Had a local pop/rock band come in and record a song with me, please give feedback! :)

Steve Henningsgard

Steve Henningsgard

New member
Let me know what you think of this mix: I've been working hard getting the best sounds out of my shitty practice-space "studio" as I can. This is definitely the best I've ever done, so let me know what you think of my progress! :)

We had only two evenings to record everything spur-of-the-moment, so there are some flaws but I think we did a good job capturing what they were going for.




I think the biggest flaws are the less-than-silky clean vocals, the questionable vocal panning, and the overall lack of punch. I've been doing my best to overcome the n00b syndrome of "buckets and buckets of mud", but I may have completely removed the low-mids... hmm
 
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sounds pretty good to me from what i have heard so far (slooow download!).

maybe the bass drum is a bit prominent, particularly when it's just kick, guitar and vocal early on.

everything else sounds pretty much in proportion to me. maybe the guitar could compete with the drums a bit more.

one question- when people do that scream thing, how do they stop themselves from retching and puking everywhere?!
 
zoiks said:
sounds pretty good to me from what i have heard so far (slooow download!).

maybe the bass drum is a bit prominent, particularly when it's just kick, guitar and vocal early on.

everything else sounds pretty much in proportion to me. maybe the guitar could compete with the drums a bit more.

one question- when people do that scream thing, how do they stop themselves from retching and puking everywhere?!
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Thanks for the comments: as for the screaming, it's done by pushing large amounts of air in your falsetto voice most of the time! That way, your real voice doesn't get hurt. It's interesting to listen to somebody get "better" at screaming over the years, but it's definitely possible to be good vs. bad at it!

Nobody else?
 
Listening to the mix right now. Great mix!, I just can't stomach the screamo vocal in it. But drums and guitars and bass all sound great. Maybe bring down the Screamo vocal more. It is really loud when it comes in. Sounds punchy to me, but I am on computer speakers.

I must be getting old, I just can't handle the blood curdling vocals. To me it ruins the tune. No offence.

DAZE
 
that kick... its the only problem with the mix. everything else sounds great. i would bring it down and eq out some more of the 200-500hz range while boosting around 80-90hz. and then get some more click in there at 3-5khz.

the vocals sound really good. nice job on the screaming actually. i think it sits well in the mix and doesnt sound too dead like it often can.

i didnt know there was a bass untill the very end of the song. try and work on complimentary eq or buss compression with the kick and bass to have them work together better.

just some advice, otherwise nice work. its sounds awesome.
 
i think that song sounds TIGHT dude
it really reminds me of taking back sunday
and that screaming is actually really good
good band
good recording
pat yourself on the back :)
 
Sounds like a good mix to me! Although it kinda seems it could have a little more bottom end too it.. Other than that, once again, great mix!
 
steve.h said:
Let me know what you think of this mix: I've been working hard getting the best sounds out of my shitty practice-space "studio" as I can. This is definitely the best I've ever done, so let me know what you think of my progress! :)

We had only two evenings to record everything spur-of-the-moment, so there are some flaws but I think we did a good job capturing what they were going for.



I think the biggest flaws are the less-than-silky clean vocals, the questionable vocal panning, and the overall lack of punch. I've been doing my best to overcome the n00b syndrome of "buckets and buckets of mud", but I may have completely removed the low-mids... hmm
Click to expand...


This band sounds like something I'd listen to alot, maybe I've even heard of them, mind telling me who they are?

I think the mix is great, vocals sound amazing and guitars are well done. Could be a little more bassy which has already been said but very good.
 
Thanks for the compliments! I only hope I can at least replicate, if not improve on it with the following mixes/bands I record hah

In regards to the bottom end, I totally agree there's not a heck of a lot there. I'd always had problems with my previous mixes of capturing too much bass and having to cut a lot of it. This time around, I paid special attention to it and it clearly got lost! Next time around 'll get it :)
 
I agree the drums are a bit loud compared to the guitars and the kick might be a tad hot. Rest is good...good band, good playing....:):D:):D
 
I'm not so much into screamo but thought the song was interesting. Sound wise IMHO the lead guitar could be CLOSER, which is not the same thing as LOUDER. It souds like there may be some bleedthru which allows a lot of ambience on the l-guit .

