Oh no, I'm sure you're correct, I think I just got it backwards from what you explained.

I've gotta '72 RI Thinline Tele Deluxe, it's a 2011 model I am purty sure. I really love love love this guitar and these pickups. Bridge pickup alone sounds great, but it's too abrasive for these kinds of tones unless you're sticking to the wound strings. With a darker amp it could probably do more pleasant tones, but with the AC15 and the way I like to dial in the amp and the speakers I run it is fuckbright and pissed sounding.

And I run the highpass cause I am pretty much always in standard, not a ton of bass content going on there and I figure by just cutting it out at the mic I am probably going about getting rid of that unnecessary bass content in a more natural way, I am thinking. Give the bass plenty of room to breathe without fuckering with nothing. I am all about simple solutions and not overthinking these things.

I did not read that article, I think that was before the first one I got. However, he does indeed sound like he's got a similar engineering philosophy.

In regards to the highpassing lowmetalguitars I would only see myself doing this if there was a good, weighty bass tone to back it up. But I see what you say about the lack of it in most of these modern productions. I think bass guitars sounds like absolute complete shit in 95% of metal recordings, atleast from what I can hear depending on the mix. People just don't give a fuck about the instrument for whatever reason, even though the goddamn thing has BASS in the name. They just DI them and it's this sterile, boring shitty DI sound. Gross. I realize the DI thing can be done very well, I have heard our members here get some great bass tones straight into the board, but I think any of you would agree that if one didn't bother to do it right it could easily sound bland and dull.

15 minutes, an old thing I've had kicking around, wanting to be Damon Che, sloppy musicianship and marijuana.

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-heck/cam ... pproximate

Fuck click tracks, son!

Just recorded this as a part of a bunch of short skits I am doing.

Yikes, that mix was fucked, nevermind if you heard that. I really need to be less hasty with these sorts of things. Also to be noted, I don't think this thing is done. Probably just a test to see what it sounds like. We shall see..

I find the left hanging snare a little strange, but otherwise it sounds cool.

Hehe, I didn't even notice that. I can only assume I grabbed the wrong track whilst panning the guitars.

No one who knows me would tell you I am an incredibly attentive person, I have to say.

Yeah, the leftysnare is somewhat disorienting in 'phones.

Interestin'. The leftsnare is no bigs on speakers, though still clearly over there.

You sound like you are working too hard to be Damon Che though. That is the meanest thing about that guy. You watch him doing that shit, and it doesn't even look like he is trying, the prick bastard. It does translate over into what he plays a bit too, he is weirdly patient with where and when the beats fall, especially with moving the snare around. I wanted to play that way for so long, but, well, i am not that patient.

Oh yeah, way too spazzy with the rolls and feetz to be Che, for sure. But the general groove style, as this thing I am just now realizing is similar to Dicks Suffers.. But it will have vocals when I am done with it, so it shouldn't sound too obviously similar.

Ah and I forgot to mention, there are socks on my beaters on this recording.

I assume the spazzy is from your grind/DM influence? It's an odd mix, but it could work.

How do you have the drums mic'd up? I do think you're getting better at mixing them. Either that or you're pulling better recorded sounds, so it works out? Anyhow, I hear consistent improvements in your work.

Socks on your beaters? That raises another one of my mostly pointless questions: whatchu usin' fer kick pedals? Like, what by whom and what beater material?

Definitely the grind/DM influence is apart of it, but largely it is probably akin to what Chris said, my brain just doesn't have the ability to hold out for a bigger picture. It is like, JAM AS MANY THINGS INTO THESE 4 BARS AND THEN CHANGE TO ANOTHER GROOVE AND JAM A BUNCH OF SHIT INTO IT. Maybe not the most wise approach all the time in relation to what is "right" for the song. However, I like spazzy, busy music so it sounds just fine to me.

D112 on the kick, an inch or so off the head aimed pretty much at the middle of the port towards the beater (as the socks reduce a fuckton of the hard click, which is what I was going for on this piece and I have done it on my last few GBV covers). MK-012 on the snare closer up then I have recently, bout six inches instead of 9-12 inches. It actually sounds pretty damn nice, I may do some tests with both placement. And oddly, PR40 as an OH. I had just knocked over the CAD and was like, "GODDAMNED FRAGILE CONDENSER MICS " so I decided to use the PR40 to spite their kind as a whole. And because I knew they actually work pretty well for that use.

Pedals are my drummer's Iron Cobras. I am very fond of them, really.. "realistic" action. It is not like some of the other metal oriented pedals that are retarded quick and for finesse players. I have short, strong legs so the Iron Cobras' action works well for me. What you put into the pedal is what you get mostly, shit's not super shithot to the point where you lose yourself. Hard plastic beater.

