Climb The Wall - alternative/pop/rock mix

Sounds very nice!

Some observations (listenend to it on earbuds): For some reason the 1st 2 lines of vocal sound different (less clear) then the rest. Then, especially in the chorus I feel like the kick drum is not very present which makes these parts feel unbalanced (I miss emphasis on the first count of beats). Finally, the guitars could use a little more punch. Perhaps you can double them with parts that have a lot less distortion (and thus more dynamic) and blend the parts together.
 
Phenomenal vocals. The hard-panned hi-hat sounds unnatural to me. Personally, I would back off the overall compression of the entire mix, but I assume heavily compressed is what you were going for with this genre of music. I guess I am just old fashioned. Great song!
 
Personally, I would back off the overall compression of the entire mix, but I assume heavily compressed is what you were going for with this genre of music.

The master buss compressor doesn't move more than 3db at any time; there's much more compression on the individual channels, however.
 
Finally, the guitars could use a little more punch. Perhaps you can double them with parts that have a lot less distortion (and thus more dynamic) and blend the parts together.

I have actually done exactly that... there are two heavy doubled rhythm guitars playing the chords and two, less distorted lead guitars playing a lead part, almost through the entirety of the song.

When I try to add punch, they simply come out harsh. A great guitar sound is something I'm still working on achieving.

Thanks for the listen and comment.
 
The HD 280s have some interesting frequency features, much like my DT990s.

Here is the average original frequency profile of the HD 280s. Check out that crazy 12db boost at 10khz! and then there's the massive drop off after 10k, and the big dip from 100-200hz, and the 6db boost at 80hz.
View attachment 99787

Here's the correction profile. If you have reafir, I could try sending the preset over. Or you could approximate it with any old eq.
View attachment 99786

This is great to see. I have the HD280's too and its no wonder they are somewhat hard to mix with. That bass boost is what gets me in trouble more than anything. People always comment that the bass is lacking yet I hear it perfectly in my cans...great to know!
 
Great song Taras! I didn't hear anything wrong with your mix. Great vocals as always...good changes and transitions. Mix sounds solid. GREAT job
 
Fantastic all the way around. You are getting amazing results within the realm of hone recording. Great song, great vocal, and pro sounding mix
 
Hey guys,

Since I'm trying to compile an album's worth of material, and I'm continuously improving my mixing skills, I decided to retrack all the guitars and rewrite the drums for this older tune. I kept the original vocal, but everything else is new.

For the first time, I avoided all digital clipping in regards to the guitars. Usually, between the guitar itself, interface, amp sim, pedals, cab sim, and various channel inserts and sends, the guitars usually hit the red at some spot; usually in the amp/cab stage. I never took much concern with this until this last time around.

I think the end result is smoother and more powerful guitars. Do you agree? How is the mix overall? Thanks for listening and commenting.



Climb The Wall - roughmix by TRA | Free Listening on SoundCloud

sounds like a damn good band to me
 
Thanks Brut, Jimi, and Sparky, but can you guys give me anything to improve on? What seems to be the weakest link? I don't feel it's up to par for something I'd charge maybe a few bucks for, as in a 6-8 song album. I will look at turning off the master bus plugins and get it professionally mastered.
 
This song sounds great! I really like it a lot! However, I have to agree with the others about the sim-sounding guitar tone. I also feel like there's a bit of low mids missing from the mix. Not much but enough for me to notice. It could just be from that guitar tone. Overall all great work. The vocals are great. Production is top notch.
 
Final mix is in the pocket. Nicely done!

hmm, I'll come up with 50 things I don't like about it in a few weeks. It can always be better. Particularly the guitars. If interested, I posted the raw and EQ'd guitar work in the guitar tone thread. Thank you for listening and commenting.
 
Hey Bud, sorry I haven't been around for a while.

The only version I heard was the latest one, and wow, incredible dude. I could have heard it on the radio and not had a second thought. No problems guitar-wise for me, but I feel the same way about tone sometimes- it could always be improved. I wouldn't sweat it, I think they sound great here. And the vocal is absolutely fantastic, my friend.

I've been mixing a lot lately, watching tutorials, reading articles, interviews, etc., and I do think I'm greatly improving. But then I hear something like this and still think I have a long way to go- inspiring me to work even harder. Awesome job, probably my favorite song of yours yet.
 
Thank you for the listen/comment, Johnny. Still have a ways to go, but I'm inching closer maybe. Thnx again
 
I feel overall its over compressed. Compressing the individual parts is needed, but there is little sonic difference between the loud and the soft. Let the piece have some dynamics to it.
 
I feel overall its over compressed. Compressing the individual parts is needed, but there is little sonic difference between the loud and the soft. Let the piece have some dynamics to it.

The tune as a whole, buss compressor, doesn't take off more than 2-3db throughout the tune. That's not any amount that is noticeable to the majority. Maybe there's some individual element that sounds overly compressed, but it's def not the entire tune. Don't forget that amp sims don't have much, if at all, dynamic element to their playing ability. It takes almost nothing for the sim to reach "loud". One of the main gripes I have about them. thnx for the listen.
 
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