Post Metal Epic!

DrGonzo

Hey Guys,

here is a link to a song I recorded/produced for a friends band - Savage Lucy... Song is called MK Ultra

http://www.mediafire.com/?63auposya0mqmwe

Its a quite crazy - 8 minute long Instrumental/prog metal epic! ( i say epic cause its a long story like an epic poem, whether u think its epic is up to you?)
mix not perfect but getting there, Im still very new to this! :?
any advice and opinions welcome.

If ya dig it, share it - This band are doing interesting things and deserve a lot of attention!

LooneyAtTheGate

Niiiiice! You can be proud of this!

I have listened to this twice..

0:00 - This is good already.. :bopping:
1:25 - Very pretty ?
3:28 - Good part but needs more practice :-[
4:40 - Nice and trippy 8)
5:08 - :woohoo: Rock out! \m/
6:05 - The production here is pretty flawless :goodtimes:
6:55 - great lead, well played ?
7:11 - Ok lead but a few odd notes. Shredding is not neccesary ?
8:15 - Great tone, a brilliant end to an epic poem. :applause:

Bad points: The main guitar part, playing the arpeggios etc, probably needed a bit more practice before the recording. I can hear fingers falling over each other and 'dead' notes. Maybe doubling this part would've helped?

Good points: There seems to be a mash-up of all the best elements of all the best post-metal bands here. The drummer and bass have laid a nice groove, the song is well written and arranged. I will be listening to this many more times, for pleasure and not just for critique! ?

Now if you would give us the details on the recording? And how many band members are playing here?

DrGonzo

Thanks Bro, appreciated! ?

yep agree with you on most parts.... this was the bands first time ever in studio (as well as my first time recording a full band!)
so things were quite interesting and challenging, for them especially...

details on the recording... well It was recorded with a very modest setup.. mix between focusrite and steinberg interface a couple of mid range mikes (SM57's. Rode NTa, SE electronics condensers)
into Pro Tools 10... no fancy preamps or high end gear unfortunately (one day!)

Guitars were miked up with a Rode Condenser, and SM57 on front, a sm57 at the back of the cab, a room mic as well as a direct out..
I used all the mics for the clean tones but just stuck to the cab mikes for the heavy tones.
Bass was an AKG D112 and SM57 as well as a direct track which i played around with some amplitube tones..

By the way talking about bass... let me know if the bass is a bit too intense (or not for that matter) on your systems at home, in my car it was a bit too much, can be easily fixed on the master

The band is a 3 piece band.. guitars bass and drums... they are very tight especially live.. the drummer pretty much did one or 2 takes and nailed it, I was very impressed!

DrGonzo

Oh! shit forgot to say the most important part... (it tis a GuitarForum after all!)
Amp was a line 6 Vetta (II i think) and bass was a hartke... not sure which model... Drums a yamaha Stage custom.

The clean tone on the Vetta is really great actually, very little post production on this.
but i will say we struggled to get a good heavy tone... this amp sounds killer and brutal live but in the uber clean studio environment the digitalness perhaps comes through a little bit..?

nicovlogg

Very cool man!

My only critique guitar wise is that sometimes the tone is TOO clean.. Especially around the 5 minute mark. The distortion sounds are cool but are a little bit digital sounding. Bass sounds great though!

ftcl

Good stuff!

The bass was too much for me. Otherwise, ace!

DrGonzo

Yep, I have deduced that the bass does get a bit much in some parts...
Thats an easy fix, will just setup a multiband compressor for the bass region to control it when it hits a bit hard!

at nico: Thanks man, yep the tone is super clean... but i guess thats mostly at the discretion of the amp used and the guitarists choice!

Thanks for your comments guys ?

BMU

Pretty much everyone said w a few additions:
-Snare's not punching thru, sounds subdued somehow.
-This guy can shred so he should, adds interest. Just needs work, watch out for a few aimless noodle moments and a string bend that never quiiite gets there.
-You didnt take a DI of the guitar maybe? Cos u can get better rhythm tone than that with VSTs. Not sure its the digital Vetta, I just think miking a cab is hella tricky.

Clean tone is nice, got the AAL vibe they were going for. Speaking of Tosin, yes the sweeps can be cleaner. The leads just need patience and lots of takes.

DrGonzo

yeah i agree on the snare as well... it tricky cause i think its fine and loud in some sections but the
problem sections are when the heavy guitars come in... some serious masking going on i think.

I wanna actually re-mix it when I got time, now that I have Suuuper awesome monitors 8) and can actually hear bass and a lot more into the mix than before...

So any suggestions into how I can get that heavy guitars to not reduce themselves into a mushy mess!?

BMU wrote: Pretty much everyone said w a few additions:
-Snare's not punching thru, sounds subdued somehow.
-This guy can shred so he should, adds interest. Just needs work, watch out for a few aimless noodle moments and a string bend that never quiiite gets there.
-You didnt take a DI of the guitar maybe? Cos u can get better rhythm tone than that with VSTs. Not sure its the digital Vetta, I just think miking a cab is hella tricky.

Clean tone is nice, got the AAL vibe they were going for. Speaking of Tosin, yes the sweeps can be cleaner. The leads just need patience and lots of takes.

I will look into taking the direct signal from the amp, but unfortunately it already has all amp modelling and effects from the Vetta... its just the way the DI works i think from the amp... i dunno but it sounds very similar to the mic'd.

also unfortunately i recorded the amp with alot of reverb so that means re-amping it can be probelmatic (reverb distorted sounds horrendous most of the time!)

but anyway...

Sleazyd

MK Ultra like the weed strain ??

chrisbark

Doubled2431 wrote: MK Ultra like the weed strain ??

MK ultra like the CIA mind control program

From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra

Project MKUltra was the code name for a covert research operation by the Central Intelligence Agency,[1] experimenting into the behavioral engineering of humans through their Scientific Intelligence division. The program began in the early 1950s, was officially sanctioned in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964, further curtailed in 1967 and finally halted in 1973.[2] The program used unwitting U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects, which led to controversy regarding its legitimacy.[3][4][5][6] MKUltra involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate people's individual mental states and alter brain functions, including the surreptitious administration of drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and sexual abuse, as well as various forms of torture.[7]

This song and others will be on the new Savage Lucy album (Verstaan?) coming soon. http://savagelucy.co.za/

chrisbark

Soooo ... the new Savage Lucy album: Verstaan? is out now. http://savagelucy.bandcamp.com/
Give it a listen on Bandcamp and then buy it if you like it.

Aside from the savage soundscapes, the cover art is mind blowing (http://savagelucy.co.za/gallery-verstaan.html) so even though you can download it for free, it's definitely worth buying a physical copy ... or just buy a poster if you think buying CDs is for people who don't understand the internets

wirt

Mother of... ?

If you put Paul Gilbert, This Will Destroy You and Funkadelic in a blender and put that resulting primordial ooze in a studio, this is what it would sound like. Awesome sounds, mate.

serven

Wow, one word: impressive for me!

DrGonzo

Thanks guys, I eventually decided I wasnt happy with the mix so started re-doing it from scratch...
but got generally good feedback so far.

Appreciate it! ?

tiller

I like this the song. It sounds like a epic 10 year story in just 8 minutes. Good job done! ?