GJgo
Well-known member
Hey guys, so after a couple years of the process we finished something I thought that I would never do which is to write & record an album. This was a total passion project and life goal for me- I could care less about blowing up and all that shit, I'm more excited about creating something that my people will have long after I'm gone. Still at the end of the day it will feel good if anyone else happened to enjoy it. Hell, we're planning on giving copies of the album away and all I'll ask for in return is for people to give me feedback if there's a song that they really enjoy. Maybe if there's a song that really stands out in people's opinions I'll put some energy into promoting it? We'll see.
Alright quick version- here's a preview of the album, check it out! We're calling it Psychological Incarceration and the album is themed around taking classic thrashy metal musical styles & marrying them with modern lyrics talking about the challenges of life today. These are the final songs unless we find something we didn't consider that really needs attention. Please have a listen and if there's a song that you connect with let me know here. Or, if there's something that you really think needs fixed let me know that as well.. As soon as we finish the artwork I'll use CD Baby to send it everywhere so there's a little time still.
Long story- I've spent WAY more time than a normal person would have obsession about gear & tone. All the videos I do are also me trying to figure out amps, guitars, mics, speakers & cabs, mixing, multi-tracking, editing, and all the things. Of course through the process I'm always finding opportunities to second guess what I'm doing & think I could do it better a different way or have better tone with some other combination. Hopefully I'm progressing! Up for debate I guess..
Early on in the recording process I did commit to using my Mark IIC+/++ Coliseum. (Although I did use my Tremoverb for the rare cleans.) I did go through a few different boosts in reamping till I found my favorite which is the Chiron klone. It adds some aggression & upper mids that the Mark really needs in the mix. As time went on I had second thoughts about what amp to use- if we were starting over I may have used the Mark IVb for rhythms, but I would keep the C+ for leads. At some point you just have to commit though and run with it. Fix any little weird things in post. I appreciate everyone who weighed in on my other threads asking for input on tones. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I was partially bull headed about using the C+ BECAUSE no one else does- so many guys are hiding them away and I'd rather be out gigging them. Use all this gear for what it's for!
For the guitars I used all of my various ESP sigs on various songs. Hannemans, Hammets, Hetfields and Lynches. While I do have one particular Hanneman that really does it for me for leads, for rhythms any of the other ones with EMGs are all about the same. The one that did stand out though was the song I used the Lynch loaded with a Jim Wagner Iron Man. It was a lower gain song & it worked.
For the speakers I started out with a 2006 V30 traditional cab, but then ended up re-doing all rhythms with my 2001 V30 traditional cab that just sounded way better to me & my engineer's ears. For leads though I started out with a 2006 OS cab that was killer, and then with later songs just used the same 2001 Trad cab- and in hindsight that OS cab really did sing for leads in a way the trads don't.
We also spent quite a bit of time trying blends of various mics to come up with a cool & different sound. Neither my engineer or I really like the SM57 so we had to go a different way. We ended up with a blend of an E609 & a SM7B.
IOW, the gear is 100% analog. While I get that the digital stuff is getting very good for recording, and certainly makes it easier to dial a good recorded tone faster, I'm just... not interested.
Then there was all the tweaks I asked my engineer for! He was pretty patient with me which we appreciated. I don't plan on doing this again & wanted to get it right.. Long story short it's all a huge learning experience and best case a constant improvement, since will we ever be fully satisfied as gear whores??
Probably not.
Thanks & hope you enjoy!!
Alright quick version- here's a preview of the album, check it out! We're calling it Psychological Incarceration and the album is themed around taking classic thrashy metal musical styles & marrying them with modern lyrics talking about the challenges of life today. These are the final songs unless we find something we didn't consider that really needs attention. Please have a listen and if there's a song that you connect with let me know here. Or, if there's something that you really think needs fixed let me know that as well.. As soon as we finish the artwork I'll use CD Baby to send it everywhere so there's a little time still.
Long story- I've spent WAY more time than a normal person would have obsession about gear & tone. All the videos I do are also me trying to figure out amps, guitars, mics, speakers & cabs, mixing, multi-tracking, editing, and all the things. Of course through the process I'm always finding opportunities to second guess what I'm doing & think I could do it better a different way or have better tone with some other combination. Hopefully I'm progressing! Up for debate I guess..
Early on in the recording process I did commit to using my Mark IIC+/++ Coliseum. (Although I did use my Tremoverb for the rare cleans.) I did go through a few different boosts in reamping till I found my favorite which is the Chiron klone. It adds some aggression & upper mids that the Mark really needs in the mix. As time went on I had second thoughts about what amp to use- if we were starting over I may have used the Mark IVb for rhythms, but I would keep the C+ for leads. At some point you just have to commit though and run with it. Fix any little weird things in post. I appreciate everyone who weighed in on my other threads asking for input on tones. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I was partially bull headed about using the C+ BECAUSE no one else does- so many guys are hiding them away and I'd rather be out gigging them. Use all this gear for what it's for!
For the guitars I used all of my various ESP sigs on various songs. Hannemans, Hammets, Hetfields and Lynches. While I do have one particular Hanneman that really does it for me for leads, for rhythms any of the other ones with EMGs are all about the same. The one that did stand out though was the song I used the Lynch loaded with a Jim Wagner Iron Man. It was a lower gain song & it worked.
For the speakers I started out with a 2006 V30 traditional cab, but then ended up re-doing all rhythms with my 2001 V30 traditional cab that just sounded way better to me & my engineer's ears. For leads though I started out with a 2006 OS cab that was killer, and then with later songs just used the same 2001 Trad cab- and in hindsight that OS cab really did sing for leads in a way the trads don't.
We also spent quite a bit of time trying blends of various mics to come up with a cool & different sound. Neither my engineer or I really like the SM57 so we had to go a different way. We ended up with a blend of an E609 & a SM7B.
IOW, the gear is 100% analog. While I get that the digital stuff is getting very good for recording, and certainly makes it easier to dial a good recorded tone faster, I'm just... not interested.
Then there was all the tweaks I asked my engineer for! He was pretty patient with me which we appreciated. I don't plan on doing this again & wanted to get it right.. Long story short it's all a huge learning experience and best case a constant improvement, since will we ever be fully satisfied as gear whores??
Probably not.Thanks & hope you enjoy!!
Last edited:
