String inconsistencies...

H13

H13

Inspired
Okay...

...I may be a touch OCD.

But I'm working on the final stages of a recording project. 10 songs and a fresh set of strings every time. Trying to create the best tonal environment yeah? (I know some people prefer dead strings. But some people also like bird-watching and that shit's fucked yo)

What I'm noticing is that for each song, I'm having to use a different patch in order to keep consistency. On some? I need to drastically cut the top end\high mids. On others, I need to boost the FUCK out of the bass. Some are pretty much spot on and of course there's a wonderful variety of variables in between.

I do most of my tweaking via the GEQ which is post power amp.

The question I have is:

The fuck is causing such drastic changes? I'm usually in Drop D\E Standard, which of course will have a few quirks and differences, but even songs that are in the same key and working with similar notes (because I'm an original bastard) have fairly different tonal requirements.

SO.

My best bet so far is that the strings are a bit different each time which have pretty drastic changes to the sound and in a sterile studio environment, those differences jump out. But I'm super keen to have other ideas thrown at me?
 
Even with relatively similar material, even slight differences in the arrangement can make a surprisingly drastic difference in how things are perceived. My money would be on arrangement over strings, but YMMV.

One thing to consider is, if it is indeed the strings, maybe you're recording them while they're at various different points of breaking in? That initial breaking-in period always seems to happen relatively quickly, noticeable changes over the first several hours of playing and then it evens out. I like to record with new strings myself but not fresh-out-of-the-pack-today new for that very reason typically.
 
I normally play them for a good hour or so to break 'em in first. There'll be some inconsistencies there as some strings will be more worn-in than others.

But I dunno, sometimes the tone just seems dramatically different?

Maybe Rotosound strings are just a tad inconsistent in terms of tone? Still sound the best to my ears...
 
What are the inconsistency? Is it tone or volume...sounds like it my be a mixing issue. It shouldn't be that far off... A decent Mastering house will fix issues like this after the fact
 
It's definitely tone. On some songs, I'm cutting the shit out of 2-4k, on others I'm boosting 500hz...
 
Make sure you record everything at a similar volume - I'm talking about the output knob on the front, not anything inside the box. If you are using the same patch, make sure that the tracks you are recording over are playing back at similar volume, relative to you, while recording.

These things change the way you hit the strings, and in my experience effect the tone in a similar manner to how you describe.

Also, don't track with headphones. Don't fix anything in post. It will be worth it :)
 
antcarrier said:
Make sure you record everything at a similar volume - I'm talking about the output knob on the front, not anything inside the box. If you are using the same patch, make sure that the tracks you are recording over are playing back at similar volume, relative to you, while recording.

These things change the way you hit the strings, and in my experience effect the tone in a similar manner to how you describe.

Also, don't track with headphones. Don't fix anything in post. It will be worth it :)
Click to expand...

I'm a tad OCD. My signal chain is Guitar -> Rupert Neve DI -> RME Interface -> Reamp Box -> AFX. The DI and Interface have fixed input levels (correction: I set them so that they won't change...no I'm not OCD at all...) so the only thing that could change is the volume knob on the guitar (wait they DO stuff?!) and the output knob which I always have on full blast when recording to ensure consistent volume (patch settings aside)

I don't track with headphones (Mix with them, but how are you supposed to feel the ROCK without volume hitting your face?) but the idea that I could have attacked the strings differently on different days is probably pretty valid.

Look, none of the differences are deal-breaking. It's always possible to get a "unity" tone that sounds identical to the previous tones. I just like to know what the issue is.

Maybe Rotosounds have some shoddy QA whereby some sets of strings will be great and others will be poxy? I'm reluctant to blame Rotos though because I love them so...

PS:
Geezerjohn said:
Such vulgarity adds nothing to your original post. Blocked.
Click to expand...

Meh :)
 
Are the riffs different - different register, different striking? Different strings?
Is the bass doing something different?

Or are these cuts necessary for the entire song?
 
kgk said:
Call or write to them and ask:

http://www.rotosound.com/contact-us/
Click to expand...

I'm sure they'll admit that their products are inconsistent in terms of quality! (Which I'm less convinced of as this thread continues)

Wolfenstein98k said:
Are the riffs different - different register, different striking? Different strings?
Is the bass doing something different?

Or are these cuts necessary for the entire song?
Click to expand...

They're either Chugga riffs in E or they're Chugga riffs in D. They're not completely different because I come from the Metallica school of songwriting. The cuts are necessary for the whole song. I change the tone.

NOW:

One thing I should point out.

I've had a cold. My ears "popped" today and suddenly the world exploded in frequencies that I didn't realise I was deaf to.

...I'm gonna have another look at these mixes tomorrow and see what I was missing and how badly I've butchered all of this...
 
Oh, wow man, lol. Yeah, it's generally good to not be mixing things if your ears aren't at 100% :) frequent breaks, reasonable SPLs, not working when sick or congested or fatigued, all very important to getting an accurate representation of sound.

Ear fatigue and/or congestion is waaaaay more likely to be causing the kind of extreme changes you've described than anything else, I think.
 
H13 said:
One thing I should point out.

I've had a cold. My ears "popped" today and suddenly the world exploded in frequencies that I didn't realise I was deaf to.

...I'm gonna have another look at these mixes tomorrow and see what I was missing and how badly I've butchered all of this...
Click to expand...

Having a cold will definitely alter your hearing perception. Also, make sure you're listening in the exact same room position. If you have an adjustable chair, make sure it's at the same height and position in the room and some people mark on the floor where their chair needs to be. Make sure you're listening at the exact same level because even a 1dB change will sound different. Try using a SPL Meter when comparing.

Another thing you can try is playing pink noise and then lowering your guitar, so you can barely hear it over the pink noise. Compare the way the guitars interact with the pink noise. I usually do this with headphones and then with 3 different pairs of speakers. I use a pair of Studio monitors with a sub, a pair of old tall floor speakers and a pair of low priced car speakers on the floor on both sides of me spaced out similar to car door speakers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom