My turn

Greg_L said:
NOFX uses probing sarcastic lyrics, and their productions are fantastic, so equating content to a mix style doesn't hold water. And if this guy's lyrics are so awesome and witty, why hide them under a veil of reverb muck and bad EQ? Bringing up those bands you named is silly and irrelevant. These guys are no Black Flag or Husker Du. Are you insane? Lol. They're stylistically not even in the same universe. Just because something is hardcore punk rock doesn't mean it has to sound bad. Bands like Black Flag and Fugazi sound bad because THEY ARE bad and even still I bet they'd opt for better recordings if they had the means to do so as dumb punk rock kids in the early 80s. And never in a thousand years would I consider this music hardcore anti-establishment anything or alternative art rock that needs to be mixed to a "style". This is just adult pop rock music to me. And just because something sounds bad doesn't mean that it was cleverly designed that way. Low-Fi is mostly a safety net catchphrase for shit mixes. Most bad mixes sound bad because they are bad. There's no artistic statement. It's just bad mixing. I get what you're saying, but I don't buy it here. These are just bad mixes.
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A challenge!

My next instrumental is going to be called "Greg's Butthole" and I'll show you what I mean. I'm gonna tear it up!

Wait, that didn't come out right... :p

So after a day listened to 49 and Shoulda again... One of the tests for a bad mix - is an instrument missing from the mix? One overpowering the others? The only issue is the vocals being too upfront on 49, otherwise I could hear everything fine. And the instruments sound like they're captured adequately. While trying to be helpful in fixing what's not working I need to be mindful to point out what's right. These tracks don't need a facelift as Greg so adamantly suggests, just need some things tucked and shifted. I'm trying to keep perspective here.

So to follow up with some specifics per my own suggestion that there's things I would do differently here... One thing that will help both songs right from the start is to give the drums stereo presence, bring them from being dead center to allow the bass, vocals, and chosen guitar parts more room in there. If these are live drums and you are not recording them as a stereo set, then I suggest at least getting a second mic for the overhear and pan each overheard left/right. Next I would get the center guitars more stereo presence. Why didn't you stick with the stereo guitar effect on 49? It worked at the beginning and then disappeared for most of the song.

Here's an example of the style I'm thinking of when I suggest you need to mix to that style...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/mp3-mixing-clinic/boombox-357935/

This is a nice sounding but not overly polished track. Its mediocre sounding drums, for example, add to the feel of the track. They're perfect just as they are.
 
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Pinky said:
These tracks don't need a facelift as Greg so adamantly suggests, .
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No, as you suggest, they only need a complete re-tracking of the drums with new miking techniques and a total remix of everything else. You're right, that's not a facelift. That's a full gender reassignment surgery.

In your quest to be the good cop to my bad cop, you're totally glossing over that these are just bad mixes, and you know they are.
 
FoulPhil said:
Yeah man, keep on trucking. You'll get better as you go. Read, experiment and practice A LOT :D
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^^^This^^^

Read to the critiques you received here. Experiment with different amps sounds, mic positions, vocal techniques, etc. Practice getting the source sounds you want and then mixing them appropriately.

And keep at it.

I think you need a lot of work tracking and mixing. But the good news is, all that "work" is a blast to do. First job: have fun.
 
I'm not an expert, it's just a fun hobby for me too, but google is your friend. Look up and read as much as you can find about recording and mixing. Listen to albums that have the sound you're going for and if they're not the best sounding, find some you don't mind that have a really good production. Then try to get those good sounds if you can. Don't beat a dead horse though. Sometimes you just do the best you can and move on to the next song. Maybe later you go and re-track older songs. Along the way as you get better you can go back and bring you old stuff to your new skill level :D
 
Cool song man. The vocals sound like they're in the background a bit. You might bring them a little more out front. Just my thought. Nice Work.
 
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