First real try at mixing

sgia

sgia

New member
Hello,
here is a song I am trying to get right. just 2 guitars and vocals, but difficult enough for me.

A question: during the intro, you can hear a kind of buzzing (almost an oscillation?) sound. this is on the guitar track. This was recorded in stereo, 2 Mics X/Z. Any ideas what the sound could be?

Any tips about mixing, etc. are welcome.

thanks,
SG

 
Pretty good for a first real try. Your voice reminds me of James Taylor. :D

I hate the electric guitar tone starting at 0:50 sec. But that's not really a mixing thing, and it's subjective.
 
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Nice song, and nicely played. I found the bits where the electric guitar ducks down for the vocal a bit too dramatic a volume change. It all seemed quite squashed together in the centre - maybe if you spread the guitars a bit, that might help solve both those problems. The rhythm guitar seemed to overpower the vocal a bit, maybe bring the vocal up a bit; spreading the guitars might help here too and you might want to look at some EQ. I seemed to notice a few timing slips in the electric guitar, not sure if that's just my ears, though, they're pretty tired today.

Loved the song and vocal, though!
 
Hey, it's not bad? :-)

You have some timing anomalies, which is a polite way of saying "the timing sucks?" between the two guitars. And the electric is out of tune?

The vocals are the bright spot.

The lead had some good parts, and some nasty warts. That electric... :-(

And the acoustic has a biting part in the high end? That needs to be tamed w/EQ. But that electric... :-(You should be punished for that. Perhaps tortured for some time? Not bad torture? Just like water boarding where you only "think" that you are drowning?
 
P.S., you know can comp things? i.e., play it 5 times? Take the good bits from this try and from that one? That's how I record. It's tough to do it well in one take. Try multiple takes? And "comping" And tune that damn electric.
 
RockinRobby said:
Hey, it's not bad? :-)

You have some timing anomalies, which is a polite way of saying "the timing sucks?" between the two guitars. And the electric is out of tune?

The vocals are the bright spot.

The lead had some good parts, and some nasty warts. That electric... :-(

And the acoustic has a biting part in the high end? That needs to be tamed w/EQ. But that electric... :-(You should be punished for that. Perhaps tortured for some time? Not bad torture? Just like water boarding where you only "think" that you are drowning?
Click to expand...

Damn, waterboarding. I'm glad I'm singing and playing the acoustic... I'll break it gently to the other guitarrist.
New try coming in a bit - taking the comments here into account (without recording anything new yet).
SG
 
Thanks for your suggestions.

So.....

- I reduced high end on the acoustic,
- spread the stereo on the acoustic guitars a bit more,
- evened out the levels on the vocals,
- made the automation transition between e-Guitar and vocals smoother,
- added some backup vocals on the chorus to make that part fuller

I know this doesn't help the timing issues and e-guitar mistakes, but this is more of a low stakes try, not a finished thing, so I'll have to work with what I have. I know, I know: sh*t in = sh*t out.

Any further critique and/or comments are certainly welcome.

Cheers,
SG

Here's the new mix:

 
the electric guitar needs a bit of eq to make it stand out but at the same time I like the tone in a way. Reminds of when my guitarist busted the treble knob on his blues jr.
 
sgia said:
Hello,
here is a song I am trying to get right. just 2 guitars and vocals, but difficult enough for me.

A question: during the intro, you can hear a kind of buzzing (almost an oscillation?) sound. this is on the guitar track. This was recorded in stereo, 2 Mics X/Z. Any ideas what the sound could be?

Any tips about mixing, etc. are welcome.

thanks,
SG

Click to expand...

I can hear noise in the Mix. There are also pops in the Mix also.
Sounds ok, but there are recording issues for sure.

Try and clear up the noise and pops, the guitar rhythm guitar is harsh and you can hear too much clicky pick sound.
The vocals sound ok although they are out of tune at times.
I would use volume automation to bring up the quieter parts as some bits are hidden.



G
 
Sorry 'bout this - it's been over a year, but here's the mix that made the cut:



Cheers!
 
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