Best products from r/progmetal

If you're looking to buy a new-in-box player I HIGHLY recommend the Denon DP-300F. The upgraded version from Turntable Lab is pretty much the best deal in entry level tables. If that's a little too pricey, the original is only $250 on Amazon. Both variants have been on sale a few times so it might be worth waiting until the next sale.

The next price range with an appreciable jump in quality will put you in the $700-$1200 range. After that, you're talking $5000+ to hear a difference. And that's only if you play your music through ultra high-end amps and speakers.

You won't need a pre-amp with the Denon but pairing it with something like the Schiit Mani would be a noticeable and relatively cheap upgrade that could come later.

It isn't an audiophile table, but the automatic features make it perfect for the casual collector/listener. It's well built and looks slick too. I expected it to feel cheap but it's a hefty little thing.

I run mine through a Mani to a pair of HS8s and I love it. Out of the box it ran records a little too fast but that can be adjusted. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new player under $400. Of course, finding a vintage player may be the best option depending on your local used market. :)

Yes! Bandcamp is an amazing service, really. Hope you enjoy it! Free, as always. Thanks for including me in this great list and thanks for all that you've done to pull this together.

Oh and it looks like I missed that you had yt/amazon on there. Here are those links if you need them

youtube
amazon

I've been using Shure Se425 for 2,5 years now and they've been the best headphones I've ever had and tried. The sound needed some getting used to, because they sound very analytic, clinical and kinda cold. The sound is amazingly clear. They are made for drummers, so everything in the midrange area is amazing. The highs and the lows are great, too. If you have a good equalizer or a headphone-amp you can get amazing bass.

Right now I'm waiting for my first custom In-Ears Custom Art Music Two to be made and shipped. I feel like a teen girl waiting for her 16th birthday :D

I do live sound for a living, and I think there are many things in your post that you're not taking into account. First of all, if a band is very loud, it's not necessarily the sound guys fault. Quite often if a band is too loud and the vocals are muddy, it's because the band themselves are too loud without any PA reinforcement. Full drum kits and guitar stacks are very loud instruments, and sometimes they compete with each other to the point that they become an unruly mess.

I've dealt with bands who were playing with 2 Fender 4x10 combo amps for each player, totaling to 6 amps. If you have any experience with Fender combos, they're staggeringly loud, even with the volume set to moderate levels. The band I was mixing for had all of their amps on 9, which is unheard of for a room I was mixing in (500-600 cap venue). This, in turn, made it so that no matter how loud I turned up the vocal in the PA, the guitars would still drown them out. I asked the band to turn down, and they wouldn't. With the PA hitting limit (as loud as it can possibly go), the vocals just couldn't compete.

I assume this is a common problem in metal, especially so with the mentality that metal has to be a loud genre. That, in itself, is another point to take into consideration. You keep bringing up symphony concerts and jazz gigs for things that are a respectable volume. If you ask any person on the street which is going to be loudest between a symphony, jazz, or metal concert, we all know that the metal show is going to be common answer. My point here is that if a band is really that bad sounding, either A. talk to the band and let them know that they're too loud. Many bands want a good sounding show just as much as you do. Or, B. if the band has a touring FOH engineer, talk to them. Sometimes they'll just write you off, but you never know.


Something else that can be an issue, especially with the muddy vocals, is improper mic technique. I've seen SO MANY metal vocalists who have horrible mic technique. This can cause muddiness, thinness, or general lack of volume overall. This, along with cymbal and guitar bleed in the vocal mic can ruin an otherwise acceptable vocal performance.


On top of that, some bands are just plain hard to mix. The other night I was filling in at FOH for a friends band at a local venue. They play instrumental, synth-filled prog. There were 3 bands before them, 2 indie and one pop-punk (it was a strange show). The first 3 bands all shared a drum kit. That kit was so easy to mix, and so well tuned that I didn't really have to do much to get a great mixing going with it. Then came the headliner. No matter how much I tried, I could NOT get that drum set to sound good. The toms had no attack, weird resonances, and a general muddiness without a perceivable tone throughout. The snare was super loud (even unmic'd), and the cymbals were crazy harsh and loud. I could only get the kick to a useable sound. The guitar sounded OK, but the guitarist had an axe-fx and didn't have pretty much any of his sounds level-matched, so I had to ride his fader all night. The bassist's tone was fairly thin and honky, and EQing the honk out took away all of the character and intelligibility of the instrument. All of this on top of a very harsh backing track made for the mess you've been describing. So, sometimes it comes down to badly tuned/maintained instruments and mediocre players. No matter how hard the guy at FOH will try, the band will sound like a mess.


