why does my mix suck???

gtrboy · #1 10-06-2005

why does my mix suck???

http://www.mciuan.com/sounds/test.mp3

GreenDank · #2 10-06-2005

easy. it doesn't! sounds super pro to me. for reals.

dwillis45 · #3 10-06-2005

Do you mean "how" does my mix suck? The why question usually leads to three issues: The performance, the engineering, or the equipment. First, I would say your mix doesn't suck--at least it's not that bad. You probably need to give it some shelf time and come back to it with a fresh set of ears. Second, to me it sounds rather loud which leads me to believe that someone smashed the hell out of it with compression to achieve unnecessay loudness. You can almost visualize a more dynamic mix just wanting to get out. The end of the song, for example, almost sounds better than the beginning and middle. There also seems to be some muddiness--at least to my ears--and it sounds like you need to add some clarity to the guitars and bass.

treymonfauntre · #4 10-06-2005

high shelf those guitars, they were very muddy in the beginning and throughout the whole song. or maybe the bass guitar is just a bit.. overpowering. the acoustic guitar at the end is way too compressed. it seems like it was either an accident or you were trying to give it a warm "right in your ear" effect.. either way its not working out. i'm not sure why, either.

besides those little mishaps the mix is actually really good!

maestro_dmc · #5 10-06-2005

Vocals are great, except for a little sibilance maybe.

I think all the brightness in the vocal helps make the rest of the instruments sound dull, I don't think they need to be brighter, just de-ess the vocal.

I agree with Willis, a little too squished.

There's something else I can't put my finger on, that gives this away as a "non-professional" recording. Could be the intro, the way the bass guitar and electric guitar notes warble against each other.

I really like the song.

fldrummer · #6 10-06-2005

If you de-mud those guitars it should sound fine.

IronFlippy · #7 10-06-2005

I'm liking the song quite a lot. I definately agree with dwillis that there was too much compression. It sounds like you used the same mic for both guitar and bass. If at all possible, use a different one. The reason for this is that the frequencies are contrasting, and using different mics will give you slightly different frequency responses. This way there's no overlapping and each instrumet can have its own place in the mix. If getting another mic isn't possible, then you're going to have to fool around with EQ a little bit more to get each instrument's preferred frequency at an appropriate level with rest of the band.

All-in-all, a pretty good mix. I think you need to give your ears some space from the tune for a little while and go back to it. Can't wait to hear the final mix!

dastig · #8 10-06-2005

whoa your vocalist sounds like she is quite good! what did you use to record the vox?

sorry, i have no good advice to give though =(

EDIT
actually if you want some advice from someone who is not that experienced..

i think your chorus vox needs some more distinction from the verse vox. Also you might want more contrast for the verses and choruses overall, eg. go from semi-wide in the verse to louder and REALLY wide in the chorus. The transitions from chrous to verse may also need a bigger buildup, try a cresecendo sustained disto powerchord, or a reverse cymbal or something.

I also agree with the other guys, guitar seems a little too muddy/bassy in the intro and in some parts of the song especially with the powerchords. maybe a little too much effect on it (reverb, delay?). If i'm not mistaken tuning is also off in some places.

Also maybe you should fill the spaces in the mix at 2/3-3/4 of the way panned with the hi hat/cymbals and something else, becasue right now it soudns like everything is either hard L hard R, or dead center.

gtrboy · #9 10-06-2005

thanks for the replies

drums:

premier maple kit w/g2 coated heads 10, 12, 14, 22
overheads-akg ce-2 (any info on these? i want to get rid of them)
toms-audix d2 and d4's
kick-akg d112
snare-sm57(top only)

bass-ibanez sr505 lined in through yamaha board

guitar-ibanez sr520 w/ seymore duncan screamin' demons, jcm800(modded), marshall cab w g12m70's and sm57

vox- at4033 through yamaha board

gear-yamaha m512 board, dbx 160xt, motu 828, behringer ad8000 interface for drums.

so my gear is good enough but my mix sounds muddy and grainy. the bass is distorting. what frequencies do you suggest cutting or boosting and on what instruments??

Alexbt · #10 10-06-2005

I'm hearing some distortion through my headphones. I think it's coming from the guitars. Sounds like plastic crackling, hence the grainy and muddyness mentions from the others.

I'm really loving the song, but all the little pops are driving me nuts!

On a song/band level, the drums are not very tight with the rest of the band at the beginning. The vocalist is a bit pitchy in a couple places.

