Better Off Dead

P

PhilLondon

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New song, not sure about the mix, some pointers would be great! Me singing again, you have been warned! :D

I need to add a solo towards the end.

NEWIST MIX



Thanks.
 
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Cool sounding guitar at the beginning. A bit too much gain, but not real bad. I also liked the doubled guitars. They were just a bit dull/muddy. I wonder if a notch cut somewhere around 300hz might clean them up a bit.

Vocal sounded OK. Nice and clear. A bit of pitchiness here and there. I think it would sound better if you double tracked the vocal.

Bass sounded pretty good to me.

Drums were so-so. The snare was a bit too wet for me.
 
The intro vocal sounds in a very different spot than the intro guitar (EQ way), but once all the instruments come in everything fits better. Then for the 2nd verse it happens again - did you track the vocals at different times?
In the lead part (around 2:12) sounds strange with the snare hitting on the beat, could you try that part with just a kick instead? The crash cymbals are very sizzly when hit hard during that part of the song.
 
Some good stuff here. I guess most of my critique is geared to the arrangement and composition rather than the mix. The intro guitar riff is completely funky and cool - very Hendrix circa Cry of Love. But the refrain feels like a bit of a let down - it moves from funky and energetic to heavy and more predictable. I agree the refrain would be improved with doubled vocals, just to fill out the sound in that part. And maybe add something with a faster counter-rhythm to keep the energy up during the refrain...Tambourine? Shaker?

How did you record the guitar? It's very dry in the Intro, but it sounds good.
 
I really do like your guitar intro and the tone. Not sure I like the tone of the vocal over top of it...but like was already said, they fit better when the song engages. So maybe dry up the vocal during the intro and see if that helps.

I like the energy of the song and the rest of the parts. Kick is pretty prominent but goes with bass well. I do think the toms have almost too much bottom end...at least on my system with a sub it becomes all low end mud when when that part comes in.

Cool song man.
 
I hear a little Nick Cave there in the verses. I actually like your vocals, I don't think that you have anything to fear there. The vocal track could use just a little bit of ambience. Not exactly sure what. They just sound really dry compared to the roomy sound on the single coil guitar and drums.

Cool song man. Agreed that a little guitar solo wouldn't hurt there towards the end.
 
I like your vocals too. You could do a lot with your voice if you work at it. You seemed a little shaky in the intro but firmed up when the bass comes in. I got the Nick Cave thing too. I dig the song--unabashed hard rock is something what the world needs more of. I didn't have a problem with the composition. I liked the breakdown from about 2:10 but thought maybe the guitar there could have used another take--I'm not quite hearing the fire that you want in a guitar part that is out there front and center. The toms sound great. The snare sounds flat in places. Are you using drum samples? Nice ending.
 
Thanks for all your replies guys. There's lots of good stuff here. This is a song that I brought to my band just before we split up, and it sounded great, full of energy and stuff, and I guess I feel that I'm trying to recreate that here, but I feel it's not quite there.

TripleM - drums are fairly dry actually. There's very little reverb, perhaps it's just getting lost in the mix?

Do you mean double track the whole vocal or specifically, which part?

Mjbphotos - Hey, yea I done it over a couple of days. Do you mean they just sound different to the first verse? I can't sign high intensity stuff for long as I start to lose my voice fairly quickly.
In regards to the cymbals, I'll have a go at rolling off some of the top end.

JM67 - I guess the idea is to lose some energy to then pick it up again, like a contrast, but I'll chuck a tambourine in and see how it sounds.
Guitar was recorded using my Kemper.

The refrain, you mean the bit that's just bass and drums at the beginning, right?

Brutish - thanks. I think that this is the best I've got in regards to the vocal. Some songs suit your voice and perhaps this doesn't suit mine 100%. I'm still learning but it's getting very difficult to get my friends over to sing as they have kids and stuff so I just thought I'd do it myself.

I'll see how it sounds slightly drier anyway. Thanks.

Tadpui - Hmm, ambience. There's a fair amount of reverb on the track, and not really any on the guitars and drums. The track is fairly dry to be honest. Could you elaborate a little more?

Robus - yes, I know what you mean. I want that bit to be a bit more energetic. Almost like the breakdown in Bullet In The Head by Rage Against The Machine, but I find that the only way for me to get that energy and impact across is with an increase in volume just before the drums kick in, but then I lose it when it all has to come down to fit the mix. Not sure what to do there really but I know it's missing something.

I'm using the Logic Pro X Drummer plugin. I could EQ the snare a little to make it pop a bit?
 
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Yeah, what I hear is that the vocal during the earlier part of each verse (before all the instruments kick it up a notch) sounds different than after that.
 
Nah I'm agreeing with you. I've re recorded them. In fact I've done a lot to it today!

Changed all the vocals. It sounds like the same person is singing it now, I've double tracked a lot of it, I've changed the middle section, added a full solo and some other stuff.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 
Fantastic song. Solo parts sound a little dry and barren - maybe more reverb? Rhythm Guitar a bit one-sided toward the left during verses. 2:37 = great rhythm guitar riff, but could make more impact. Maybe check timing? Cymbals at 2:42 = a bit washy and tinny, and again a lot of volume bias towards the left. All in all, my favorite song on here so far.
 
Definitely improved over the first version. The doubled vocals feel stronger. Some of the details of the guitar solo get lost behind the cymbals, which were over-the-top for me during that portion of the song. I would rein in those cymbals, especially the crash. Could be personal preference. I'm not a fan of heavy use of cymbal crashes generally, but especially repeated crashes that turn into a wash of noise hovering over everything.
 
Thanks for the reply and the kind words! The verse rhythm guitar is right up the centre.

Do you mean the build up just before the chorus or the chorus? They're the only doubled tracked parts. Or are you hearing something in the verse? Could you tell me specifically where the guitar sounds uneven?

The timing is pretty much there on as far as I can tell, I feel that the impact is there?

Thanks Robus, I think I agree about the cymbals. I'm wondering how else to keep that wall of sound intensity up though, the impact kinda gets lost and it all comes down a notch. Any ideas are welcome!

:)
 
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Yes, best mix yet. I see you replaced those crashes with--splash maybe? Or just turned them down? Either way, much better. They're doing their bit to add energy to that part of the song without making a nuisance of themselves. I still think you should try a little harmony vocals over the chorus.
 
Thanks man. Yea I removed the crashes and just replaced them with an open hi hat. I also lowered the guitars slightly for the solo.

Harmonies are not my forte. I might ask my pal who's got a good vocal range to do something.

If anyone who previously commented has anything to add I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks again.
 
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