"As Fast as I Can" - Original Rock

Bruthish

Bruthish

Hair Metal Roxx!
This is a departure for me somewhat. First time doing a blues/rock-a-billy type song. Been working on this as a tribute to my younger brother who is getting into drag racing. It's real rough right now and I think I need to add some more parts as it is only 2:26 long...I also know some of the solo notes are not in the right key....(first take).
Let me know what your first impressions are on the mix.

Lyrics(some need to be changed in the song):

Feelin' nice and dirty
It's all that gasoline
(Line'em up, rev'em up)
Feel the burn
This might not be my year for #1
But I know I'm going as fast as I can.

A Million miles an hour,
It's all about the speed
(Line'em up, Rev'em up)
Feel the whine
I might not be the first to the line
But I know I'm going as fast as I can

I'm Feeling Confident
I'm feeling good
in 10 seconds I'll be #1


Final Mix:
 
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My first impression is it lacks some high end, feels rather dullish, maybe muddy. It also seemed a bit crowded. Didn't seem to have any space.

Song sounded cool, good playing, mix might be holding this back.

Wait to hear what others say before making any adjustments. I don't trust my ears or system all that much.
 
Thanks David...I had to mix this whole thing on Headphones so I have yet to hear it over monitors. I didn't EQ the guitars mush at all so since they are so prevalent, maybe they are mudding it up.
 
Chris, your headphones may be exaggeration the highs. My monitors do the same thing and after a few mixes and comments, I know now to let it be higher.

It could also be SC (many have complained about it), depending how it was converted. I usually convert first to 192 MP3, then upload and SC does very little processing or it appears it doesn't. Seems to help to reduce added compression.
 
I am willing to bet its something on my end. Probably just a mix thats off. I was more worried about structure of the song up to this point rather than a perfect mix....was just wanting some help from you all to get a starting point. I can hear the clutter and mud now that you said that...it helps a lot. Been listening to this song so much this weekend that it all started to sound good lol
 
I had the same impression as DM60 - missing some high end clarity. The snare, in particular, was a little muffled. The main rhythm guitar was missing some higher end midrange. Maybe a bit too much gain dialed in as well.

The bass was really cool.

Made me think of ZZ Top. Good energy and nice guitar solos.
 
Thanks for Listening Triple. 2 votes for lacking high end seals the fate of adjustment. I may be able to fiddle with it tonight and repost. I was playing with mic placement on the amp and have it almost exactly midway between cone and outer ring. I did pull out almost all highs on the amp though because it can get really shrill...but I may have to add a touch in or try to EQ a little more in. Thanks for the kind words.
 
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Try two experiments - 1) leave the mic where it is and give a little treble/presence boost on the amp. 2) move the mic in towards the center by a half inch to maybe an inch. See which one you like better.
 
Yeah I am gonna play around with the EQ on the DAW a little first. If that doesn't work then I will move to the amp. The last song I posted there was some trouble hearing the bass. Does the bass sound ok on this one?
 
I listened on my phone so I won't attempt to critique the mix. I love the energy of this song...man, it's balls to the wall the way great rock and roll should be! I liked the vocal you brought in towards the end that had more level, depth, and presence. It gave a cool contrast and IMO was very creative.
good tune man!
 
Cool riffs, cool grooves and great playing. Love the little dissonant bits.

Nice tones all around. Nice, thick low end on the guitars and the bass. The drums and the vocals don't have the same sense of heft as the guitars and bass. Got the same sense with the lead.

To bring the different things (heft vs. not so heft) into balance, personally, I'd be a little hesitant to do too much thinning of the great low end going on here.

I wouldn't say it is dull so much as I would say that it is dark. It could use more content up above the 4k mark, however, my ears don't tell me that there is anything "lacking" per se. Personal choice with this one, I think.

The bass sounds great.
 
Sounds a bit ZZTop to me - the rhythm gtr I suppose.
Yep, needs some top end.
Not bad though. I drop in for an update.
 
Thanks everyone for the help and comments. Update posted in first post.

Jimi: Thanks for the compliments dude. I have really had fun playing it, now to just get the mix right!!

Fishy: Thanks for the Listen. I get what you are saying totally. I tried adding a little top end to open it up a little more. The vocals are intentionally done lo-fi with little presence. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. The solos could be brought in a little more, haven't done too much work on those yet.

DenDaj, yes it's AD2. It's a Fairfax VOl. 2 kit but not sure which one. I changed it in the second mix though...not sure if its any better or worse.

Rayc: Agreed on the ZZ Top reference. IT sorta sounds like "LaGrange" and when I came up with that riff that was in the back of my mind but wasn't intenionally trying to sound like them.
 
Listening to mix 2...

I like the snare tone a lot, but its too loud compared to everything else. The vocals are buried. Maybe the snare won't sound so loud if the vocals come up. Right now it sounds like the snare and crash are the featured instruments. I love lots of kick and snare in a mix, but not at the expense of the lead vocals. I can't decide if its the drums as a whole that are too dominant, or just the snare and crash. It sounds more balanced during the rolls and fills later on, so maybe that whole drum bus should come down a couple notches. That'll let the guitars and vocals poke through more.

I don't hear much of a kick drum, although the bass guitar seems fine. Is that a 2nd bass part for the bass fills in the middle of the song? Cool effect.

Fun song, it evokes ZZ Top a little bit...only a little nastier and more fun. Nice drumming too!
 
People compare it to ZZ Top and I get that cuz of the buzzy guitar sound, but ZZ Top never moved like this when I listened to them.

Vocals are shy.
 
Tadpui, gotta say I agree with most everything you said. I had literally like 15 minutes to play with it to get mix #2 and I switched the whole kit without really listening to it until I got to work. SO tonight I went back to the original kit but used the snare in the second kit. I also did a few other things to try and get it to sound better. Check it out on original post!
 
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