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Chinese Democracy cover


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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi @AslatIE,

I have had a listen to this, it is not bad for a first attempt; I can definitely offer some pointers. Would be able to send me the mp3? I would like to have a look at frequency spectrum to offer advice on what sounds like a build up of around 1-200 hz, but it is easier to do this when I can see the frequency response of your mix. 

It would also be helpful to know what your signal chain is, the software you use to record and the hardware (interface etc).

Some high level stuff to start of with:

Too much reverb on the intro guitar, you need to use reverb to create a space for your track to exist in, too much and your guitar will sound at the back of the mix. Not sure if this effect was printed onto your recording (guitar effect), or if you added it after.

The vocals are buried in the mix. This can be hard to get right, vocals should be at the "front" of a mix, without floating over the music. You have the added complication of working with a processed vocal track, so any corrective eq, or effects like delay is not an option. I do think that having themy a touch louder in the mix will cure this though.

You have some jarring transitions, particularly where the solo starts and ends, not sure how this has happened, maybe you can detail your editing/arrangement process here.

The other observation was that I could not hear the bass. The low end is one the hardest things to get right; you need a punchy low end that does not sound muddy, and without good headphones/monitor speakers, you may struggle with this.

Send me the mp3 and if you can provide more detail I'll try to give you more pointers. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 30.6.2016 at 9:18 PM, SoundOfAGun said:

Hi @AslatIE,

I have had a listen to this, it is not bad for a first attempt; I can definitely offer some pointers. Would be able to send me the mp3? I would like to have a look at frequency spectrum to offer advice on what sounds like a build up of around 1-200 hz, but it is easier to do this when I can see the frequency response of your mix. 

It would also be helpful to know what your signal chain is, the software you use to record and the hardware (interface etc).

Some high level stuff to start of with:

Too much reverb on the intro guitar, you need to use reverb to create a space for your track to exist in, too much and your guitar will sound at the back of the mix. Not sure if this effect was printed onto your recording (guitar effect), or if you added it after.

The vocals are buried in the mix. This can be hard to get right, vocals should be at the "front" of a mix, without floating over the music. You have the added complication of working with a processed vocal track, so any corrective eq, or effects like delay is not an option. I do think that having themy a touch louder in the mix will cure this though.

You have some jarring transitions, particularly where the solo starts and ends, not sure how this has happened, maybe you can detail your editing/arrangement process here.

The other observation was that I could not hear the bass. The low end is one the hardest things to get right; you need a punchy low end that does not sound muddy, and without good headphones/monitor speakers, you may struggle with this.

Send me the mp3 and if you can provide more detail I'll try to give you more pointers. 

I don't have the mp3 right now, as I'm on my phone.

I just got finished "re"mixing the song. 

I agree with the reverb in the intro, and I seem to have fixed that in my new mix, if I'm hearing correctly. (The reverb was added after I recorded the guitar track)

The vocals are now "up front" and not buried in the mix, again, if my ears aren't deceiving me. 

The jarring at the end of the intro, beginning and at the end of the solo are fixed (ears blabla) and sounds a lot better. 

Bass fixed. 

I also added a better drum track, because the Guitar Pro version didn't sound thaaat good.

Will be uploading the new mix very soon, and if we're satisfied with it, I'll get working on the acoustic versions of CD & Perfect Crime.

The recording software I used for the instruments was Rocksmith (lol) and for mixing I used Audacity. 

 

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Hey @AslatIE,

I have just seen your update on this, I will have a listen to this tonight. It sounds like you are working with a very limited tool set! You can get the DAW Reaper on a fully functional perpetual trial (or at least you used to), or pay a small amount for the license, it should serve you better than Audacity. You should also look at getting an interface if you can; once you can plug your guitar into an interface, you can use all the free amp sims available (Le Pou, Ignite Amps, Amplitube Free etc.). Some of them sound pretty convincing.

Happy to help out further if you decide to buy/try any of the gear mentioned!

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OK, I had a chance to listen to the updated mix; first of all, I think you are doing a really good job with tools you have. I can hear the vocals now! They may be a bit too loud now though, do you have all the separate vocal tracks to use in your mix? If you do, try knocking back the high octave vocal and the lower octave vocal tracks down in volume a little bit so they sit below the main vocal. If you can route tracks to a bus or auxiliary track, you can group the vocals under one bus/auxiliary (and bass, guitars etc) and then use that bus/auxiliary as an overall volume for that group of tracks in your mix. You can also apply EQ and compression to that bus auxiliary which can help glue the tracks together.

I can hear the bass now, but it seems a bit muddy; try taking some of the low mids out of the bass track with an EQ to clean it up a bit. This may also help on your overall track if you haven't high passed your guitars with an EQ.

In the solo section, do you have the right side guitar playing the solo? Try recording a rhythm guitar part for the right hand side during the solo section and then pan your solo track so it is in the centre. This will thicken the solo section up and will mean that your solo takes centre stage. 

Keep up the good work!

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3 hours ago, Bumble's Bridge Pickup said:

Nice job. I think you need some work with your bends and note choices: you go notably off key in the solos. Do you know some very basic theory, like what scale(s) you would choose to use to solo over this song?

Haven't gotten around to learning music theory yet. The only bend that I notice might be slightly off key is the very first one in the solo. 

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True, but e.g. the bends at 2:10 and 3:18 are also a bit off.

I would really recommend starting from the concept of minor pentatonic scales. Minor pentatonic scales are the bread and butter of rock and metal guitar playing. You could use the D minor pentatonic scale to solo over this song.

Don't take any of this negatively, I don't mean to insult you

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