that came out prior and had the same amount of aggression and clarity.

Most stuff that colin richardson and Andy Sneap did from '94 to '98.

I thought Clayman sounded great at the time - still think it sounds decent although I wouldn't have called it groundbreaking as such.

 

[beyond dead]

I stopped using 2 sm57 mics. I just throw up one now.

me too. I do use a ldc on another speaker on the cab though.


I definitely think that (production wise)clayman was not as ground breaking as say demanufacture. and although the guitars are uber scooped on deman. it really works in that context! early djent!

some of the nu metal albums like ill nino`s revolution / revolucion or deftones around the fur, had super fat bass, but the mix seems to have lots of headroom / very transparent limiting/comp on the 2 bus

another album that sounds similar to the production of clayman is dimmus enthroned darkness triumphant which was also recorded at fredman

as far as in flames is concerned: I love every album they have done. They always have such interesting and original production on every album. from the analog warmth of clayman, to the super sterile sound of their later albums!

and they keep getting better at writing songs (IMO)

 

[Ermz]

It all comes down to what appaels to one another, and what our personal refferences are.

Cheers

My preference is to get those details from Fredrik about the recording process of Clayman from you

I don't have much to add here. All I can say is that no ITB productions, including Andy's entire body of work, have come close to matching the sheer impact Clayman has on me from an aesthetic POV.

I hate this all-ITB trend that's going on as more productions switch to tighter budgets and everyone wants to a producer in their own right. The more time I spend at this, the more my hearing develops, the more I realize that ITB tools don't bring the right vibe to the table for this genre of music. There is something inherently soulless and empty about most modern metal productions and it's hard to find the right middle ground between vibe and clarity.

Clayman found that ground.

 

[guitarded88]

Am I the only one who's noticed that half the choruses on Reroute to Remain sound exactly the same?

 

[beyond dead]

My preference is to get those details from Fredrik about the recording process of Clayman from you

I would love to know more about the mixing process. sounds like he did some drastic processing on clayman, and it really works! alot like what randy staub and andy wallace do.
there is definitely some "nyc" compression going on on the drums, and everything is compressed to hell and back with out sounding lifeless.
I also noticed that there is some reverb on the 2 bus. it sounds like it is automated up at the end of some tunes.

 

[ahjteam]

The evolution in the In Flames sound can be pretty much cut between Clayman and Reroute to Remain. Before that it was pretty much just death metal, after that they added a whole lot of the synth stuff that I personally liked a lot. But if we are being totally honest, I think that was pretty much the only way to keep the band interesting for yet another 3-4 albums. But now what? I dunno... The last album pretty much sucked in my opinion both musically and productionwise.

 

[abyssofdreams]

Before that it was pretty much just death metal

well they invented a new genre with 2-3 other bands

 

[Skinny Viking]

well they invented a new genre with 2-3 other bands

Dark Tranquillity baby!

 

[AllanD]

Am I the only one who's noticed that half the choruses on Reroute to Remain sound exactly the same?

No, you're right. I honestly hate that album. I think it's their worst one.

well they invented a new genre with 2-3 other bands

4!

Don't forget Carcass! :Smug:

 

[John_C]

demanufacture is an awesome sounding album! None of the instruments are exactly to my taste, but it all suits the music superbly

 

[Djabthrash]

Most stuff that colin richardson and Andy Sneap did from '94 to '98.

I thought Clayman sounded great at the time - still think it sounds decent although I wouldn't have called it groundbreaking as such.

Same here... and actually i prefer Andy's and Colin's productions from those days than the more recent ones.

+ as some others mentioned :

-Terry Date with Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power & The Great Southern Trendkill (i don't like the production on Far Beyond Driven that much)
+Deftones' Around the Fur & The White Pony

-Sepultura's chaos AD

-Ross Robinson with Sepultura's Roots & Slipknot's s/t album