Getting started with recording and mixing - DJENT Production

First off you will need a nice instrument. The better your pickups, the better the tone. Everything starts from there. You will need an audio interface. Some examples are: Line 6 UX2, Line 6 POD series, or any other interface that will allow you to transfer the signals from your guitar to your computer. You will need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Cubase, Logic , Pro Tools, Reaper etc. I for example use Logic, (although I know pro tools and Cubase as well) you don’t have to be extra picky on your DAW, its personal preferences of each engineer and with what you work faster and more efficient. Did I mention you will need a descent PC?

Depending on your audio interface the sound will differ. For example Line 6 ones have built in Amp simulations, whereas a soundcard like let’s say M-Audio or Presonus will not have this kind of things. But, that’s where the plugins come in handy. Plugins like ReCab and Lecto, Amplitube, etc.

If you don’t have access to an electronic drum set, the best alternative is Superior Drummer 2.0 You can easily learn to use it, and in each DAW, there will be either a Drum Editor, or a Piano roll. This will enable you to write your beats down. You can do another alternative. The one that I use. I write in Guitar Pro, and then export the drums as a midi file. Then I move on to arrange velocities and quantize on the DAW. It’s a bit masochistic but when I will audition for members i will have to do it eventually, so I thought why not start early.

After all this is taken care of you will need a Bass guitar (borrow from a friend or use midi). The bass is what makes everything glue together. Imagine your mix as a Painting. Drums are the Frame, Bass is the Canvas and Guitars/Vocals and FX is the actual painting. Without a good bass tone, I’m afraid you will have difficult time trying to achieve the "massiveness" you listen to pro recordings.

Now on with the "Djent Tone"

The tone is very Mid focused, as you may know. But again, the trick lies to the guitar, pups, playing and interface. Noise gate should be set high, to cut the sloppiness and make playing to be even tighter, (a compressor should compensate on the sustain loss) and another trick is to pick and play HARD!

Tip: Change strings if possible between every recording, or get a string cleaner and clean them up. You might think this is unnecessary but the strings get to sound more dull and dark, and this will apply to an extent on your recording.

Also! Those are just starting points! You never finish learning about this stuff. Start by reading some books about the subject. I can suggest you a few that I read and I think they are amazing. Watch as many tutorials as you can and experiment. Don’t get down if you’re not where you want at start, it will take time, effort, dedication and determination to achieve a good overall.

The internet is a large free library, use it.