the big bubba band

bigbubba

New member
Well, I've also posted one of my works online at soundclick. I am intereted in getting an idea of whatever sounds wrong and what improvements would be suggested.

Some notes.
1 - The instruments need to replayed and re-recorded in some cases
2 - The volume needs to be better controlled on some instruments in some parts
3 - The bass needs to be changed slightly in some areas.
4 - The solo in the end was totally spur of the moment thing and that's why doesn't sound very tight in some cases. :)

These are just notes to self. I don't want anyone to think I'm insulting you by posting half completed work. I am, maybe, looking for encouragement to finish the project. :)

Anyway,
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=419303

Let me know what you guys think.

How does the bass sound?
How do the drums sound?
How about the guitars?
Which guitars sound mic'd and which sound directly plugged?

Thanks.
 
I'll comment on the drums because that's the only thing I feel qualified to talk about since I'm a drummer. Where are they??? hehe...joking, but seriously, I hear a thin snare coming through, but can't hear the bass drum and barely hear a high hat. How were they miced? Sounds like a nice tune and the guitar part is nice. Overall it sounds like you might want to eq things out of each other's way. Sounds like a lot of instruments are competing for the low mids.
 
Hey big bubba,
There's some nice sounding rhythm and lead parts in there. I enjoy the changes in the song and the multilayerd guitar work.
I'd say the drums could use a little more punch and/or volume.
Something in the mix sounds muddy, maybe the bass or electric rhythm, or maybe just try lowering the 250-400hz midrange on the whole song.
The bass sounds nice and full on my system.
Cool song, I enjoyed the ride ;)
 
RAMI said:
I'll comment on the drums because that's the only thing I feel qualified to talk about since I'm a drummer. Where are they??? hehe...joking, but seriously, I hear a thin snare coming through, but can't hear the bass drum and barely hear a high hat. How were they miced? Sounds like a nice tune and the guitar part is nice. Overall it sounds like you might want to eq things out of each other's way. Sounds like a lot of instruments are competing for the low mids.
arghh! I think I might have EQ'd them into each other's way in the first place. LOL! I've just been reading about EQ'ing a lot.

RAMI said:
Where are they???
Of Course, you're gonna think the drums are a joke. You're a drummer. I used leafDrums with the copyright free (and previuosly freely) available ns_kit.

So whoever mic'd them, will have to answer how they were mic'd. LOL.

RAMI said:
Sounds like a lot of instruments are competing for the low mids.
The Kick Drum and the Bass are obviously going for that space. Well I'm thinking 20K - 60k on the Kicks. Bass is heavily boosted from 30hz - 160hz. The dist guitar is included as three tracks with different effects. One of those is also EQ's heavily around 40hz - 200hz area. Hmmmm.. you're giving me an idea here. the low-mids would probably be more 200 - 400hz. I might drop some guitars and the bass around there a little.

* referred to low eq range in k's instead of hz's. :)
 
SnakeDog5050 said:
Hey big bubba,
There's some nice sounding rhythm and lead parts in there. I enjoy the changes in the song and the multilayerd guitar work.
I'd say the drums could use a little more punch and/or volume.
Something in the mix sounds muddy, maybe the bass or electric rhythm, or maybe just try lowering the 250-400hz midrange on the whole song.
The bass sounds nice and full on my system.
Cool song, I enjoyed the ride ;)

Ok that's probably why I also thought to lower 200-400hz 'coz I saw both your posts and then replied one at a time.

I could definitely boost the vol on the drums. Since I rendered them last, I thought to be careful and not set them too high.

Both of you guys, help me in understanding how to add punch and proper vol to the drums. They don't sound passionate, is the word I've been known to use lately. :)

Thanks for all your input both of you guys. Keep it coming, if you have it. :)
 
Yeah, you got it in the post above. I was reffering more to the 200-400 range. Cool man, it's a cool tune and it's nice to see that you're reading up and educating yourself. That's really the only way and it's a never ending process.
 
I will make the suggested changes and probably have the modified version up soon. :) By soon I mean sometime this weekend. :)
 
bigbubba said:
Both of you guys, help me in understanding how to add punch and proper vol to the drums. They don't sound passionate, is the word I've been known to use lately. :)

Thanks for all your input both of you guys. Keep it coming, if you have it. :)

Rami is the drum master... all I have to recommend is just trying to bring the volume up and maybe raise the upper range frequencies (snare) a bit... give it more punch. Also width, maybe try increasing the volume and adding reverb too? Sometimes that gives them more width and punch for me. Or even copy and double track them and have them playing in slightly different EQs/reverbs or etc. Maybe try some of that and post a new mix that you like and we'll be back to check it.
 
