Mixing/Mastering programs?

[sunung1188]

I've been doing alot of homerecording lately with my Gibson goth lp.
I use addictive drums as vst's as i want to make my home studio
as compact as possible
and i link my guitar through a pod x3 directly without any amps.

Of course this may limit my sound but its just as a hobby for now.

Ive been yearning to get the sound of many artistes alike:

e.g: Avenged sevenfold's guitar sound from their new album (even though im not a fan of them)
and Slipknots drum sound (from Duality)

Well basically a 'thumping, massive' sound.

I guessed it has to be more of my mixing or mastering techniques that affectsmy overall sound of my songs.


So this brings me to the question:

Are there any automatic or good 'mastering' programs that are easy to use
available for download? (Ill try them out and then purchase them as im used to this)

I do buy programs (Cubase 4, etc) So dont get me wrong here.


Cheers Gibson-ers

[sunung1188]

+ if you could give tips on how to get these massive guitar sounds or drum sounds without miking, itll be great.

Thanks once again,

Sun

[Kølabrennern]

Ah, finally a thread where I can contribute with something.

Guitar sounds:
IK Multimedia Amplitube 2 - Great distortion, a few good cleans.
IK Multimedia Amplitube Metal - Probably the best distortion emulation you'll find today.
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 - Good cleans, distortion is way too fizzy and weak, in my humble opinion.

So you've tried these for a while and you feel that you're almost there, but not quite? Then the next step would be cutting the cabinet simulation from for example Amplitube and instead use cabinet impulses. Get hold of for example Voxengo Pristine Spaces and the cabinet impulses from someone called Guitarhack (they're all over, just google). It takes a bit of tweaking and experimenting, but it's so rewarding in the end, when you finally get what you've been looking for.

For mastering you would want to use a good BUS compressor and a limiter. Waves SSL BUS Comp is a fantastic little compressor which can do wonders, as well as the Waves L3 Ultramaximizer limiter. Just don't overdo it with any of them, as that only works to your disadvantage. Another nice tool is Izotope Ozone 3. But be warned: Only use the EQ and the stereo widener, the rest of what it has to offer is crap.