Hey guys, I've been recording this black metal thing with a really basic setup. Just my laptop, a Fasttrack USB Mk.II interface, my bass, pedals (preamp, distortion, fuzz, synth, delay, reverb) and EZdrummer, using Reaper as a DAW.

Since I don't own a guitar, I've been using just my bass with some EQ'ing to separate "guitar" tracks and "bass" tracks, and the mix sounds rather clear, but I still find it a bit wanting. The drum plugins sound a bit synthetic, but I can't afford getting better ones just yet. Also, not going for a superclean lifelike pro mix.

Now, I don't have any sound engineering background, everything was done by ear. As I said, I don't have a lot of drive space to download better plugins for drums, so if you have any suggestions, please keep in mind that the setup is limited.

I have created a bandcamp page for the band. I uploaded my first 2 tracks, no voice tracks yet, so please chip away at the mixing as unmercifully as you can.

https://rhododendronblack.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Thanks a lot.

Hi there. When i visit your bandcamp page i get this:
Sorry, that something isn't here.

Please start at the beginning and you'll certainly find what you're looking for.

I made a mistake, saved it as a draft, but didn't publish it. Thanks for the heads up. Here goes the link:

https://rhododendronblack.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Cheers.

Are you using only one 'guitar' track for your material. or are you recording 2 'guitar' tracks? Cause to me the guitar sounds mono. and if you have recorded 2 guitar tracks if you hard pan them left and right it'll sound fuller.

It sounds much better than I would've ever thought using just the bass and distorted bass. And the key is 2 separate guitar tracks not just copy and paste the guitar track twice.

Thanks for the feedback, man. I'm actually using 2 "guitar" tracks with reverb and other effects, 25% pan on each side and a dry track (distortion only) dead center. Do you think I should pan them a bit more?
Up until now, I've been copypasting both panned tracks, only recording 2 separate tracks if a lead, contra or harmony is needed, but I will record the 2 tracks separately to get the fuller sound.

Keep it coming, guys. Thanks.

I'm listening on earbuds right now so I can't offer much mixing advice but I have to say that this is pretty cool stuff and that it sounds fairly well mixed. I'll have another listen on a better sound system later. Copying and pasting panned tracks doesn't really help make the sound thicker since it is the same exact sound wave so that is something to keep in mind.

You are welcome. Yea do that, cause this is actually pretty good. esp with that considering it's all bass.

Always record 2 guitar tracks even if they are not doing anything different. And I say to pan them at least 50% to each, I normally run it at 100% panning for the most clarity.

This. Also agree with it sounding a lot better than I expected.

Thanks a lot, dudes. Begining to track 2nd guitars today. I'll update later.

Super interesting atmosphere! May be the mid instrument is way too higher in my opinion and I would love to listen to the result with 2 recorded bass guitars and panned as the guys said above. I would go for even deep panning 80 or 100% left and right, but it could destroy the unique atmosphere that it has right now.

Yeah I definitely recognize the EZDrummer crash cymbal. On the skullfucking song, I would lower the volume of the higher guitar that comes in at like 30 seconds. It sounds good, it's just a bit loud in the mix. So drop it a couple db and boost everything else a tad. Also definitely pan things more. A lot of people pan 2 guitar tracks 100% right and left, I do 80% myself. Panning them really helps it to sound better and even clearer. If nothing else, I think the drum track should be a db or two louder. That's a really neat song though, reminds me of something that would be in a movie or something. I like it. Pretty admirable how you did that all with a bass guitar.

With "Pox' it overall sounds pretty good, just make the drums a bit louder. Well, not really the cymbals, but the snare and kick should be a bit louder.

Overall awesome music man, good job.

Thanks for the kind words, man. That shit made my fucking day.

For anybody interested, I recorded second guitar tracks as suggested, with more panning. Also, turned up a bit the snare and bass drums. Sounds way thicker and chaotic... sometimes a bit too much. Link:

https://rhododendronblack.bandcamp.com/album/ep

Thanks for the suggestions. If anybody wants to chip in some more, go ahead. It's helping heaps.

Cheers!

I'll listen to it this evening when I get home.

Yea, the drums are always a pain in the ass to get right...lol I know your pain so well!

I've found that if you give it a really big, roomy sound, and increase the kick levels in the mix while also adding an ample amount of bass with EQ, you'll get something a lot more "real" sounding, with lots of character.