A demo by my band and me

Not loving the pickup sound of the acoustic guitar in the intro... can't you mic it?

The lead vocal has about 7 times as much reverb as it needs and the volume is all over the joint... you need to get to work with some volume automation... kill the reverb dead first, then automate, then put a smaller amount of reverb back on afterwards - I couldn't listen past a minute as I was afraid of what was going to happen with the vocal next and whether my ears would survive.

No, come to think of it, leave the reverb off the vocal altogether, and remix and repost. I suspect you're going to need some EQing on the vocal as well but I really can't tell from listening to that echoey mess.

And if that's not reverb, a suspicion that springs to mind... then you have major room issues.

If there's a bass guitar in there, turn it up in the mix. If there isn't, I suggest you put one in.

Good luck... and sorry to sound harsh but it didn't look like anyone else was going to comment...
 
Thanks armstice, yes it needs loads of worl, we recorded it in about 2 hours with a few takes. Theres no bass in it, need to add it. I'll work on these suggestions and put it up again..
 
I'd agree to forget about reverb for now.

Plosive on the lead vocal at 1:10. More later.

Bass guitar is in there in spots and then drops out. Like at about :58. The bass is playing along, then just stops.

The kick has a real loose and slappy sound.

The chorus can get a little messy. It seems like everything is trying to be front and center - guitar, drums, vocal. They're getting in each other's way.
 
Hey Prabhu - we have some serious reverb haters in here ;)!

I'm listening now and think the performances sound pretty good to me. It sounds to me like you have good stuff to work with. As for the mix, I agree with some of what's been said so far, specifically:

The kick does sound kind of loose and slappy to me as Trip noted.
The acoustic does have kind of that DI sound to it that I'm not so fond of myself.
I generally like the electric guitar sound. The solo could come up some - maybe dry that up a little too?
I hear the plosives on the voice too with the "P" sounds being a little harsh.
It sounds like the singer can really belt it out pretty good. I personally like lots of verb sometimes, especially with slower, mellower and more sparse arrangements. I think for a high-energy track like this though, you can convey more of that energy by having things much drier - try it out.
On vocals specifically, I tend to like a lot of verb, but many here do not. To my ears, the verb used on the vocals just isn't maybe the best suited...it sounds like a small Hall or large Room verb and I think it pushes the voice back too much and robs it of clarity. Maybe screw around with a different reverb entirely and/or less of it?

The Soundcloud picture you have up there is very cool. Is that just something you came across online, or....?
 
I agree with the other comments. The reverb does make it hard to hear what's going on with the vocal but I can hear that it needs a high-pass filter, it's not just the plosives there's too much throat noise.

Another aspect needing attention is the kick drum, it seems very scooped. On my Sony MDR headphones I can hear the thud but on my DT911s which don't go so deep, the kick is very slappy. That means it's not going to translate very well.

Starting at around 2:50 there is a low hum. I'm not sure if it's ringing strings or something that came in with another instrument.

Also the final cymbal crash seems chopped-off.

There is a lot of potential to this recording so don't take the comments too personally.
 
I don't know if the reverb is causing it but at times it almost sounds off time. I'm guessing I'm hearing delay/reverb that it's in time causing it to sound like that though. The guitar at the intro sounds kind of harsh to me, you could maybe tame that some. I like the vocalist but I didn't like how much reverb was on that either. It pushed the vocal back and sounded kind of thin maybe?

Definitely not a problem with talent though as all the pieces will sound good if they weren't getting killed in the mix. Overall I would love to hear this track mixed properly, sounds like a nice tune and something I would listen to.
 
I like reverb and that was WAY too much.
I also found the mix too loud. Is it compressed into obedience? The song's nice though and I'm sure future mixes will get it under control.
 
I think it's a really great song, but I can't add much to what has already been recommended for you to do. I will be easily awaiting an updated version. I really liked the drums overall, do you have a big interface with lots of mics? I find drums the worst to get nice :/

Good Stuff! The singer is seriously cool
 
@TripleM: Thanks for the critique bro, honest opinions need of the hour! No bass throughout the piece, it was a last minute recording.
Kick, umm.. drums are programmed. I'm looking at how to make it sound more real, not much progress there. Havent paid much attention yet.
Chorus needs work for shure, need to put in harmonies and more layers to it.

@Heat: Thanks for taking out the time and giving it a spin bro, i like your work.. following it on soundcloud. 1986- really liked it ;)
The song's a rough mix, i'm recording with a friend will pass on these suggestions to him certainly.
Wondering how to make Ezdrummer sound more real..
Not good stuff to work with, just the guitar, Boss processor, standard mic! recorded inside a jam room actually.
The picture is of Gautama the Buddha i guess. I practise yoga regularly, and meditate. . learnt from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. Got it online i guess.. ;)

@iqi616: Yes Reverb reverb reverb... will def work on that. We recorded this in like 2 hours tops actually.. will jazz it up.
Cymbals in the end yes.. kinda loud... will look into it.. ;)

@Polarity: yup the intro guitar doesn't quite hit the mark.. didn mik it actly.. will put up a better mix soon. infact will add ambient music and some electronica to it... make it louder i guess.. incubus'ish..

@Lt. Bob: Hey.. will def put up a mix soon... few weeks from now though.

@TheAquired: Drums are EZdrummer! ;) and i sang!

@PDP: ya no bass..will add it soon.

Guys thanks so much for listening to the track! ;)
 
@Heat: Thanks for taking out the time and giving it a spin bro, i like your work.. following it on soundcloud. 1986- really liked it
The song's a rough mix, i'm recording with a friend will pass on these suggestions to him certainly.
Wondering how to make Ezdrummer sound more real..
Not good stuff to work with, just the guitar, Boss processor, standard mic! recorded inside a jam room actually.
The picture is of Gautama the Buddha i guess. I practise yoga regularly, and meditate. . learnt from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. Got it online i guess..
 
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