Uneven volume depending on which part im playing in the song.

[green siren]

Hey so I've been noticing a problem which is ruining my overall sound. I use my Boss Br800 as the input for my guitar/bass and use the inbuilt effects on it for recording on Reaper.

One example is my main lead guitar, I select the effect I like, check it has compression turned on ( don't know what settings it's applied by default) then record my guitar track which plays the length of the song. In the verse it's picking a riff and uses a mix of the lower and higher strings but mainly the lower ones and then in the chorus It switches to a more rhythmic part played on the higher strings. When playing it back with the rest of the tracks, I set the volume right for the verse and it sounds good however come the chorus the guitar part appears to be much louder despite the wave form looking consistent and the meter readings not increasing. I believe I've read it's something to do with resonance on the higher strings but not quite sure what the solution would be without having to do some major editing.

Similarly I have bass line that is played on the lower E and A through out the verse but then switches to playing octaves on the A and G strings, and the difference in volume is also apparent, the lower strings appear to be much louder in the verse compared to when I switch to the octave playing in the chorus, again I had selected a bass effect on the boss br800 with comp turned on.

Any tips for someone that Isn't all that clued up in the EQ and Compression side of things just looking to record parts, find good levels and try and make song that sounds fairly decent.

Cheers.

[desert wagon]

use an audio compressor!

a compressor is your mother.

😉

slap one on each channel rack to give your musical piece more "sameness"

[obtuse cloud]

if you've got the patience, here's a ten hour youtube video on compression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksJRgK3viMc

[sonic dome]

ok the way i would recommend is just to do a volume automation throughout the track https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXKDqm8z64M

yes, it's more time consuming as you have to set the level for each part manually but it's more precise than using a compressor

[green siren]

Thanks guys i've used compression and although this does a good job I believe it may be a tonal issue switching from playing a riff on the lower strings to the higher strings in the chorus as the compressor i use fabfilter allows me to hear what it's cutting and it's the lower strings that are outputting louder according to it, yet it's the high strings that are piercing when in the mix i've also done automation in past and it helps but tedious, may consider recording the verse and chorus parts seperate to be able to find a good balance, as I had recording the whole part in one take.

[green siren]

I've tried uploading the audio so far but for some reason it automatically gets deleted when finished uploading.

[sonic dome]

If you want to cut the high strings specifically you can also try using a multiband compressor and only target the highs