My Quick Meshuggah'esq session tutorial Part 2

[IgorVonE]

How many guitar tracks have you going on there? 2 stereo or 3 stereo? the blue ones are guitars, right? do you use the exact same presets for both takes? (assuming, that they are in fact, guitars)

[kodoku42]

@IgorVonE Yes, the top 2 tracks are rhythm guitars and both have 2 takes with different tones. Technically it's the same as having 2 tracks on the left and 2 on the right.

Also, mind you that this tutorial is quite old and my methods have changed a lot since.

[IgorVonE]

@kodoku42 i know the technicalities, was just asking to settle an arguement! :)

[kodoku42]

@IgorVonE np :)

[rololoo]

Tunnistin heti et oot Suomesta, hehe. Itelläni oli joskus kauan sitten Ozone, kaipa sille olis taas käyttöä!

[loborneta]

now thats a DJENTLEMANS tone! awsome man. ive posted my own ambient/djenty idea for a song, check it out on my channel

[omonoiatis8]

I think the guitar riff is great and Meshuggah'esq, but the drums need some working on. The main thing I've noticed is that your snare drum isn't steady. You're using quite a few polyrhythms with the guitar riff and you need to try to show that off with the drums. To do that, the snare must have a completely steady beat. Also I think you should double the tempo of the drums for the beginning of the song (first riff), add some double bass to it, and then come back to half tempo in the second riff

[AlMachineKTC]

@omonoiatis8 it's a meshuggah song actually, it's called lethargica. And it sounds the same, lol.

[lifeleech]

@omonoiatis8 this is a meshuggah riff, and they've created it perfectly. @kokodu42 Awesome job on the sound (guitars definitely sound better after the eq's), and the tutorial. This vid has been bookmarked as a useful reference for some time now.

[LordHines420]

@omonoiatis8 lol....

[cchacholiades]

Great Tutorial! Awesome sound production! Well Done! :)

[demonj00]

Snare sounds awful alone but actually works very well in the mix.

[CameronADD]

@demonj00 That is usually the way; things that sound horrible on their own sound great in a mix.

[Deadnsd]

do you do just covers or do you write any original songs??

[kodoku42]

@Deadnsd I prefer doing original stuff altough haven't made any full length songs for a while. check some of my other videos :D

[Doom725]

Not bad. But mix sounds is very very digital

[andy92811]

I think it sounded better with out the EQ.

[atypicaltrip]

Hey man, I love your stuff. I use a GX Studio too, and POD Farm 2, and was wondering what your setup looks like on there!

[mrshef666]

Nice! :D

[gianzajeff]

awsome, but what sound card are you using? stuff like edirol ua 25? thx

[kodoku42]

@gianzajeff just plain Realtek HD Audio ALC883 and Line6 POD Studio GX if you can count that as a sound card.

[gianzajeff]

@kodoku42 ah so you use both Line6 POD Studio GX and Line6 POD 2.0,,,

[kodoku42]

@gianzajeff currently only POD Studio GX. Haven't used POD 2.0 in a long while

[Vargaath]

So freaking good song!!! love it!

[whitedevil19]

awesome tut, thanks a lot!!

in eq, how do you know what freq to boost and which to cut?? can i send you some questions i have on a pm? cause that sounds great and im trying to mix a sepultura cover but i cant get a descent mix :(

[kodoku42]

@whitedevil19 Generally I would boost mid frequencies on heavy rhythm guitars but it depends on the context. I suggest you experiment with eq's, playing the track over and over while tweaking the settings: best way to find out what suits your tastes IMO. But sure, PM me for questions :)

Normally I don't do such radical post EQ as I did with this tutorial but the idea was to make the riffs sound decent using only my Line6 POD 2.0 as recording hardware.

[MrTimzor]

Hey dude! how do you make the guitar sounds? do you use guitar rig on them too? want some help on making som cool sounds^^

[kodoku42]

@MrTimzor I used Line6 POD 2.0 for the guitar sounds plus the effects that I explain in these tutorial videos. PM me if you have more questions :)

[ZOMB13]

Awesome

[yannhk]

please make more video, your explanation is very clear thanks!

[floydrosemk]

Sounds awesome!What's the tuning of your guitar?Thanks! \m/

[anomalous11010001101]

Nice!!

[xGRAIVx]

good work thx man. LOL made me laugh so hard at the minds mirrors chord thrown in rq.

[kbroomall]

hey, thanks alot for taking the time to explain this. Excellent work!

[EraUntold]

is this fredrik thordendal???

[XantimSWE]

@EraUntold Fredik is from Sweden. This guy is from Finland.

[jokuhdeathmetalfreak]

Hey man!!!

this is great thanx this helped a lot!!

MESHUGGAH RULEZZ

[anaganda1985]

I have to listen to previous tracks while I play and record new tracks to synchronize timing and everything. I think M-Audio Fast Track doesnt have direct input monitoring capability. I would like to ask if Sonar 7 have such function. I have asked several people and they cant solve my problem. Please help sir..

[kodoku42]

I don't know if Sonar itself has such function but I suggest that you connect the audio output of your Fast Track to computer's audio line input and un-mute line in from the audio output settings on your operating system. That way you should hear the processed tone from your pc speakers (or headphones) and record tracks while listening to the existing tracks. This works for me with Line6 Pod Studio GX which is a USB interface as well.

[anaganda1985]

thank you sir for your advice. i will try this at home. have a good day!

