New demo - opinions?

[TimLyons]

"Hell at Home"
http://www.liemusic.com/hah2.mp3

Full band demo - nothing too precise, but I think it turned out fairly well.

[Doink]

I like the guitar tones! Nice and thick. Kicker sounds good.
Snare seems a little too loud, and the cymbals sound really tinny. Perhaps it's just the way the MP3 was encoded. The vocals sound like they need some life. And I don't hear much bass guitar.
But I'm guessing you didn't have much to work with? In that case, this is great, and there's not much I would have done differently.

[gmiller1122]

Great job. This isn't my type of music, but I can appreciate the sound. The guitars sound awesome, as do the drums. I like the vocals, too. The only thing lacking is more bass.

The second vocal at 1.30 isn't very harmonic. It doesn't have the sharpness of the rest of the song.

Hope this helps.

G

[reel buzzer]

That was amazing! How do you get the levels so hot on the mp3? Killer guitar solo and vocals.

Maybe it was my speakers but I couldn't hear the kick drum or bass. Bump the kick at 5k and at 100-250hz and you should be good. Bump the bass at around 100-250hz and see where you are. Then go back to the kick and preview the high bump back and forth between 4k and 7k and find a pocket for it.

Other than that - totally awesome ....

[TimLyons]

Originally posted by Doink
I like the guitar tones! Nice and thick. Kicker sounds good.
Snare seems a little too loud, and the cymbals sound really tinny. Perhaps it's just the way the MP3 was encoded. The vocals sound like they need some life. And I don't hear much bass guitar.
But I'm guessing you didn't have much to work with? In that case, this is great, and there's not much I would have done differently.

Well, I can tell you now that the cymbals sound tinny because they're from an electronic drum kit. I think that in the mix they don't really detract from the OVERALL track, which is why I didn't immediately reject them. They're not something that draws the attention of regular people when they listen to the track. Next time we're micing up some cymbals, however.

I'll tell you, it was a learning experience to get the drums to sound as realistic as they do.

Anyway, I hear you on the vocals - I was focused on getting them DONE. hehe

I hear bass guitar fine on all the systems I've played it on (I even took it into Wal-Mart and "tested" their stereos). I'll examine it further, however.

[TimLyons]

Originally posted by gmiller1122
Great job. This isn't my type of music, but I can appreciate the sound. The guitars sound awesome, as do the drums. I like the vocals, too. The only thing lacking is more bass.

The second vocal at 1.30 isn't very harmonic. It doesn't have the sharpness of the rest of the song.

Hope this helps.

G

The second vocal was designed to be smooth and "muffled" like that - kind of a keyboard effect type of sound rather than an actual second vocal.

I'm really going to have to look at the bass... honestly, as I said, I hear it fine on all the systems I've worked with. Mainly it doubles the guitar part (except the chorus) so that may be the problem... I really tried to make them "blend" together. May have been a mistake.

[TimLyons]

Originally posted by reel buzzer
That was amazing! How do you get the levels so hot on the mp3? Killer guitar solo and vocals.

Maybe it was my speakers but I couldn't hear the kick drum or bass. Bump the kick at 5k and at 100-250hz and you should be good. Bump the bass at around 100-250hz and see where you are. Then go back to the kick and preview the high bump back and forth between 4k and 7k and find a pocket for it.

Other than that - totally awesome ....

Mastering, my friend... mastering...

The drums are unfortunately submixed, but I'll see what I can do about that and the bass.

[gmiller1122]

As for the bass, I CAN hear it, but it's too similar to the guitar that it gets lost. Nothing drastic is needed, but just a few passing notes would help to define it.

I hear you on the 2nd vocal. I like the idea.

G

[TimLyons]

Well, on the topic of the bass part, the bass is mainly there specifically to back up the guitar rather than to be its own part.

I think the mastering process may have blurred the bass and guitar parts together even more. I will look into it more, though.

[TimLyons]

*bump*

Anyone else?

[Daenn]

Man, this is really cool. The drums sound really good. What do you use for sequencing/samples? Sounds really nice. And yeah, guitars are nice and thick. I don't really hear much bass either. A little during a few parts. Maybe it just needs a little more twang.

[LI_Slim]

Originally posted by TimLyons
Mastering, my friend... mastering...

.

to be more specific, I suspect aggressive use of a limiter....

[TimLyons]

Quite.

[TimLyons]

Originally posted by Daenn
Man, this is really cool. The drums sound really good. What do you use for sequencing/samples? Sounds really nice. And yeah, guitars are nice and thick. I don't really hear much bass either. A little during a few parts. Maybe it just needs a little more twang.

A drummer, Pintech Tour Elite, and Roland TD-6.

Yeah, I'm still trying to fix the bass without making it TOO present. Haven't come up with anything else I really like yet, but when I do I'll post it.

[TimLyons]

I should point out that I targeted the mixing and mastering for home stereo systems and upper-scale computer systems, not typical computer speakers. Pretty much anything with a fair amount of bass (such as a stock car stereo).

[Daenn]

Originally posted by TimLyons
A drummer, Pintech Tour Elite, and Roland TD-6.

Makes my FLStudio stuff look like crap (which it is)

I like.

[Sonixx]

really good... my kind of music...

kind of Alice in Chains meets Zak Wylde...

I didn't care for the kick... not enough presence

The cymbals lacked spread or air

Snare sounds like a drum machine at the end...

[Mountaineer]

Great job, Tim! Guitars are awesome and the vocals are very good too. Perhaps some EQ for instrumental separation would help, but it may just be the MP3 quality. I had plenty of bass, but sometimes the vocal and the lead guitar solo got lost in the mix. Drums were done well ... I thought.

Thanks for the chance to listen ....

Regards,
Mountaineer