Carstens Amplification Empire - In The Mix (Feedback Wanted!)

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hellzington

hellzington

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Hey fellow RTers!

Some of you might remember when I posted a video of the Friedman Naked in a mix awhile back and asked for feedback. That was my first self-recorded and produced song and now I'm back with a second featuring the new amp from Carstens Amplification, the Empire. Any feedback you have about the amp, recording, production, songwriting, guitar playing, would be most welcome. I'm not a professional engineer by any means but want to keep getting better at doing these while showcasing awesome amps in my ever-rotating collection. Enjoy and thank you in advance!

 
You should double the rhythm and pan in it stereo . I’d love to hear that
 
Techdeth said:
It sounds super smooth . Great lead tone
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Thanks man! I turned the Response up a lot more for the leads, which adds compression and makes the amp darker and smoother. Was easier to play the leads too as the amp gets easier to play under the fingers.
 
Techdeth said:
You should double the rhythm and pan in it stereo . I’d love to hear that
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Oh on the first part? That would be cool. I should really do more doubling up or quad tracking of guitars. I know it's a pretty common technique for hard rock and metal these days but I haven't tried it yet.

The third section (the fast one) has two rhythm guitars under it, one panned mostly right and the other panned mostly left, but it's a little harder to hear since your ear is distracted by the leads and extra drum hits.
 
As for self critique:
  • Most of this recording was done with H75 Creambacks and V30, but there are some takes with Black Shadows and one with Blackbacks. I wish I would have done something totally off-the-wall and used a JBL or Alinco Gold or something.
  • I wish I would have had some less uber-high gain sections of the song to show what it was like if you rolled back the volume knob a bit.
  • I hate that the video is just staring at a picture but I don't like running my camera on me while I record... something I have to work on, I guess.
  • I feel like my songs always seem to have a "Nine Inch Nails Drum Section" in them :LOL: (in this case, Section 3 -- the fast one)
 
hellzington said:
Oh on the first part? That would be cool. I should really do more doubling up or quad tracking of guitars. I know it's a pretty common technique for hard rock and metal these days but I haven't tried it yet.

The third section (the fast one) has two rhythm guitars under it, one panned mostly right and the other panned mostly left, but it's a little harder to hear since your ear is distracted by the leads and extra drum hits.
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Myself I really judge my amps after I double track and listen . I think this amp would be killer doubled tracked for n your riffs underneath. I’d really like to hear that
 
hellzington said:
As for self critique:
  • Most of this recording was done with H75 Creambacks and V30, but there are some takes with Black Shadows and one with Blackbacks. I wish I would have done something totally off-the-wall and used a JBL or Alinco Gold or something.
  • I wish I would have had some less uber-high gain sections of the song to show what it was like if you rolled back the volume knob a bit.
  • I hate that the video is just staring at a picture but I don't like running my camera on me while I record... something I have to work on, I guess.
  • I feel like my songs always seem to have a "Nine Inch Nails Drum Section" in them :LOL: (in this case, Section 3 -- the fast one)
Click to expand...
It all sounds good man
 
tones and playing are great. the panning sounds a little weird to me though, drums are too spread and guitars are too in the middle.
 
Techdeth said:
Myself I really judge my amps after I double track and listen . I think this amp would be killer doubled tracked for n your riffs underneath. I’d really like to hear that
Click to expand...
Interesting! I'll try double tracking for the next one.
 
RaceU4her said:
tones and playing are great. the panning sounds a little weird to me though, drums are too spread and guitars are too in the middle.
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Thanks for the compliments on the tones and playing. It's always challenging to put your playing out there. I worked really hard on the tones for this one to get them just right.

Regarding the panning: I tried to create a more "in the room" or "at the show" type of sound by doing more panning on this track. I centered the main drums and then panned the two tracks of cymbals; one left, one right. The goal was to try and "spread" the drums across the track and widen the overall sound, which you noticed, but maybe that was a mistake. The guitars I do agree with you. I like the panning on the fast part, but I had two rhythm tracks there (that are slightly different if you listen closely) so I think it worked better. It might have been cool to do a "guitar duel" on the fast solo with every other riff getting panned L/R.
 
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