My first collab! Need mix help. . .

Some big kick problems...very inconsistent. The vocal has a bad reverb on it.

The drums keep crapping out and clipping. I would try to do some surgery (envelopes) to keep levels in control.

The bass is not prominent at all.

The vocal needs some level riding...gets way hot at the end.



Start with that.
 
I liked the song. Needs some mix work, but is a good first collab. Vocals are way out front, and the rest seems too subdued. Do as jake says, and see if you can get the levels, well, more level. Mainly tone the vocals down a bit, and bring more bass into the mix.
Anyway, great start.
Ed
 
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Powerful vocals! very nice singing. I think the vocals really deserve some more punch and oomph in the drums and bass. Maybe turn the relative levels of the vocals down a bit. As a matter of preference, I like to hear a little more pitch and a little less "thunk" in bass guitar, I beleive bass should add to the song with harmony and counterpoint, and not just with a somewhat atonal "woof". The guitars could use a little more sparkle too.

Performance wise, there are some minor pitch issues with the vocals in just a few spots -- it doesn't bug me too much, but with this style of singing it really emphasizes the pitch problems. The guitar is really out of tune. Try tuning by harmonics or by ear rather than using an electronic tuner -- these devices usually aren't sensitive enough to really put you perfectly in tune. Re-tune before every take. The bass and the drums don't really lock in together -- you may be able to do some digital editing and tighten that up a bit.

Perhaps a little bit of blanket reverb over the drums and guitars would make them sound more cohesive -- they currently sound kind of like they don't both belong in the same song.

This is all nitpicking to the highest degree though (isn't that why we post here?) -- I like it a lot! Very good job.

Barry
 
Thanks for all the help so far. I will do my best to put it into practice with this song as much as I know how.

Jake-owa- I'll work with some automation to try & remedy some of these issues.

bbocaner- I don't know what blanket reverb is. As to the guitar being out of tune, I have tried everything to get it in tune and honestly, I thought it was.

I'll post a new version some time today, I think. I still want some more comments/critisisms so keep it coming.
 
guitarhunny said:
bbocaner- I don't know what blanket reverb is. As to the guitar being out of tune, I have tried everything to get it in tune and honestly, I thought it was.
Click to expand...

I'm new at doing my own recording too, so I may be way off on this :) , but my thought was that you could use the SAME reverb patch on an insert for the guitar channel and the drum channel, OR do an aux send from the guitar and the drums to a bus with a reverb, so you get some sense that the guitars and the drums are in the same room, and they will be more cohesive.

With regards to the intonation, developing your ear is just something to work on doing. You've got really outstanding vocal intonation, so you are on your way. Start listening really closely to the little differences. Play an open E major chord and listen to how each tone sits in the chord. Try lowering the pitch of the G string just the tiniest hair and see how it sounds (better, right?) Guitar is an extremely difficult instrument to tune correctly--intonation on a guitar is a comprimise. A lot of pros are really bad at it -- but they've got techs with stroboscopic tuners that help them out :) . They'll often tune the guitar differently (a couple of cents or even less) one way or another on a particular string based on the key the song is in. This kind of small detail is beyond the resolution of most electronic tuners, even the fancy rackmount korg ones, but you really CAN hear this sort of thing in the result -- and is, for me, one of the main things I can always count on to to differentiate a recording of an amature from a pro.

Barry
 
I'd still like to hear more of the music, but don't bury the vocals. Just me, and maybe won't fit the song, but you asked. Song is very good. Powerful voice. NICE.
Ed
 
Coolness

Great energy in the vocals - I like how crisp they sound. The mix could use a little more bottom, but otherwise - kudos.

JD
 
Very passionate vocal performance. The mix is sounding alright to me. I could stand a little more "shimmer" from the guitars. Keep it up!
 
Thanks for the replies and compliments. I have enjoyed working on this song but am quickly getting sick of it. I think I will take the vocals down a touch more & will try to add some shimmer to the guitars. Any ideas on how I can make the bass line more prominent without adding more volume?
 
guitarhunny said:
Thanks for the replies and compliments. I have enjoyed working on this song but am quickly getting sick of it. I think I will take the vocals down a touch more & will try to add some shimmer to the guitars. Any ideas on how I can make the bass line more prominent without adding more volume?
Click to expand...

If you're mixing on the computer, try a little touch of this plugin. It will make your bass thump. Don't overdo it, or you'll be SirMix-a-lot. :D
http://www.kvraudio.com/get/491.html
 
guitarhunny said:
Thanks for the replies and compliments. I have enjoyed working on this song but am quickly getting sick of it. I think I will take the vocals down a touch more & will try to add some shimmer to the guitars. Any ideas on how I can make the bass line more prominent without adding more volume?
Click to expand...

EQ and a little bit of compression. Try boosting the lower midrange a little bit.

It's coming along! I think getting sick of the song you are working on happens to everyone :)
 
scrubs said:
If you're mixing on the computer, try a little touch of this plugin. It will make your bass thump. Don't overdo it, or you'll be SirMix-a-lot. :D
http://www.kvraudio.com/get/491.html
Click to expand...

I can NEVER get these darned things to work with GT3 PRO... I put them in the directory where all the other VST's are and... nuttin... they don't show up.
 
7string said:
I can NEVER get these darned things to work with GT3 PRO... I put them in the directory where all the other VST's are and... nuttin... they don't show up.
Click to expand...

Never mind! I figured it out. I had to run the VST Config program which, btw, is NOT available anywhere in GT3 Pro... unless I'm just missing it, you have to run it separate.
 
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