need help!!! -this song is being a bitch
- Thread starter Bisson820
- Start date
What's your monitor and room situation like? I ask because you seem to commonly get a lot of mud and muck in the lower mids. Everything seems kind of dull and lifeless, but the hats and vocals are pretty bright. How'd the hats get so bright and sizzly but the rest of the cymbals are barely audible? Do you mic the hats on their own?
I can only suspect that, after listening to many of your mixes, your mixing environment is in bad shape. Your levels are all pretty good, no problem there. You've got all the right faders in all the right spots for the most part. But the sounds are just kind of bleh. You're either tracking mud or mixing mud.
I can only suspect that, after listening to many of your mixes, your mixing environment is in bad shape. Your levels are all pretty good, no problem there. You've got all the right faders in all the right spots for the most part. But the sounds are just kind of bleh. You're either tracking mud or mixing mud.
The hi-hats sound like trash because of how much it was picked up off-axis by the snare mic... bad placement... the drums need to be retracked without the damn flams (i hate flams so much) ... and the toms need work and the vocals need to sit better...
I feel like the faders arent solid... especially because of how much the vocals change dynamically from verse to chorus... but the chorus is so much bigger than the verse (even tho it shouldnt be) that i cant get a consistant level for the vocals.. but on the other hand... if i boost the chorus vocals, its noticably different, which also sucks.
I hate this damn song now haha.
i know i have a bad room, the actual "studio" is still bein built.
for now its 2 krk rockit 6's in a basement haha.
I feel like the faders arent solid... especially because of how much the vocals change dynamically from verse to chorus... but the chorus is so much bigger than the verse (even tho it shouldnt be) that i cant get a consistant level for the vocals.. but on the other hand... if i boost the chorus vocals, its noticably different, which also sucks.
I hate this damn song now haha.
i know i have a bad room, the actual "studio" is still bein built.
for now its 2 krk rockit 6's in a basement haha.
dewhitt
Dave DeWhitt
I enjoyed the song very much...it's a great build up with nice melodies. Your voice sounds great, especially when you go higher and really sing out.
Regarding the mix, I think Greg is on the right track. The mix is ok...but it feels washed out or something - I don't have good enough ears to put my finger on why. I think if I was mixing it here in my room, I'd have an overwhelming urge to start reaching for EQ, but that's probably not the real problem. You definitely have sizzle in the hats, especially in the one part where you are riding the open hat. I think the open hat is great there from a production standpoint, but the sizzle is harsh and loud. My ears also want to hear more bass too.
Room is key, but if changing your room is not really an option, I'd maybe start with carving out notches from the various instruments/parts that might be competing and/or build up in the low mids. There's probably a name for that technique...maybe complimentary EQ or something...I don't know for sure. There's mixed reviews on putting high pass filters on everything, but I'd try that too...cut stuff you aren't using down in the low end.
Oh, one more thing that was tweaking my ears - in the beginning, I think around 0:30, you have a really quiet drum part in there. It's so difficult to hear it that it sounds almost like a mistake or like noise. I could see using some percussion there, but I think it would be better if it wasn't hidden so much. Maybe try a different percussion instrument or something, but bring it up the mix so it's contributing.
I'm curious to hear more about your room!
Best,
Regarding the mix, I think Greg is on the right track. The mix is ok...but it feels washed out or something - I don't have good enough ears to put my finger on why. I think if I was mixing it here in my room, I'd have an overwhelming urge to start reaching for EQ, but that's probably not the real problem. You definitely have sizzle in the hats, especially in the one part where you are riding the open hat. I think the open hat is great there from a production standpoint, but the sizzle is harsh and loud. My ears also want to hear more bass too.
Room is key, but if changing your room is not really an option, I'd maybe start with carving out notches from the various instruments/parts that might be competing and/or build up in the low mids. There's probably a name for that technique...maybe complimentary EQ or something...I don't know for sure. There's mixed reviews on putting high pass filters on everything, but I'd try that too...cut stuff you aren't using down in the low end.
Oh, one more thing that was tweaking my ears - in the beginning, I think around 0:30, you have a really quiet drum part in there. It's so difficult to hear it that it sounds almost like a mistake or like noise. I could see using some percussion there, but I think it would be better if it wasn't hidden so much. Maybe try a different percussion instrument or something, but bring it up the mix so it's contributing.
I'm curious to hear more about your room!
Best,
leavings
Member
Nice tune! The vocals sound thin to me; not sure if it's a volume issue or eq. I want the lead vox to control the track more rather than getting squished under the drums. I don't think the hi-hats sound bad, at least not bad enough to necessitate retracking. I think you could just drop the level slightly and maybe take a little of the sparkle off.
Hope to hear more!
Hope to hear more!