chazba
 
chazba said:
I'm not so much into screamo but thought the song was interesting. Sound wise IMHO the lead guitar could be CLOSER, which is not the same thing as LOUDER. It souds like there may be some bleedthru which allows a lot of ambience on the l-guit .
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Yeah, that's the one place I really felt like a n00b engineer: I couldn't figure out a frequency to scoop out of anything to give the lead a place. I tried panning away from center so the vox didn't bury it, that helped a bit. I tried compressing it a little bit, that helped, but overall it just ended up being a bit buried. I used a different amp, but in retrospect I feel I should have used further-back mics for the primary guitars, and a closer, more aggressive mic for the lead. Live and learn!

Myriad_Rocker said:
Sounds pretty good. Mind telling us more about the recording process?
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Sure! Had the drummer play to a click, used the following mics:


Kick: Blue Kickball (not the best, but works for me!)

Snare: sm57

Toms: they don't sound that great, and I used random mics so you probably don't care anyway haha

Overheads: Oktava MC012's. I don't love these things, but it's probably because the room sucks and they show it more than anything.

Guitars, used a Mesa Triple-Rec for rhythm, Marshall JCM2000 for lead. Single-tracked (well, one once each side so double tracked I guess). SM57 close-mic'd on both

Bass was a Sansamp DI that I was unfamiliar with. It didn't sound amazing, but I still buried it a little too much.

Vox: clean singing was on a KSM27, screaming through an SM58 jammed in the guy's throat.

Didn't use any outboard gear at all. Just had my MOTU 896 and a bunch of free plugins. I wish I could afford the WAVES pack, as I had the pleasure of using it once at my buddy's house and it was sweet, but free works for me!


*edit: and thank you for the compliments :) I'm glad I wasn't kidding myself into thinking I did a decent job on this :p
 
oh man sounds good! i'd like to hear more guitars though. everything sounds good though. this band reminds me of A Wilhelm Scream. vox came out nice.
 
This sounds amazing, I really like the drum sound you achieved. With the screams, did you throw some slight distortion on them? I never could lay down a good scream, but it appears that you've done it flawlessly.

The song sounds influenced heavily by Underoath to me, but I really love that band, and in turn, of course this song. What band is this? I'd like to listen to more asap!

Congratulations, and I'm looking forward to more.
 
it sounds 'decent' i took a stab at it

tried to fix it up a bit but i think i may have ruined it, cant turn on my monitors nor my subwoofers right now so i tried to eq it to some headphones, take a listen

CLICK HERE
 
Hoyton said:
This sounds amazing, I really like the drum sound you achieved. With the screams, did you throw some slight distortion on them? I never could lay down a good scream, but it appears that you've done it flawlessly.

The song sounds influenced heavily by Underoath to me, but I really love that band, and in turn, of course this song. What band is this? I'd like to listen to more asap!

Congratulations, and I'm looking forward to more.
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Thanks man! With the screams, the dude's been on tour for the last year or two: most of the scream's comin' right out of his mouth. I used an sm58, as I like the very slight "megaphone" effect it can give. I used the "blockfish" compressor (digitalfishphones.com), set to "nuclear explosion", which gives it a nice grit and makes it a cinch to 'tame' ;) I can't tell you want band this is until they release the material!


Decipha said:
it sounds 'decent' i took a stab at it

tried to fix it up a bit but i think i may have ruined it, cant turn on my monitors nor my subwoofers right now so i tried to eq it to some headphones, take a listen

CLICK HERE
Click to expand...

Nice work! Sounds like theres some information in there that I didn't take advantage of :) I'm not sure which mix I prefer: yours has quite a bit more bass & more of a scooped midrange, more "commercial" sounding for sure! It seems harder on the ears though: I find myself turning down the volume over and over again as my ears are quickly getting fatigued. To my ears, mine just keeps sounding better the louder I turn it, whereas yours sounds much cleaner & punchier at lower volumes (multibanded/limited no doubt!).

Other thoughts?

*Edit: I think I'll try a mix with more bass and a little less in the midrange later today: I'll post the results! :)
 
Great song great sound.. IMHO the kick needs a touch more click and less lows as mentioned above, and maybe push the snare a touch or a touch more crack to it?? Great work though!
 
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