Constructive criticism please!

I like the guitars and vocals. Nice work! Something bugs me about the kick and snare. Too dry? Kick a little hot? It just doesn't sit as good in the mix as I would like to hear, especially in the choruses. You are really really close though. Just can't put my finger on it. Great mix of guitars and bass by the way. This rocks.
 
I liked the singing and the vocal sound.

Drums are quite mechanical.

The vocals are sitting well above the instruments for most of the mix. The mix, to me, doesn't have enough power. For a song like this I want the guitars to hit like a truck.

I think the guitar were a little over-driven. Too much distortion and not enough definition. Well played, but too unfocused.
 
These dudes dig Sevendust!

Drums are super fake-sounding (try programming some human aspects to them: not full hits every time). Fake cymbals make it hard to turn them up, I'd imagine, but the lack of cymbals/room sound are really preventing the mix from going where it should.

Guitars sound OK: well-performed, either an OK sounding amp sim, or somewhat wimpy real amp (I'd bet on amp sim)

Vocals sound totally fine! With a fuller drum/guitar sound, they'd fit right into the mix.

Balances seem pretty good otherwise. Cheers!
 
TripleM said:
I liked the singing and the vocal sound.

Drums are quite mechanical.

The vocals are sitting well above the instruments for most of the mix. The mix, to me, doesn't have enough power. For a song like this I want the guitars to hit like a truck.

I think the guitar were a little over-driven. Too much distortion and not enough definition. Well played, but too unfocused.
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I agree with the guitars. I definitely tracked them with too much gain. Any other suggestions how to make the mix more powerful?
 
Steve Henningsgard said:
These dudes dig Sevendust!

Drums are super fake-sounding (try programming some human aspects to them: not full hits every time). Fake cymbals make it hard to turn them up, I'd imagine, but the lack of cymbals/room sound are really preventing the mix from going where it should.

Guitars sound OK: well-performed, either an OK sounding amp sim, or somewhat wimpy real amp (I'd bet on amp sim)

Vocals sound totally fine! With a fuller drum/guitar sound, they'd fit right into the mix.

Balances seem pretty good otherwise. Cheers!
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Thanks Steve! I use steven slate drums and there is an option to "humanize". Maybe Ill be a little more liberal with it :) And you are definitely right... I love Sevendust. I think they are a bit repetitive and I despise their guitar sound but they are a huge influence. Lajon is one of my favorite singers of all time.

PS: The vocals were recorded on a POS audio technica Brand X mic o_O To me, it's SO much easier to record vocals than heavy guitar.
 
Nice build up and really good vocals. The drums do sound a bit mechanical. I don't know anything about Slate drums but have you tried dirtying them up with some parallel compression, or a maximiser maybe? Good tune
 
Steve Henningsgard said:
Record it DI, copy the track, and put this plugin on it (turn the track down first: this thing's loud!):

Studio Devil - British Valve Custom

You might have to flip the phase on one of 'em. Been using this pretty regularly, has a gnarly tone when mixed under the DI bass!
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I do have the bass track copied once. The second track has some distortion on it to give the bass more clarity and grit. I didn't reverse the phase though. Should I always reverse the phase when I duplicate a track? I'll check out that plug in. Thanks!
 
GuitardedMark said:
I do have the bass track copied once. The second track has some distortion on it to give the bass more clarity and grit. I didn't reverse the phase though. Should I always reverse the phase when I duplicate a track? I'll check out that plug in. Thanks!
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Most certainly not! Instead of telling you why, go ahead and duplicate a track, then reverse the phase. It's fun!

I believe this specific plugin either reverses the phase, or induces a delay that's somewhat remedied by flipping the phase button. YMMV.
 
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