Yeah, them Cobras. I've always felt they had sort of a 'heavy' feel, but I've played them long enough now that it just works for me.

I used to want Eliminators because they seemed more nimble. I also tried some Demon Drives and flew with them (granted they didn't hit as hard). But I think I'm stuck with the Cobras... my technique is tuned to them at this point.

I've always liked the Cobras when I've played them myself. Were I going to pick up a double-kick pedal, that's what I'd get, I think. My one friend has Axis longboards, and while they're definitely an impressive piece of kit, the feel of them (never mind the cost) is a bit... Much. Doesn't take much effort. It's like thin strings/high gain/low action for me- hard to control.

Not surprised that the PR40s work well for that. Seems like they have good top end, especially for a dynamic. I'm betting those are useful mics.

So far they seem super kickass. I really like them on bass, kick, toms, not bad from what I can tell on guitar and they are passable or better for OH duties. Yet to use one for vocals.

Not surprised at all at the first three- big dynamics have good reputations for big bottom there. Their high end seems, from what I've read and the clips I've heard- really quality, and I'd suspect like other broadcast-flavoured mics (RE20, SM7) they probably shine on the right vocalist. Electric guitars and vocals are fussy things, more than most, I think, because of how quirky and idiosyncratic the tones are.

When we did the first Garda EP, well, that has very little SM57 on it for the guitars- it may have none; I'd have to czech the knotes- and we flat-out rejected the Neumann U87, the famous vocal mic. We thought it sounded boring compared to the SM7 and Neumann M149, with which Chris and I could only track quiet stuff- loved the detail for that- 'cause we were blowing out the mic pre- couldn't find an in-line pad and none on the mic or the B-room desk (Soundcraft Ghost- nice board. More on that if you ever want to roll with an analog board- they can be found affordably sometimes.) KSM27 and Beta 58 for backup vox. I lurve my Røde NTK on my voice- you've heard it a bunch now- and people bitch about it being over-bright and sibilant. Part of it is probably the t00b in there that fattens/pretties it up, and part of it is I like that top end on my voice- I tend to add a bit of super-top-end to my vocals anyway 'cause I dig a fairly bright, poppy vocal sound and I have a weird, nasally middy voice. I hate normal 58s live 'cause they make me sound like I'm singing into a tin can.

But yeah, I think 'lectric guitar and vox are the more fucker'd randomweird things in your average rock instrumentation vs. bass and the drum kit re: what works. Not to say, of course, you shouldn't try everything on everything at some point, if only to get familiar with how your gear reacts to different sources. Curious to hear a stereo pair of the PR40s as OHs now! I realize you basically followed the recommendations of All Us Assholes in accumulating yer mic collection, but seeing as yer the guy who bought all the shit we were on about, it's pretty cool to see it in action! Also, why teh intarwebs are amazing things when yer on about gear.

PR40s as OHs:

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-heck/pr40-stereo-oh-test

The best drums/vocals I can manage for now:

https://soundcloud.com/cameron-heck/em-with-vox

Gonna go drink more coffee/smoke more weed then I begin on geetarz.

The PR40s make good overheads. Nice top end on the cymbals/hats and still a good amount of body from the drums. The snare sounds really full. It sounds like it's in mono though?

The song with the vocals- is that an original or a cover of something I'm not familiar with? I like the distortion on the vox.

HA! I will have to do another, I panned the tracks out all the way real quick but just realized I never bothered to choose the second track as input 2! So this is but one mic, never even listened to it, just rendered it and uploaded it real quick.

That one with the vox is a GBV cover, like the 4th or so I've done. They are just too geniusly simple not to learn, and then I feel compelled to cover the tunes. Yarp, I love distorting the fuck out of the PA-2.

The original(a little YT compfucked, but the original recoarding is slightly ghet anyhoo):



Cam, sounds pretty solid. But needs a bass. A bit loud on the screamy bits, maybe either automate some volume ducking there, or squash it a bit more? You may like it teh way it is though? To me, it sticks out a bit too much.

Definitely needs a bass, I might get around to it today, I am not sure. I have a good idea of what I am going to play, though I have not sat down to work it out but it should easy enough. Also, my bass is a little out, I have been suspecting. It is good in some spots, and a bit sketchy in others.

And it will indeed get squashed a bit in those places, I believe.


https://soundcloud.com/cameron-heck/pr40-oh-test

With a bit of crushiness to them, these sound actually fucking kickass as OHs..

Yeah they do. How do you have them positioned?