The WIP Thread

[zenshin]

Duuuuude this is so up my alley you wouldn't believe it! I love oldschool Korn and Wes Borland.

But please, you need to turn down the compression, it's really pumping hard. The instruments themselves are really, really fat, you can turn that comp way down and it would sound awesome!

Much appreciated man and yeah, car tested this morning and now I'm wondering what I was thinking cranking the compression so hard. For some reason I was getting a little obsessive over loudness when my previous settings were just fine. I should have an improved version out in just a little bit actually

Lastly, it's good to see another old school Korn/Borland fan out there! I can definitely hear the influence in your music.

 

[Chi]

Much appreciated man and yeah, car tested this morning and now I'm wondering what I was thinking cranking the compression so hard. For some reason I was getting a little obsessive over loudness when my previous settings were just fine. I should have an improved version out in just a little bit actually

Lastly, it's good to see another old school Korn/Borland fan out there! I can definitely hear the influence in your music.

All good.

 

[zenshin]

All good.

About to car test, figured I'd go ahead and post the progress here before I start really critiquing.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-2[/SC]

 

[Chi]

Better! Could still use less compression though, it still pumps a little. Also, the drums seem centered and the track has an overall mono-ish feel to it. Might want to look into that next?

 

[zenshin]

Better! Could still use less compression though, it still pumps a little. Also, the drums seem centered and the track has an overall mono-ish feel to it. Might want to look into that next?

Agreed on the compression. Just pulled that back another .5db and I think that's fixing it now.

As for the drums, I intended for them to be more up the middle. I always had a tricky time with panning different drums all over the place so I just ran them up the middle for simplicity's sake.

I'm wondering if the mono-ish feel is due to the stereo widening plugin I just tried for the first time. It's just a free brainworx bx_solo. On one hand I like its simplicity but it doesn't give me much freedom to make small adjustments (makes me go straight from 100% to 150% when I realistically would have gone for 125%). I'm new to stereo wideners though and would rather take a less is more approach in that domain. I'll see if I can find any others to tinker with.

EDIT:
In listening closer I think I see what you're talking about on the drums now. They don't seem to have enough real width to them. I think I know a solution for that.

Also, I'm trying the Flux Stereo Tool and so far it's much better. Gives the fine tuning I'm looking for while still simple enough to keep me out of trouble.

 

[Chi]

Agreed on the compression. Just pulled that back another .5db and I think that's fixing it now.

As for the drums, I intended for them to be more up the middle. I always had a tricky time with panning different drums all over the place so I just ran them up the middle for simplicity's sake.

I'm wondering if the mono-ish feel is due to the stereo widening plugin I just tried for the first time. It's just a free brainworx bx_solo. On one hand I like its simplicity but it doesn't give me much freedom to make small adjustments (makes me go straight from 100% to 150% when I realistically would have gone for 125%). I'm new to stereo wideners though and would rather take a less is more approach in that domain. I'll see if I can find any others to tinker with.

EDIT:
In listening closer I think I see what you're talking about on the drums now. They don't seem to have enough real width to them. I think I know a solution for that.

Also, I'm trying the Flux Stereo Tool and so far it's much better. Gives the fine tuning I'm looking for while still simple enough to keep me out of trouble.

I'm not too familiar with stereo-widening plugins, as I don't use them myself. Let's see if you can "fix" that issue. I'm just not familiar with mono-ing drums that much, so it sounds a little off. Having snare and kick centered is fine and for me the way to go, but hats and cymbals should definitely have stereo-imaging in my opinion. Otherwise the center will get cluttered with ALL kinds of frequencies, high-mids and highs joining in from the cymbals and hats and the mids and lows from snare and kick.

 

[zenshin]

I'm not too familiar with stereo-widening plugins, as I don't use them myself. Let's see if you can "fix" that issue. I'm just not familiar with mono-ing drums that much, so it sounds a little off. Having snare and kick centered is fine and for me the way to go, but hats and cymbals should definitely have stereo-imaging in my opinion. Otherwise the center will get cluttered with ALL kinds of frequencies, high-mids and highs joining in from the cymbals and hats and the mids and lows from snare and kick.

Hmm, you raise a good point on the high hats and cymbals, how much do you usually pan them? I'll give it a try and see what happens. I'm just using Superior Drummer so it shouldn't be too hard.

 

[Chi]

Hmm, you raise a good point on the high hats and cymbals, how much do you usually pan them? I'll give it a try and see what happens. I'm just using Superior Drummer so it shouldn't be too hard.

Are you using live drums or a sample library like Toontracks Superior Drummer for instance?

If it's the latter, the drum library should have all the drums panned quite naturally already. If you're using live drums or own samples...here's what I've got mine set:

Hats: ~70% L
Ride: ~65% R

(Of course, if using live drums you've got an Overhead-Mic, which is an all different beast)

Then the cymbals, this is really all up to your preference. Depending on how many you have, try to split them up. If you've got five, go in a half-circle.

One cymbal 80% L, the next 60% L, then have an almost centered one, maybe like 55% L, then going over to the right 60% R etc.

Try to imagine sitting infront of a set of drums and that's fairly simple to imagine I think.

 

[zenshin]

Are you using live drums or a sample library like Toontracks Superior Drummer for instance?

If it's the latter, the drum library should have all the drums panned quite naturally already. If you're using live drums or own samples...here's what I've got mine set:

Hats: ~70% L
Ride: ~65% R

(Of course, if using live drums you've got an Overhead-Mic, which is an all different beast)

Then the cymbals, this is really all up to your preference. Depending on how many you have, try to split them up. If you've got five, go in a half-circle.

