Bash This Recording: Act 2, Scene 2

[Shudderdrummer]

Shudder's Get Bothered, from Act 2: Generation Why.

Produced/engineered/mixed/mastered by myself. As with the last one, this was stressful.

One quick note before anyone jumps on it, cuz it drives me nuts too - yes the snare is pressed by my limiter at times; yes I use a tube comp/limiter in-line during tracking, though not often in the compressor role. In this particular instance I was getting a great, slight breathe to the snare hits...but some cracks were over-the-top and not compensated for at the non-percussion end of the studio. I'm still breaking in my singer/guitarist on all things regarding comp/limiter/'ride the fader' usage.

(Hopefully) Enjoy, and bash bash bash!

[Vulconizer]

Female vocal is a touch too loud in comparison with the male vox.
First thing that jumped out at me.

Cool production and sounds though.

[Briza]

Great job on this dude. Can you tell me a little about how you recorded the guitars?

Also the bass has a great presence in this mix, I think it has a major impact on your overall sound.

[Shudderdrummer]

First off - Vulconizer, I agree. Conscious decision that, in hindsight (thank you re-mastering opportunity) I will rectify. She was intended to sound more intimate, hence short verb tails/etc. I'm a fan of better balance...need to drop the producer hammer a bit harder sometimes

Secondly - Thank you Briza! The signal chain in short:

Instruments:
Epiphone Genesis (original SG-style copy. short horns and coil-tapped at the bridge) into...
Monster Cable straight through to...
Marshall ValveState 100 into...
Marshall half-stack 4X10 (slanted cab, celestions)

A kind of no-frills Ted Nugent-style 'nothing in the way' setup. My guitarist plays NOTHING clean, just uses different techniques to create clean sounds that are still **** and dirty.

Mics:
Audix I-5, top right angled 30 degrees towards dust cap
Audix F-12, top left angled same as previous
Studio Projects C4, top center dead on
AKG Perception 200, lower right 3 inches back and 45 degrees towards dust cap


The I-5 and 200 (most complimentary in sound and phase) went through an Art MPA Gold, then Art Tube VLA-II, straight one of my 2 Delta 1010s. The F-12 and C4 were through my 1604 VLZ3, tapped pre-strip into the Delta 1010.

In mix, all 4 COULD be combined for something interesting...but the metal sound of the I-5 was nicely ****ed up by sliiiiight addition of the AKG. The F-12/C4 combo sounded great when added in bulk on multi-guitar riffs, fattening across the stereo spectrum without taking too much away (tone/phase-wise) from the core mics.

The bass was a similar multi-capture trick, but I ended up using my Audix F-14/C4 combination to get a nice live sound, deep and gritty when he kicks the distortion in. I don't yet have a DI that really, REALLY 'likes' his cheap Ibanez. Must...get....Sansamp or Radial. (Or convince him that a MusicMan/Fender Jazz is the way to go). I worked hard between the distorted keys, guitar, and bass to separate them without hearing 'Where'd XYZ of my tone go'.

Thanks for the compliments, I really appreciate it! It's all worth it when it's finished isn't it?

[Necromancer]

What a great song.
It just heads the wrong direction for me with the female vocals. It takes on that whole
B52 kinda vibe and it dies there. But just because I'm not a fan I wont hold it against you. This is killer!

[Shudderdrummer]

Thank you Necro, I really appreciate that! I don't think we've heard B-52s as a comparison before, but having noted it I can see what you mean. Unintentionally referential I'd say!