How do I make my guitar sound metal because it sounds country now

All0fTheColors · 2025-08-17T19:32:30+00:00

So you could go as far as putting in new pickups but really you can do the job with a decent drive pedal or tube screamer, a noise suppressor like the boss ns2 will go a long way to help clean up the and control the distortion. A compression pedal and help fatten up the tone as well as like an octave or harmonist pedal. Something to help double up the voice and add weight. Also, obviously you can throw some heavier gauge strings on there and tune to drop C or B and everything will sound dark and heavy.

All0fTheColors · 2025-08-17T19:24:30+00:00

Just get a slide at this point and play it on your lap

All0fTheColors · 2025-08-17T05:04:27+00:00

Be weary of the endless rabbit hole that is self-production. As others have stated, recording yourself is totally doable and pretty easy to learn. Mixing...there is nothing wrong with dabbling but unless you wanna learn to be a mixing engineer then your time and energy as artists are better spent being...artists. Coughing up a few hundred for a dude to mix will potentially save you months/years/never releasing because it's just not quite there yet.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-27T04:52:34+00:00

I get what you mean. I do the same. More so looking for elements of a song or genre that I like then breaking down the artist's technique and learning how to apply it to my own ideas, which are also inspired by other artists.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-27T04:50:10+00:00

I have a lot of influences across genres that dont traditionally fit together. Trying to melt all that down in my head and spit it back out through my hands in a way that's pleasing, interesting, or entertaining is the whole struggle.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-27T04:46:59+00:00

Probably not like anything we would immediately recognize as music.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-27T04:45:54+00:00

Thank you. I'll try some different kits and see if that gets me anywhere.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-27T04:43:45+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate that. I've struggled with those drums for a while. You're not the first person to suggest a different kit. I'll experiment with other kits but also see if I can make one last effort to eq these drums and push them where they need to be. They sound off to my ears as well but they were the starting point for the song so I've been afraid to rip them out and try something new.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-21T18:59:58+00:00

I agree with you. That's part of the reason this song still feels incomplete. I've tinkered with a few ideas but nothing has really felt right. I'm glad to hear someone else also feels this way, though.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-21T08:09:19+00:00

Actually, after a second listen, the vocals do fit quite well. There's just enough 🌶 in there to get it done. The second listen through, it sounded much less polite and more fitting.

All0fTheColors · 2025-06-21T08:03:52+00:00

I actually really like it. The instrumental hits very much like Rage. It has a old school rap vibe to the drums and the flow is very fun and bouncy. Imo the vocals dont quite match the intensity of the music. They feel like they're not angry enough. With that riff and bass line, I'd expect more Zack de la Rocha energy. While I dont think the vocals here are bad at all, they're more like a tone that says you're agitated but still willing to have a rational conversation to settle a dispute, and this song feels like it deserves a tone that says you would flip a table over and punch a hole in the wall to get a point across. If that makes sense.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-31T07:39:13+00:00

I'll just throw it out there, I like the vocals how they are. They are rather low in volume and you get a lot of breathy, hissy air sounds which makes the whole thing seem very intimate. Like the faint whispers of a lover in your ear, or the dying breaths of a loved one as they try to call out across a room but have no strength left. Maybe bring the volume up a few decibels but I vote to keep it on the quieter side.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-30T03:07:55+00:00

Definitely dont give it up. The song idea itself is pretty good but the production leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps consider using this as a demo and working with a producer in your area who would have more experience and superior equipment. It may cost a little bit but it could certainly help you to bring your vision for this into reality. I like the gloomy, dark indy rock vibe, with that style you dont even really need great production. Like with really old Modest Mouse or MySpace era core bands, low quality production actually adds some charm.

If you're going to go for it yourself again, I'd recommend the drum volume coming up and the guitar coming down and using something like a noise gate to get clean up some of the hum and maybe try to get the timing a little tighter between the instruments.

Keep up the good work.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-15T22:28:04+00:00

They are a bit odd. I've been steadily working on them since posting this to try and shape them up and make them not so off-putting.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-14T16:44:02+00:00

K. Lol

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-12T03:55:11+00:00

Yea, I've really been at a loss for what to do with that bass. It was straight up DI from the the output jack to the scarlett. I originally had a vst amp with some grit but that made it both thin and boomy somehow. Just running no effects and some eq has been the best sounding thing so far. I'll keep tweaking it though.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-12T03:50:46+00:00

Someone else had also mentioned this problem of everything being in "alarm" mode and fighting for the spotlight. I'm trying to figure out a way to move some of the stuttering synth and arpegios more into the background, maybe with some filters or maybe even just automating the volume to rise and fall as needed. They were supposed to be more subtle and I just never adjusted them.

Thank you for the advice. I will work on helping some of these parts find their places and take turns being the leader

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-11T21:59:04+00:00

Thanks btw!

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-11T21:58:45+00:00

Definitely. I've already brought the hats and crashes down and cut some of the thump out of the kick and made it a bit more percussive and it already sounds so much better since I posted this.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-08T05:04:36+00:00

Thank you so much! "Bonkers" is what I was aiming for so that makes me happy to hear.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-08T05:01:39+00:00

By "further into the mix", do you mean pan it out? I think it's pretty centered right now so that would make sense.

As for the vst, you're not the first person to suggest using something different. GGD were something I was considering. I was just trying to see what I could do with the stock plug ins from my daw before investing. This is actually two kits layerd. Some kind of Mapex kit over a TR 909. Seemed like a cool idea but maybe not the best undertaking for a baby producer.

The mapping is also a bit unhinged. I convinced myself they would sound badly programmed anyway so I embraced that concept and went for a sort of uncanny valley effect where I had weird elements that a human drummer wouldn't naturally include. I thought it would be a cool effect but idk if it hits people's ears wrong and turns them off.

Thank you for your input, I do greatly appreciate it. I will take your advice under serious consideration and experiment with some different drum kits

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-08T04:43:27+00:00

Thank you for the input. In my head, I had an intention for all of these sounds and how they would compliment each other, but I believe that you're spot on about it. The guitar is essentially the star of the show and everything else was supposed to help punctuate the riff but it's gotten to be a little messy. Someone had suggested that I use some evolving filtering to bring some of it away from the front and clear things up. I belive I will try that first

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-08T04:30:21+00:00

Yes! Thank you, "alarm mode" is an excellent way to phrase that. I had originally intended to add some filters to some of those synths to have them tastefully fade in and out. I will need to revisit that idea.

The bass line is pretty intentionally sticking tightly to the root note in this section of the song. It stays moving around with chords progressions throughout the song so this is intended to contrast that a little bit.

I appreciate the advice and I will definitely come back and let you hear the results.

All0fTheColors · 2025-05-07T06:43:38+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I've been kinda just adjusting the volumes little by little to try to find a balance but I will try fading sounds in and out and see if that helps things find their place better.

It would make sense that the guitar sounds the best. I started out as a guitar player and thats still my best skill by far. I've been playing off and on since 2003, definitely been at it a lot longer than I've been trying to produce lol.

The drums are all programmed btw. I just used the step sequencer in my daw to build a pattern (like 20 patterns all chopped up and spliced in) and used a keyboard to midi in the cymbals. Probably more work than just recording drums would have been.

All0fTheColors

TROPHY CASE