[anaganda1985]

kodoku42

Hi sir! Im a starting musician. Im using Sonar 7 and M-audio Fast Track USB. I got the setup working- I recorded TRACK 1 (rhythm guitar) successfully. The PROBLEM is, when I have to record TRACK 2 (guitar solo), I have to turn the MIX knob of M-Audio to INPUT (left side of the MIX knob) from the PLAYBACK (right side of the MIX knob) to have an optimum sound input. But that way I CANNOT LISTEN to TRACK 1 (or other tracks) while i record TRACK 2.

[kdjfnvjvd]

ugh!! i cant get his sonar shit!! i got sonar 7 and a jamman looper. im trying to copy the guitar loops from the jamman to my computer, then put them in sonar to add drums and to fine tune my pre-existing loops from the jamman. How do i do this?? please help!!!! p.s. im bad with these clomputers!

[kodoku42]

Can you transfer your loops to you computer via usb? If so you should import those to sonar (click file->import->audio)

[kdjfnvjvd]

thanks so much! I'll try that.

[kdjfnvjvd]

so i was able to get my stuff to sonar but the guitar loop i made is a little off as far as the timing of the loop. How do i fine-tune the timing of the loop i imported to sonar???  Thanks.

[H0RA]

Great toutorial man!

[MisterNicholasGuitar]

Why do you use a standard guitar for your bass tracks??

[kodoku42]

Just because I don't have any

[kdjfnvjvd]

that was awesome!!! did u go to school 4 this!????

[Opposeddrummer]

Why don`t you add some tape saturation with ozone as well ?

drums and guitar will sound much fatter...

[SabrinOfAglen]

Meshuggah?? O_o

[skinup420Friendly]

awesome man you have solved my bass problem!

[kuberbht]

have u applied the eq preset on the drums to seperate parts of the kit or have u eq'd the drum kit as a whole. ? cos u can actually route out each part of the drum kit as a seperate channel on sonar and then eq each piece of the kit individually. just though that might help:D

very sick mix btw.\m/

[kodoku42]

Yeah, I know. I think I was just too lazy to do that and applied the effects to the kit as a whole.

[kuberbht]

whatever works i guess. u should try equing seperate kit parts that way itll be easier getting that slight click sound on the kick drum without making the instruments sound too sharp . cheers

[XDMikeyThePikeyXD]

sounds sick!

[Tegernako1]

This helped me alot with my mixes, thanks alot man :)

Just a quick question what settings are you using on the POD for that distortion?

[kodoku42]

I used Modern Higain and Treadplate models, both with the Line6 4x12'' cab.

The Modern higain setting had little bass but lots of mids and treble. Treadplate had less mids but more bass. The drive was set less than a half way up so the sound wouldn't get too muddy or whatever.

The drive boost was also flicked on.

[nojyeloot]

Well done man... marvellous! You used the POD v2.0 for this right (Treadplate & Modern HiGain)?

Thanks so much for this great tutorial

PS - what are your thoughts on Sonar's Session Drummer 2, comparatively speaking?

[kodoku42]

That is correct.

PS - I haven't used Session Drummer 2 so I can't compare it to ezdrummer.

[sensoryamusiaAUS]

awesome tutorial mate, thanks :)

[Zox111]

From where do you get the guitar distortion? A Line 6 pod?

[kodoku42]

Yes, without the effects it's basically from my POD 2.0. And I recorded 2 'layers' of rhythm guitars for each side, I think you noticed that if you watched the first part of my tutorial.

[Zox111]

Sorry, i missed that somehow. Thanks for the quick answer!

[StraightJacketStudio]

what kind gauge strings are you using?

[kodoku42]

Low to high: 68-56-44-32-28-18 and yes, it's a 6 string guitar :D

[Wookieboner]

what kind of guitar may i ask? scale length, pickups?

[kodoku42]

Fender Stratocaster American Standard ('94); 25,5" scale

DiMarzio Fast Track 2 on bridge and DiMarzio Pro Track on neck position (the middle one is stock)

[iggyfrance]

The final mix is pretty cool, great sense of the width of the sound and killer guitar tone, too bad you don't use something more "pro" for the drums. Superior 2.0 would be just great and would so much emphasise your work with some tweaks ('cause yeah, Superior 2.0 sounds a bit punchless/muddy when you just run through it the first time). I suggest you to watch my last video ([Djent] Surfing on a Calabi-Yau Manifold) and skip the intro to 1:45 to hear a bit of S2.0 mixed and all.

[kodoku42]

Yeah, S2.0 is great when you just get around tweaking it. I've actually began working with it. If you have a moment I suggest you'd check my "Bleed Segments".

I don't think I'll be using EZ Drummer any longer.

[nuclearvoodoo]

Have you tried XLN Audio's Addictive Drums? I used to use EZdrummer DFH but didn't have as much control/realism as Addictive Drums, very dry and more realistic sound, you should check it out.

[Deflectioneer]

Addictive Drums is amazing, but EZdrummer has better kick and is generally better for metal.

[Englishcheck]

will there be a tutorial on how you write your drum tracks?

[kodoku42]

If you request one. I could try to come up with something, if you mean actually composing the drum tracks. And I would prefer using Superior 2.0 although the basics are the same.

[Radicz0r]

Having basic knowledge about drum techniques and rhythms is not required but highly highly advisable =) If you need some online help just give me a shout dude!

[BruuuceWayyyne]

nice tutorial man, pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I use a different drum program and recording software, but the mastering/eqing stuff was really what i needed