RA-100 w/ Suhr guitar - live video - thoughts?

[thumbpick]

Hi folks!

Just finished up a couple of live videos with my band Kindler. They feature the RA-100 exclusively. I'd love your thoughts and criticisms! We'll be doing a lot of these, so any tips for improvements are more than welcome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjpxybDCEQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hPVZnqvJpE

Signal Chain:
Suhr Modern GG Signature > FX Engineering Mirage Comp > Eventide H9 > Mesa/Boogie RA-100 > Recto 2x12 & Recto 4x12 cabs

In FX loop: Strymon Mobius > Eventide TimeFactor > Xotic EP Booster

Recording:

2x Shure SM57 (one on each cab) > Presonus Firestudio > Pro Tools 9

Thanks in advance!
Nick

 

[CoG]

This is great, man. Gotta say - I like hearing some guys who aren't afraid to ******* *sing*. I am loving the vocals, like the compositions a lot. You're playing some really nice stuff and your drummer's just killing it all through both tracks.

Bassist needs to calm down a little on "Anselmo", he's playing too much and wrecking the groove (2:20 and following for a good example.) Just because you're playing a simple repeating figure doesn't mean he needs to get his licks in (see below re: Intronaut.) If he listens to this he'll be like "oh, I can play that cleaner and it'll fit better" but no, he should just play less notes. No one's paying by the note

The mixes are tight but way too clean and everything's shelved too neatly. It's like a mix by a dude who has done one semester of audio engineering at college. Everything's right in a textbook sense but there's something "nonmusical" about it - it's like, the tracks are produced this way because it's supposedly the right way to do it, instead of "does this sound good on this track?" It's too bad because you guys are blowing the roof off the place and then the mix is just sorta "yep, you can hear everything, call it a day."

The single guitar needs to be bigger - not louder, just filling a little more space. I think you're just giving it too narrow a range in the mix for a single guitar. Try putting both mics on the same cab, different spots on the same speaker, and be a little less aggressive with the high and low cuts in the mix.

Are you guys Intronaut fans? I ask because (besides a real Intronaut feel to some of the riffs) they do the same thing on record. They are so concerned that you hear every single thing everyone plays that there's no real "vision" for how the record sounds, it's just "dudes playing."

 

[thumbpick]

CoG,

Thanks so much for the thoughtful response! I truly appreciate your praise and criticisms!! I'm going to forward this to the other guys and chew on it some. I think you bring up some great points.

We just finished tracking two more songs which we'll post during Feb. One of them, in particular, is a bit more subtle and I think you'll really enjoy it. We tracked an album last July and had it mastered by Bob Katz (who did UNBELIEVABLE things to it in a very good way) that we're in the process of getting duplicated and all. If you DM me your email address I'd love to send you a track or two!

I've been thinking about testing a stereo setup for these recordings - pulling the 'ole Steve Morse/John Petrucci trick and running the second amp w/ a 4ms delay to give it that "double tracked" feel. Do you think this would help give the guitar a little more beef?

I suspect that a lot of the super-direct feel of the recordings you're picking up on is the fact that we're close-miking everything in an effort to compensate for the lack of any real acoustics in my basement. We went to The Fidelitorium (here in NC) to track our album and it definitely feels more spacious. I suppose we could experiment with adding a little more overall character in the box with plugins. Food for thought!

Thanks again!!
~Nick

P.S.
I've tried to listen to a lot of Intronaut, never been able to really get into them. I'm with you - never been able to put my finger on it! I've suspected maybe it was the fretless bass, which is just never quite always in perfect tune, so it might be throwing the whole sonic feel off a bit, but who knows! Between the three of us, the bands we all agree on would probably be Yes, Karnivool, Mastodon, Tool, Thrice, Led Zeppelin, and Gojira. Cameron (singer/bass player) is a huge Rush fan, but Stephen and I never really got into them.

 

[67mike]

Gave both vids a listen....gotta say I am a fan!

 

[thumbpick]

Gave both vids a listen....gotta say I am a fan!

Thanks man!!

Just finished up another one yesterday. Hope you enjoy it as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FjTvrHD0Y

 

[67mike]

Gave both vids a listen....gotta say I am a fan!

Thanks man!!

Just finished up another one yesterday. Hope you enjoy it as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FjTvrHD0Y

Awesome....my favorite of the 3...probably due to guitar being more prominant. Are you on red channel?

