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Old 08-06-2010, 09:38 PM   #2 (permalink)
Freebase Dali
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Join Date: Mar 2009
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Put distortion on everything.
Just be selective about it. Like, don't put the same distortion on everything, otherwise nothing will be intelligible at all. Say you put a certain amount and type of distortion on your guitar. The drums should get some too, but at different settings and a different type. Vocals, too. Practically everything you distort should have its own character so that it doesn't become just another part of the overall distortion level.
EQing comes into play as well... remember to EQ things differently so they have some kind of definition, because it won't be long before all your different distortions are sounding the same because of frequency insulting. I.E. don't boost your highs and lows on EVERYTHING. Make little EQ zones for each instrument. This is a standard mixing practice for any scenario, but it's even more important when you have the same type of effect on everything, otherwise you'll just have a bunch of distortion and nothing else.
Also remember to not put as much distortion on particular elements as sounds good when it's solo'd. All that distortion is going to add up. Put less than you would think.

And finally, at the end of it all, when you're done mixing everything with all the distortion, put some heavy compression on the overall mix to get it up in your face.

Some extra tips... don't be afraid to distort reverbs. A fun and creative way to make a distorted ambience is to let an instrument have a dry channel and a distorted reverb channel. This means you have one instance of the instrument with no distortion or reverb, and another instance of it with reverb first in the chain, and distortion after, but set so that no dry channel comes through. Meaning, completely wet, no dry. This then becomes your effect and you can set it so that it blends in well with your original signal. Same goes for any other effects.
But the key remains... distortion.
You just have to use it creatively and apply some basic fundamental forethought.
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