One cymbal 80% L, the next 60% L, then have an almost centered one, maybe like 55% L, then going over to the right 60% R etc.

Try to imagine sitting infront of a set of drums and that's fairly simple to imagine I think.

I am using SD but for some reason I had gone through and centered everything like an idiot. I think I was frustrated with the toms or something but oh well. I'll start from your settings then adjust to personal preference. This could give that missing edge I was looking for.

EDIT:
I can understand the not using stereo wideners. I steered clear of them for years but I figured what the heck, would be fun to throw on the master and see what happens. Btw, I think you'll notice an improvement on the next upload on that front. The Flux did its job, allowed me to give that small touch of widening that I wanted without the big monoish glob sound.

 

[axxessdenied]

About to car test, figured I'd go ahead and post the progress here before I start really critiquing.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-2[/SC]

Sounding pretty good.

The kick sounds weird? Sounds like there's two kicks going off at a slight delay between each other something at some parts? Don't know if that's intentional.

When you have your "Wall of sound" the elements seem to get a bit too unfocused. I don't know if you have a low-cut on all your tracks besides the kick and bass but I'd definitely do that if you haven't.

 

[zenshin]

Latest rendition - with better panned drums, improved stereo widening, and decompressed another .5db.

Btw, you were right Chi, the panned drums did make a real improvement on the mix overall. I love it.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-3[/SC]

P.S.
Thanks for taking the time to help with the mix Chi, makes a huge difference getting perspective from other folks who can find things I might overlook.

 

[Chi]

Latest rendition - with better panned drums, improved stereo widening, and decompressed another .5db.

Btw, you were right Chi, the panned drums did make a real improvement on the mix overall. I love it.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-3[/SC]

P.S.
Thanks for taking the time to help with the mix Chi, makes a huge difference getting perspective from other folks who can find things I might overlook.

Dope. Much better. Compression seems right now, panning seems good.

Might want to check those hi-hats a little, they're slightly overbearing and are tough to listen to for an extended period of time. Taking them down one or two DB might already do the trick.

Other than that, dope.

 

[zenshin]

Was pondering on that hi-hat as well while car testing, you basically confirmed my thoughts. Ended up pulling the hi-hat down 2 db and now I think we've got this mix nailed for the time being. We'll see if I still feel the same in the next couple of days.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-4[/SC]

Now... time for me to sleep

And again, thanks for the help and the kind words Chi. I'm very much looking forward to hear what you're planning on doing with that gloomy riff in terms of the song you might generate out of it.

 

[Chi]

Was pondering on that hi-hat as well while car testing, you basically confirmed my thoughts. Ended up pulling the hi-hat down 2 db and now I think we've got this mix nailed for the time being. We'll see if I still feel the same in the next couple of days.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/monster-mix-4[/SC]

Now... time for me to sleep

And again, thanks for the help and the kind words Chi. I'm very much looking forward to hear what you're planning on doing with that gloomy riff in terms of the song you might generate out of it.

You're very welcome. Thank you! And make sure to let me know where you're going with that clip, you've mentioned it'll have vocals on it, right?

Cheers.

 

[zenshin]

You're very welcome. Thank you! And make sure to let me know where you're going with that clip, you've mentioned it'll have vocals on it, right?

Cheers.

Absolutely, and yeah I do plan on putting vocals to all of my tracks. Will likely record some more instrumentals first then begin tracking vocals afterward. Maybe piece together an EP just for fun.

Do you have any plans on making another EP in the near future?

 

[Chi]

Absolutely, and yeah I do plan on putting vocals to all of my tracks. Will likely record some more instrumentals first then begin tracking vocals afterward. Maybe piece together an EP just for fun.

Do you have any plans on making another EP in the near future?

Sweet.

I'm currently writing for a new one, yeah.

 

[zenshin]

Excellent, I'll be excited to hear what you come out with. Are there any things that you intend to do different this time around in terms of songwriting/production/etc.?

 

[Chi]

Excellent, I'll be excited to hear what you come out with. Are there any things that you intend to do different this time around in terms of songwriting/production/etc.?

Awesome!

Production wise I'm already working on new drum sounds as you've heard, going into a more natural sounding route. I'm trying to do the same to the guitar tone, but at the moment I'm still into using a similar one as the tone on Roots, so it's going to stay meaty in that department. Other than that I don't plan to change much, I'll tweak as I go.

Writing wise I'm trying to get into a different feel, less nu metal and more atmospheric, alternative / prog stuff on the next album. Also trying to get a bit darker and focus on the desperation / depression I've had going in the song "Worship", but make it fit into the horror "theme" of the next album / EP.

Hope that gives you some insight, as I'm still in the early stages.

 

[Saieph]

I don't have a WIP right now. I'm releasing my trilogy of 5 song EPs called "Quenvalys" on bandcamp, August 2nd. I figured I'd just post it here.

saieph.bandcamp.com

Singles are available on soundcloud.com/saieph

Enjoy, and thank you ALL for the support you've offered me during the past 3 years.

 

[zenshin]

@Saieph: Hey I'm enjoying your music, very creative riffing! It does give me a Cloudkicker feel but not too badly. I can still tell this is your own sound distinct to you.

Otherwise, started a new WIP today, been sick and sitting at home the past couple of days and nearly went crazy in the process. As a result, I put together a song and here is the current draft. I already have a list of things I want to do to improve the mix but I'll happily take any suggestions.

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/zenshin-2/silent-voice[/SC]