Just heard the ending where the acoustic guitar comes in. The fast gating there doesn't sound natural, and there is far too much compression on the 'left guitar' side.

Blue Bear Sound · #11 10-06-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenDank

easy. it doesn't! sounds super pro to me. for reals.

You need better ears!

But I agree with what everyone else wrote.......... and gtrboy, lay off the damn compression, will ya!

IronFlippy · #12 10-06-2005

Without listening to the individual tracks I can't tell you what to do exactly, but I can say that the kick drum and bass should not overlap like that, nor should the guitar overlap the bass. A high pass filter should do the trick with the guitar, and some experimenting with the EQ on the bass and you should be able to get it out of the way of the kick.

EDIT: blue bear knows what he's talking about, so heed his advice (which is our advice if you read carefully)!

GreenDank · #13 10-06-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Bear Sound

You need better ears!

But I agree with what everyone else wrote.......... and gtrboy, lay off the damn compression, will ya!

Perhaps yer right (on the ears part)! But, you should hear the stuff going on over at the MP3 mixing clinic. Most of them are worlds behind this one.

rockcamaro97 · #14 10-06-2005

Im making a quick list while listning:

-ride cym is too hot during the intro
-muddy guitar. I hear the brightness of that slight overdrive tryin to come through. high shelfing should help.
-Bass drum sounds too dead next to that nice open snare.
-vox are a SMIDGE dry for my taste, especially the backup
at the end when the backup comes up, some sort of effect would help differentiate btwn lead and also the placement would help a lot too
-lil much hi hat in parts. although i do like the crush for effect in the chorus, but a lil loud for me. I like stuff like that to add flavor, not go OOO, listen CRUSH.
Acoustic at the end sounds a little dead. I like to use a SMIDGE of reverb on my acoustics and sometimes add a smidge of delay to thicken/richen it up a little

Across the board, not a bad mix at all man. Dont be so hard on yourself. Just small stuff that most of it is totally subjective. Some of the comments i made u might have been going for that sound... Overall i think most stuff sounds "closed in" except the vox which as i noted above are a little dry.

Keep mixin man!
Matt

gtrboy · #15 10-07-2005

so i remixed and here it is. thanks for the pointers. it sounds a little brash to me now but maybe im sensative. heres two i did before and im happier with.

http://www.mciuan.com/sounds/test2.mp3
http://www.mciuan.com/sounds/king.mp3
http://www.mciuan.com/sounds/letter.mp3

peopleperson · #16 10-07-2005

I agree, sounds pretty good. There's a slightly annoying ring somewhere in mids of the fake snare (busted!). I'd sweep and kill it with eq. I'd want to pull the vocals down just a hair, and I agree about the guitars. Yank some of the extreme lows out of it. I also agree about the compression. Ease up a bit and it'll breathe better.

Oh, and something is out of tune. You can hear it best in the beginning when all the guitars are doing vaguely the same thing. I can't tell exactly what it is, but it's a low string that's for sure. Might be the low E on one of the guitars.

NYMorningstar · #17 10-07-2005

Try posting this in the mp3 clinic
http://homerecording.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?f=15

gtrboy · #18 10-07-2005

it is the real snare just incredibly gated and compressed. when i was listening back to the tracks at the end there was the wierd whissssshhhhh sound ater the hit, almost a rattle. the dummer then told me that 3 of the snares broke and he just tied them but they came untied. crazy. so its just gated and compressed. you can see the original tracking if you get

www.mciuan.com/sounds/audio.rar

on the new mix i posted i pulled most of the lows out of the guitars.

jpw23 · #19 10-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwillis45

Do you mean "how" does my mix suck? The why question usually leads to three issues: The performance, the engineering, or the equipment. First, I would say your mix doesn't suck--at least it's not that bad. You probably need to give it some shelf time and come back to it with a fresh set of ears. Second, to me it sounds rather loud which leads me to believe that someone smashed the hell out of it with compression to achieve unnecessay loudness. You can almost visualize a more dynamic mix just wanting to get out. The end of the song, for example, almost sounds better than the beginning and middle. There also seems to be some muddiness--at least to my ears--and it sounds like you need to add some clarity to the guitars and bass.

Ditto

jmxdrummer · #20 10-11-2005

sound pretty good, but the sound coming off the snare bother the crap out of me. first was the snare tuned. secondly where was the sm57 positioned, sound too bassy(accidented). Try moving the sm57 about 3 to 4 inches away for a more ambient sound. Also try in addition a condsensor mic under the snare and mix with the sm57. Pan one hard right and the other pan hard left