I like the song structure for sure but sonicly it needs some help (I guess that's why you're here :D ). First of all, what are you tracking to?
 
Track Rat said:
First of all, what are you tracking to?
I'm sorry I don't know what that means. Does it mean what is first thing that plays that I use as the guide and play along and record? I yes, it's the drums, then the bass, then the rhythm guitars, then the dist which also provide alternate melody lines, then the tune/melody guitar.
 
What I meant was what medium, tape or computer. But I gather you're tracking into a computer. My first impression was that it might have been cassette multitrack. It has that thick mids sound. Tell me, do you apply a lot of EQ to individual tracks?
 
Yes, I apply a good amount of EQ to individual tracks (Kick Drums, Bass, All Guitars) after I read the last article I read on the importance of EQ. Actually it sounded very empty before I EQ'd the crap out of it after reading that article.

And it's not only all tracked on a computer, all non-guitars instruments are synthesized on the computer also. Well the bass guitar is also programmed using MIDI.
 
It feels like a dense mix. Maybe try subtractive EQ to carve space for instruments rather than boosting. And go lightly there as well. If you find yourself making large ajustments up or down, something's wrong.
 
Yeah, like track Rat, I thought it might have been to multi-track tape...which is a good thing. That means it's a nice warm sound that you can't get as well with digital (I'm sure a few geniuses can, but not mere mortals like myself)...
Just a note here...I'm not saying that just because this is how I work, that it's the only way. But i almost never boost anything. It's all about cutting. Of course nothing's writeen in stone, but sometimes the best way to bring something out is to eliminate other things.
 
ah! Interesting point you guys bring out. I find myself generally boosting certain EQ faders all the way to the top/bottom. I generally use Graphic EQ (one with 10-20 or maybe 30 bands). I haven't really used parametric EQ so far. Extreme EQ'ing might be adding to the problem. Ok, I gotta keep all these things in mind. I'll also up the vol. on the drums.

I am going for rock part of the pop/rock genre. I wouldn't mind going a little heavier. Does it sound more pop than rock at this point? Bon Jovi (around 2000) type pop/rock is ok but Celine Dion type pop/rock is not!

Anybody like the alternating between the 7/4 and 4/4 time signatures?
 
yeah, the 7/4 part got me...I wasn't sure if it was deliberate the first time...haha...then I realised that it's actually very cool.
 
Yeah, modulating back and forth from the 4/4 and 7/4 is what I found most interesting. Pretty neat.
 
Updated.

Guys, I updated the song and uploaded it to soundclick again. Check it out when you get a chance. Nothing is EQ'd up except for a _very_ few things. Most of the things are EQ'd down. So I pick ranges and EQ the range down on an instrument. I think it sounds a little cleaner to me in context of muddiness. Now, I don't know if the cymbals/Hi-Hats are too loud, or recorded dirty or just ok.

When you listen to this, how does it sound different from the "big record label" sound. Not in terms of what's famous or fashionable but in terms of the sounds and clarity. I realize some dude on his HP computer is not going to compete with the $100,000 studio but you can bet your sweet mulla that he's gonna give it a good go. :)
 
Sounds way better. The drums are the weakest link as far as that "down town" sound goes. They will always sound "canned" no matter what kind of processing you do. Recording always comes down to performance. A real drummer playing with a band will breath. That being said, what you have here is much better though.
 
So how to fix that. RAMI any suggestions on how to make the drummer become a real drummer instead of just a machine? Other than actually getting a real drummer?

Anyway, is the clarity better on my recording? When you listen to it do you get that feeling that it's just one person sitting in front of a computer at home doing this?

By they way, looking at PMC12 I just realized when the drums are tracked in real life, all components are recorded in each other's mics. Meaning the cymbals mic still has a lot of snare coming thru. It's interesting on how to EQ it and whether to turn the track off if the instrument being recorded is not being played at the moment, so that the other parts of the drums don't come thru on that track.

Oh, who thinks I shouldn't call it "the big bubba band" 'coz that probably stops a lot of people from listening? :) I could always name it the "wet revolver" or "the purple haze" or "beans and shingles" or "tiles and countertops" but I kinda liked the point of naming it the first thing that comes to mind. Although, I realize marketing people might call this the biggest mistake.
 
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