Could use feedback

[sbendy]

I'm relatively new to mixing, here is a song that I recorded for some other people?
What standard is it up to and how could it be improved?
And does it sound like the general idea of it is on the right track?

 

[TripleM]

I think you're generally on the right track. It's not a mess.

Performances are tight.

Drums sound decent. Canned, but I've heard worse. Cymbals are a little bit hissy.

The guitar tone, to me, was not super pleasing. The distortion is a bit grainy. And if the part was double tracked and hard panned, it would create a fuller mix.

I assume vocals would go in eventually. You could probably get a better critique if there was a vocal track in there.

Bass is a tiny bit low in the mix.

 

[sbendy]

Thank you.

I need to work on my drum recording as well I think.

There are no vocals or bass in this song, it's by an instrumental duo.

I started over with it, and here is a new version which I think has a better guitar tone and also has much less processing on the drums.

 

[Nola]

Bendy, are you using sims?

First take sounded like a solid state amp, second like a sim. Can you play or reamp a real amp? I think that would sound better.

I like the tune, though. The guitar tone is the issue.

 

[heatmiser]

I mean, that sounds really good, but without a bass guitar and vocals it really sounds incomplete? Like a backing track for something else.

The performances are tight, but the guitar sounds too DI and the drums too roomy in relation to one another in my opinion. Go for one or the other.

 

[sbendy]

In all takes the guitar was recorded through a real amp, not sure what kind though, probably solid state though, yeah. And there were two, a guitar amp and a bass amp, I've panned them slightly apart in the second mix.
I'll try a mix a version which all sounds roomy and one which all sounds (dry, or attacky or something?).
Are there ways of filling out a mix of a piece without a bass part? I noticed the low end was kind of lacking but sort of muddied the sound of the guitar when I tried to emphasise certain frequencies there.
Can mastering balance the frequencies better? (assuming of course that all of the ones present in the mix are as tight as they can be).

 

[JDOD]

Are there ways of filling out a mix of a piece without a bass part?

Personally, I don't think so.
You could add bottom end to one of the guitars but it will likely sound like a muddy mess. Aside from that you get into things like pitch shifters which can add another layer at the bottom but then you're spending money on something decent. Or you can get into VSTs and virtual instruments but again, you're spending money. So, if you've gotta spend money you're better off just buying a bass. You can get a perfectly reasonable bass for recording for under £100 quid.