WhiteShadow
Active member
I've posted in here before about my problems and frustrations with recording. Feels like I've tried everything, but I don't know how others get that pro sound. When I ask how they do it, or explain my issues, I just get deer in headlights look. I've even gone to professionals who's own music they produce sounds like a million bucks, but when I try to get them recreate that production quality for me it still just sounds like the same shit I produce myself at home. It feels like that episode of spongebob where Squidward starts the art school and spongebob taps the marble with chisel and it turns into a beautiful Greek statue, but later when squidward tries to get him to recreate it for him, it just turns to dust. I ask them how do they get that pro sound on their own recordings, and again, I just get a blank stare.
The only answers I do get are the same ones that don't help - "you got to pan your guitars bro/you got to set the gain stage right bro" etc. etc...
These are not answers, and they don't help. These are basic recording 101. They have nothing to do (at least in this context) with what I'm talking about, which is how you get that pro sound that's worthy of a record. Even crappy, low effort youtube videos have better and more authentic sound than the stuff I produce in my DAW.
Often I even get people saying "There's nothing wrong with it, it sounds fine bro"... when they know full well it doesn't.
People also say "You got to get better monitors/you got to treat your room acoustically", but again, the sound I'm getting should still not be THIS bad, even with my normal room and gear. I know these guys who have virtually no money to even buy proper gear. They use free plugins and use a jerry-rigged old ipod dock as their monitors, and their stuff sounds full blown professional. It just boggles the mind.
I would've given up a long time ago if it weren't an obsession and something I'm hellbent on conquering.
It's not even my guitar tone. It's everything. Even programmed midi drums sound crappy. It's like something is crushing the sound in some way and making it sound low quality. I thought DAW settings might have something to do with it, but I've followed all the guides and I'm doing just as people say.
In conclusion, its just getting frustrating and is just holding me back. I write riffs that sound awesome when I come up with them, but they just never translate to the recording. Everything just sounds horrible.
Here's some samples. One with all instruments. One with just drums:
The only answers I do get are the same ones that don't help - "you got to pan your guitars bro/you got to set the gain stage right bro" etc. etc...
These are not answers, and they don't help. These are basic recording 101. They have nothing to do (at least in this context) with what I'm talking about, which is how you get that pro sound that's worthy of a record. Even crappy, low effort youtube videos have better and more authentic sound than the stuff I produce in my DAW.
Often I even get people saying "There's nothing wrong with it, it sounds fine bro"... when they know full well it doesn't.
People also say "You got to get better monitors/you got to treat your room acoustically", but again, the sound I'm getting should still not be THIS bad, even with my normal room and gear. I know these guys who have virtually no money to even buy proper gear. They use free plugins and use a jerry-rigged old ipod dock as their monitors, and their stuff sounds full blown professional. It just boggles the mind.
I would've given up a long time ago if it weren't an obsession and something I'm hellbent on conquering.
It's not even my guitar tone. It's everything. Even programmed midi drums sound crappy. It's like something is crushing the sound in some way and making it sound low quality. I thought DAW settings might have something to do with it, but I've followed all the guides and I'm doing just as people say.
In conclusion, its just getting frustrating and is just holding me back. I write riffs that sound awesome when I come up with them, but they just never translate to the recording. Everything just sounds horrible.
Here's some samples. One with all instruments. One with just drums:
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