Lastly, you've been saying you don't want to wear earplugs, and while you're obviously free to not wear them or not want to wear them, it's becoming extremely commonplace to do so. If you get a nice pair of These Earplugs, I guarantee you that you will be able to hear the band clearly. They take away all of the harsh high end and shitty, muddy boxiness that can cloud a mix. Added to that, PAs are becoming more powerful and efficient pretty much by the year. The days of yore where a PA was strictly for the vocals, and eventually the vocals, kick drum, and keys are essentially gone. You can pump pretty much as many dB into a venue as you see fit for a fraction of the price, space, and weight than ever before. Sure, some people may take this too far and generally mix far too loud, but I assure you that there are plenty of sound people just trying to do the best with what they're given, be it bad players, bad instruments, loud bands, and bad singers.


TL;DR: Don't just blame it on the sound guy, man. Some of of genuinely care and want the show to be as awesome as possible.

I've had a pair for a while now and they are very relaxed and neutral. So they handle most genres nicely as long as you don't need to be throttled by bass. The soundstage is solid and they are the most comfortable cans I've worn. But they do benefit nicely from an amp. I have the fiio e10k, which also has a DAC. But you can always get the E6 at the bare minimum for just $25.

http://www.amazon.com/E6-Fujiyama-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B005HJWWW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418277737&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+amp

You can support us on:
iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/looking-back-single/1352734989?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B2C4ZXX

Google play
https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Dlacho_Looking_Back?id=B2w5aygqgiy67acddrkuyib6yaq

Enjoy! :)

Fantastic song from a fantastic album. If you like this, also check out their previous album, We're Here Because We're Here.

Using a FiiO-E10K as USB sound card. Over the time I have had these headphones to compare: ATH-M50-X, Beyerdynamic Custom One and DT 770 Pro, Shure SRH 840.
The SRH 840 are my absolute favourite, they sound perfect for everything guitar based. I use them on the road (e.g. public transport) and at work because they are foldable and fit nicely into my backpack. A friend of mine also bought these, loving them. At home I also still have the DT 770 which sound a bit more neutral (still very good) but are not as portable.

Apparently it's a cover song from Sign (Ragnar's other band): https://www.amazon.com/Rockers-Dont-Bathe/dp/B01MEEMACF
Still pretty great!

For out and about, the KZ-ATE in ears. Can't recommend these enough for the price. Sound quality is really good,and they fix in your pocket at gigs. Taken them Moshing many times and they still work just fine.

At work/commuting, the Avantree Audition Pros serve me well. Good quality Bluetooth to my mac/phone. Closed back. Good battery life (two days) and the option of using an aux cable. Once you go wireless, it's hard to go back. They are also very lightweight for over ears.

At home, a pair of Yamaha HS7 Studio monitors going through a MackieProFX8v2 over USB. The mixer has a small 9 band equalizer which I use to pump up the bass a little for casual listening.

That's a nice list, I need to bookmark it. I also recommend reading Mean Deviation, for an interesting, a bit different take on the history of progmetal.

Look Right Penny isn't together anymore, but I love the one album they did put out.

I also got way into Numbers this year.

mattias ia eklundh is the guitarist and lead vocalist. His solo album, Freak Guitar: The Road Less Traveled is all him and is pretty goddamn amazing. Highly recommend

http://www.amazon.com/Test-Of-Submission/dp/B008PSSGIW/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1346198396&sr=8-2-spell

Already bought it early this morning on release. The album is fantastic. Darker, and more focused.

I've used a pair of Etymotic Research ER20 earplugs for a few years now. I haven't tried any other sets before, so I can't compare the sound to anything else, but I have been very happy with the sound profile with them in.

Fitted sounds great, but pricey.

I bought this set earlier this year and really like them.

My first experience with BTBAM was watching the Colors live performance on youtube. I would link it, but I watched it almost 7 years ago and it was split into about 7 videos. I've been looking and cannot find the whole thing now.

After watching, I decided I had to have it and was fortunate enough to find a copy of the Colors Live CD/DVD in stock at a local independent music store the next day.

Link on amazon to the cd/dvd.

I'd recommend this book if you want a truly definitive answer on the subject but in short, yes they are. They strike you as "standard" because they helped set a lot of those standards.

https://www.amazon.com/Mean-Deviation-Decades-Progressive-Heavy/dp/0979616336

When you listen to the Ziltoid sequel, be sure to watch the concert where he plays it all the way through (plus an assortment of fan picks).

https://www.amazon.com/Devin-Townsend-Presents-Ziltoid-Blu-ray/dp/B015S12VUM

It's incredible.

This is the opening track to their just released debut album, The Point of You. Bass on this album was written and recorded by Seventh Wonder's Andreas Blomqvist (my personal favorite bassist), though Miguel Pereira has since taken the position as full-time bassist.

They'll be opening up Saturday at next year's ProgPower USA in Atlanta!

Looks like both are on Amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/Fables-Mayfly-What-Three-Times/dp/B000PKG7IO/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

To my knowledge these are some of the most popular ones out there and they're very affordable at just over $10. I've had mine for a couple of years now and have never had an issue with them.

Indeed. For anyone interested, check out these or these or these.

With one of these and one of these usually!