Critique my mix!

B

BillMurray

New member
Hi there,

I'd like some feedback on this indie/rock track I made. All comments are greatly appreciated, thanks!



Gear Used:

Guitars and Bass - POD HD

Drums - Superior Drummer

DAW - Cubase 5
 
Overall it wasn't bad. However overall it had kind of a sterile sound. Things need a little warmth.

Drum programming was kind of cool. However, it was a real busy part and it got distracting after a while. And I'd pull the cymbals in a bit. They're pretty wide.

I didn't care for the fuzzy synth at the beginning. Too much distortion and high-midrange bite.

I like the rhythm guitars that came in around 3:17.
 
TripleM said:
Overall it wasn't bad. However overall it had kind of a sterile sound. Things need a little warmth.

Drum programming was kind of cool. However, it was a real busy part and it got distracting after a while. And I'd pull the cymbals in a bit. They're pretty wide.

I didn't care for the fuzzy synth at the beginning. Too much distortion and high-midrange bite.

I like the rhythm guitars that came in around 3:17.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it. I'll make those changes and see how it sounds.
 
I like the drums, but like TM said, you could find some places to have less, like a good place would be around 1:31-1:41, around 2:10 some variation on the kick would give some more personality.

Overall, the mix isn't bad. Just a couple of production changes could really give a little extra.
 
The guitar on the right side that is doing one note that starts around 2:00 is harsh to me, probably a combination of tone and repetition.
Are instrumentals allowed as 'indie'? ;)
 
It dosent have much low end. The bass guitar and kick need more lows eq'd in. That would give it a lot more punch IMO
 
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Yeah make you're low end bigger, and make the drums part simpler, maybe play with the drums velocity a bit to create a more realistic sound.
Overall, a good singer might help a lot, if you are planning on an instrumental you need to have some kind of a lead instument to lead the track.
Oh and ust so you know that mixing with vocals is much harder than mixing instrumentals
 
DM60 said:
I like the drums, but like TM said, you could find some places to have less, like a good place would be around 1:31-1:41, around 2:10 some variation on the kick would give some more personality.

Overall, the mix isn't bad. Just a couple of production changes could really give a little extra.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. It's difficult because I know the drums sound a little programmed, so to compensate I have tried to make them more interesting with more variation, quantizing them so they are not all stuck on the grid exactly on the lines (in the Cubase drum editor) and messing with the velocities a bit. I will simplify them more though.
 
mjbphotos said:
The guitar on the right side that is doing one note that starts around 2:00 is harsh to me, probably a combination of tone and repetition.
Are instrumentals allowed as 'indie'? ;)
Click to expand...

I think you're right about the guitar there. I have turned it down on that section and I think that might have solved that problem. Thanks for the feedback.
 
jimistone said:
It dosent have much low end. The bass guitar and kick need more lows eq'd in. That would give it a lot more punch IMO
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I actually thought that the bass guitar was too much, so I have given it more compression and turned it down a bit. I have attenuated the kick drum at around 100 Hz. But I may try and boost it at 60 Hz in an attempt to give the track a little more low end.
 
Raz Klinghoffer said:
Yeah make you're low end bigger, and make the drums part simpler, maybe play with the drums velocity a bit to create a more realistic sound.
Overall, a good singer might help a lot, if you are planning on an instrumental you need to have some kind of a lead instument to lead the track.
Oh and ust so you know that mixing with vocals is much harder than mixing instrumentals
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I actually thought that the bass guitar was too much, so I have given it more compression and turned it down a bit. I have attenuated the kick drum at around 100 Hz. But I may try and boost it at 60 Hz in an attempt to give the track a little more low end. It is a tad thin for sure.

With the drum velocities, I have randomized them quite a bit, especially the cymbals. But perhaps I should look into randomizing the kick and snare velocities more as well. I'm used to turning the snare and kick drum hits up all the way.
 
Biggest things have already been said....either lower the volume of or scratch totally the whole synth part in the intro...doesn't go with the rest of the song. Once the music actually starts it sounds really cool but when the bass and drums kick in I was expecting more uuumph. Low end and volume up on those.
 
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