Drums are great as well. Bass could be dialed in tighter...seems fuzzy.

Vocals....wow...love it.

 

[thumbpick]

Gave both vids a listen....gotta say I am a fan!

Thanks man!!

Just finished up another one yesterday. Hope you enjoy it as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FjTvrHD0Y

Awesome....my favorite of the 3...probably due to guitar being more prominant. Are you on red channel?

Drums are great as well. Bass could be dialed in tighter...seems fuzzy.

Vocals....wow...love it.

Thanks man!! Glad you enjoyed! Yes - I am on the red channel. For whatever reason, I've always preferred the voicing of the red channel. I always live on either the clean channel or the red channel.

 

[67mike]

Yes...the blue channel can be a touch bright if you are not using attenuation. As soon as you attenuate the blue channel....it takes the sharp/brightness away.

It really is a great amp.

 

[Ryann]

I really enjoy seeing a band doing something original and cool. Excellent work sir.

I would have to agree with prior comments about the mix. For me the bass is far too forward and uncoupled from the drums. Is it his recording space/band?

 

[Hollis]

Sounds very much like the band Dredg, which I love. I like the tight, clean and clear mix. If you add a light Reverb to the overall mix, it'll put everything in the same "space", and it'll sound more like what people are used to hearing. Personally, I like it the way it is.

 

[thumbpick]

Thanks for all the comments, guys! I truly appreciate you all taking the time to watch and give your thoughts! We'll keep improving for sure!

I just recently got my old amps (H&K Switchblade 100's) back from repair. We have one more video currently being edited - after that, I'm thinking I'll try a stereo setup with the Mesa and one of the H&K's. I tested it a few days ago and it really makes the Eventide delays come to life. I'm also going to try the Steve Morse trick of running one amp like 4ms behind the other one - we'll see if that ads some girth to the single guitar!

 

[thumbpick]

Just dropped another video! Please let me know if this gets annoying - I'll be happy to tone down the shameless pluggery. Always looking for ways to improve though!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKdOi23NtV4

Thanks!
Nick

 

[bandit2013]

Your last video is just like the others you posted, Incredible. Well done. The sound is perfect and videography is also well done. I like your sound as a band overall and would listen to this for hours on end. In short, everything is tight, well planned out, mixed well, and professionally edited. So far what I have seen and heard is a work of art that I could not duplicate. Two thumbs up!!!

 

[Archlute75]

Hey man, thanks for posting these. Not only do you guys sound tight, but I'm looking at getting a Suhr modern here soon, and wanted a good example of what it might sound like in a mix.

I'll be using a MkV head, and swamp ash/maple instead of the GG's mahogany, but I'm sure they both sing. Does yours have a blower switch, and if so, how often do you find yourself using it?

 

[thumbpick]

Thanks so much guys! Truly means the world!!

Archlute75 - The Suhr GG is truly an incredible guitar. Very "open" sounding and plays better than any guitar I've every owned. I keep 11's on it and it feels like 9.5's. I would actually say that the blower switch is the only thing that slightly annoys me about the guitar. I can imagine it would be useful if you were in a low-key band and weren't concerned with running around the stage, but I'm always jumping around and going somewhat crazy and I've accidentally hit the blower switch a few times and then freaked out afterwards when the 5-way switch ceased to function. Also, it definitely has it's own sound. It's got more highs and a bit more bite, which is kind of cool. I think if you weren't concerned with showmanship it would be a great feature - I've just had it backfire on me a little. Regardless - buy a Suhr! You will not regret it.

I've just purchased a G12H-75 Creamback that I'm going to put in one side of my 2x12 recto cab on the recommendation of another guy on the forum named Cory. I'll have that installed before the next video - we'll see how it turns out!

Cheers,
~Nick

 

[bandit2013]

Definitely keep posting more thumbpick. You guys rock!

 

[BeYourself]

Man congrats sounds great and unique.

What are you influences?

I hear a hint of Tool, Perfect Circle meets Muse.

 

[thumbpick]

Thanks guys!

Tool and Muse are definitely in there! I grew up listening to TONS of YES. We're all big Mastodon fans, but there aren't too awful many other bands we are all fans of. We all have pretty distinct tastes. Collectively, I'd say we agree on:

Modern: Tool, Mastodon, Gojira, Karnivool, Thrice.

Classic: YES, Zeppelin, Boston, Hendrix.

Thanks again!
Nick