Please be Critical...

[mattkw80]

Hello,

Never posted any songs here before - but here's my scenario. To learn my gear, and to get better at recording and mixing, I've taken on a project for some younger guys.

The guys in this band are 15 years old, and have written some rough rock/punk songs, and I am recording them, as I mentioned, to improve my skills.

So... please listen and critique my recording and mixing, and not the band or the song writing. (They are just young and starting out). I've asked other people to crtically listen to my mixes, but they can't get past the rough music and songwriting.

Anyway... please be very critical of my recording and mixing, as I am trying very hard to learn, and use the home based gear I have.

There are 3 songs, so if you comment, please refer to them as song1, song2, song3, etc.

I have everything well documented, so please don't hesitate to ask about settings I've used, gear I've used etc.


Song1 - http://www.effortlessrecords.com/mix/song1.mp3

Song2 - http://www.effortlessrecords.com/mix/song2.mp3

Song3 - http://www.effortlessrecords.com/mix/song3.mp3


I feel I've done something wrong in these mixes - there seems to be something exhausting or fatiquing to the ear.

Thanks so much !

[RAMI]

Sorry, I was only able to listen to one.

Well, I don't know where to start. I realise these guys are young, but man....that is beyond un-tight. That in itself will affect how people preceive "your mix", even if it has nothing to do with you.
As for the sound itself, the one thing I noticed motr than anything else, is that it just seems to be randomly panned...as if someone just closed their eyes and strarted turning panning knobs all over the place. At first I thought it seemed as if everything was right up the middle, but then realised that everything just seems..........everywhere.

Also, the snare sounds like someone tapping on the top of a mic with their fingers. It's either over-compressed or badly eq'd..........Or it just sounded like that to start with. But it's very thin.

Not trying to be harsh on you. I don't consider myself anywhere near ready to start recording other bands, so you're probably alot more knowledgeable and experienced in the world of recording. Just telling you what I hear.

Hope this helps.

[mattkw80]

RAMI.... all that helps big time, and I appreciate you taking the time to listen.


Which song did you listen to ?

[mattkw80]

Oops...... by ONE you meant Song ONE.

My panning probably is all over.

Any particular element I could pan differently ?

[RAMI]

Originally Posted by mattkw80

Oops...... by ONE you meant Song ONE.

My panning probably is all over.

Any particular element I could pan differently ?

Hey Matt...Yes, I only listened to the first one. I'll listen to the others later if you'd like. But it would be nice to get a few other ears in on it. I'm just one semi-deaf guy with an opinion.

As for panning...You could always go more "conventional" to start, and then experiment from there. Lead vox, bass drum, bass, and snare up the middle. Overheads panned wide L and R. Guitars a little narrower than the overheads, but also L and R. I'm just throwing out an example of what might be considered "conventional", but I don't really even know how much control you have over each instrument since I don't know how you recorded them.

[mattkw80]

That's mostly what I was doing.

I was having issues panning the drums, as I am using a Roland TD-6 Kit, so I basically have 1 stereo track to work with. (I output the Left and Right out's from the TD-6 brain, into my mixer pre's)

That could be why the snare is sounding dull or thumpy.

I was thinking the drums needed a wider stereo image - but I had no idea how to do that.


So Lead vox, bass drum, bass, and snare up the middle is pretty normal ?

I'll make a note of that.

If you have time, please listen to the other mixes.

Originally Posted by RAMI

Hey Matt...Yes, I only listened to the first one. I'll listen to the others later if you'd like. But it would be nice to get a few other ears in on it. I'm just one semi-deaf guy with an opinion.

As for panning...You could always go more "conventional" to start, and then experiment from there. Lead vox, bass drum, bass, and snare up the middle. Overheads panned wide L and R. Guitars a little narrower than the overheads, but also L and R. I'm just throwing out an example of what might be considered "conventional", but I don't really even know how much control you have over each instrument since I don't know how you recorded them.

[rayc]

The sloppiness of the band makes it really hard to come up with something about your work.
You really need to make them lsten to this pulling instruments in & out to show how poorly they played.
THEN
Set up a click track & get the rhythm section to jam to it until they are close enough to rerecord.
Then start 'em up again.
The overall sound is OK - distorted vox to cover some inability + it's trendy.
the drums need a lot of work & possibly some tuning. Work on getting a good sound for bass & snare then work the rest in.
Di you DI the guitars/bass?
The bass should be I think in this instance so you can work on it.

[mattkw80]

Okay, thanks for listening to it.

They are going to re-record song1 entirely.

Bass and guitar were both DI'd.

Drums are electronic. ( Roland TD-6 )

Originally Posted by rayc

The sloppiness of the band makes it really hard to come up with something about your work.
You really need to make them lsten to this pulling instruments in & out to show how poorly they played.
THEN
Set up a click track & get the rhythm section to jam to it until they are close enough to rerecord.
Then start 'em up again.
The overall sound is OK - distorted vox to cover some inability + it's trendy.
the drums need a lot of work & possibly some tuning. Work on getting a good sound for bass & snare then work the rest in.
Di you DI the guitars/bass?
The bass should be I think in this instance so you can work on it.