Any easy mixing cheats?

[Maddnotez]

Regarding the captor, it says attenuation, load box and DI.

Is this an acceptable DI for reamping?

I have a friend who's going to lay down vocals and I plan to just pay someone for a good mix anyway. So I would like to use a DI for reamping regardless.

Don't really want to buy both a captor and a good DI. Unless the captor DI is junk?

[Vladimir Putin]

I used a Scarlett for years with great results.

Amp - Captor - Focusrite = instant win


Ethan hooked me up with a UA Volt and it's even cooler but the Scarlett was a more than adequate interface.


When you're recording it's always best to lower the gain and UP your intensity level as much as possible. What you put in is what you'll get out and if you're not on the beat with high intensity with the clearest tone possible then you'll end up with less than stellar results.

[broslinger]

Op, the playing and tones sound great.

Preface:I am not well versed in vst amps and such. Also listening on a phone. but here’s what i would do right off the bat.

Drums louder
compressor on the drum buss. (Try the free kotelnikov from Tokyo dawn labs)
Some more eq on the guitar. Once you add a bass track, try your guitar hp filter at 100hz. Also, get “nova” from tokyo dawn labs. It’s free. It’s a four band eq. It will do real time analyzing to see if you have any weird spikes to tune. You might try eq-ing somewhere in the 2k range, but I’m just guessing.

Try adding two more guitar tracks, then eq-ing them completely differently. Make one more focused, make the other one bigger and scooped.

While you’re at it, get the tokyo dawn labs slick eq. I will use that on most tracks and the master buss as well.

Compression and eq are very powerful if you spend enough time with them.

[bonano]

Don't know shit about recording. But, man, I'm liking the song a lot!

[spawnofthesith]

Yeah like others said, the song is sweet and I don’t think the tone you have sounds bad at all

[I'MAPUNKROCKERDAMNIT]

I listened with headphones. Rockin' good tune!!!! I dig it!!!

Just some random thoughts...
+1 to the suggestions that you don't need to do anything to the drums as far as compressing or eq.
Your drum volume level needs may change after you add bass and vocals.

The guitars are definitely not hard panned hard left and right. The drum kit is spread fully left and right - with headphones, you can hear toms spread way further left and right than the guitars.
After panning the guitars a bit more, they'll have a bit more clarity.

With every additional track, bass, vocals, lead, the overall recording will sound better.

I think a Tape Saturation plugin works better than compression (or loudness maximizing) on the mix bus.

Hope this helps!!!

[trey85stang2]

On my phone your mic sounds good. Keep in mind the vast majority of people are going to listen to your stuff on crappy speakers anyways.

But I want add grab izotope I think,it is from ozone. It’s easy to learn how to use but what I learned from it is what it did on the auto master part. You can see how it applies eq as a whole and compression. I used it for a couple months then just started doing my own eq and compression and not worrying about the auto master part.

Edit also try adding synth tracks even if they are just playing a single note they help fill the holes where you don’t want holes

[loop bizkit]

First off... cool tune! I like the riffs.

I don't think, honestly, you need to worry about "easy mixing hacks" or buying more gear. The recording I'm hearing tells me you've got decent drum samples, and a workable guitar tone, etc..

If I were to offer mix advice (which I'm probably not the most qualified person on this forum to do) from the clip you shared... here's the initial thoughts:

1. Not only HPF on the guitars, but... it sounds like you're hearing an "in the room" tone and trying to make it an "on the record tone". It's woofy. Even in this kind of music, less gain, and less LFE when tracking. It might sound thin to you at first when you're tracking it or when you solo the track and play back... but dang man, it's hard to leave room for a strong bass, or an impactful kick and snare with that much wool on it.

2. Drums, just in my opinion, need to come forward. Do it with compression, not with volume. To me, compression and volume have the same weird inverse relationship as the yoke and throttle on an airplane. Pull up un the stick to go slower, push down on the throttle to go higher. I know it's weird, but it's true. I'd slap a master buss comp on the drums, and pull back on the cymbals after squashing the kit.

3. Quantize. Not a lot. Keep it human, but a little. Your playing is tight, but with the drum arrangement you've chosen, the performance needs to be a little tighter. The other way you can do this is to double your metronome, and record your tracks at around 75% speed. It'll be way tighter. I don't personally see this as a cheat, if you're able to play the track at full speed, but it definitely helps get the recording nice and pro-tight.

These are just my first blushes on the track, and I'm sure some may disagree... but there's probably more good advice out there on this forum. Endtime and Raf pretty much always nail it.

[Maddnotez]

First off... cool tune! I like the riffs.

I don't think, honestly, you need to worry about "easy mixing hacks" or buying more gear. The recording I'm hearing tells me you've got decent drum samples, and a workable guitar tone, etc..

If I were to offer mix advice (which I'm probably not the most qualified person on this forum to do) from the clip you shared... here's the initial thoughts:

1. Not only HPF on the guitars, but... it sounds like you're hearing an "in the room" tone and trying to make it an "on the record tone". It's woofy. Even in this kind of music, less gain, and less LFE when tracking. It might sound thin to you at first when you're tracking it or when you solo the track and play back... but dang man, it's hard to leave room for a strong bass, or an impactful kick and snare with that much wool on it.

2. Drums, just in my opinion, need to come forward. Do it with compression, not with volume. To me, compression and volume have the same weird inverse relationship as the yoke and throttle on an airplane. Pull up un the stick to go slower, push down on the throttle to go higher. I know it's weird, but it's true. I'd slap a master buss comp on the drums, and pull back on the cymbals after squashing the kit.

3. Quantize. Not a lot. Keep it human, but a little. Your playing is tight, but with the drum arrangement you've chosen, the performance needs to be a little tighter. The other way you can do this is to double your metronome, and record your tracks at around 75% speed. It'll be way tighter. I don't personally see this as a cheat, if you're able to play the track at full speed, but it definitely helps get the recording nice and pro-tight.

These are just my first blushes on the track, and I'm sure some may disagree... but there's probably more good advice out there on this forum. Endtime and Raf pretty much always nail it.

Well thanks for all the advice to everyone and I'll try some of these things. I planned on re recording the guitars anyway this was just a placeholder for writing basically.

Just trying to see if the captor is worth it. Mainly wondering if the DI function is good like a countryman or something. Or if it's just an "ok" added bonus.

Yes, I would love to capture my actual amp because it's amazing but at the same time, I have a friend adding vocals and I'll more than likely just pay someone else for a real mix

[Maddnotez]

I did some of the things mentioned here. Added bass, ozone eq, cleaned up a couple parts and pan guitars.

I guess this is decent enough for demo purposes but idk how people get their home recordings sounding pro.