Looking for Opinions.

Fishmed

Fishmed

Well-known member
This is from a project I worked on this past summer. I have posted this song in another part of the BBS, but for different reasons. I would like to get some opinions on the recording, mixing, etc. I did not write or play anything; I am just the AE.

These Days
 
Drums are huge. Guitars sound great. Good mix all around so far (listening as I type). Sounds tight sir.
 
More Bass presence would make that kick! Both bass drum and bass geetar. Maybe some cowbell :D Sounds good though, nice tune!
 
Thanks all for listening and the advice. I am planning on going back and make some adjustments to the mix. Hopefully the new one will fill the bill.
 
Pretty nice mix overall. The one thing that really bothers me is the ambience on the vocal. Just not doing it for me. Maybe try using delays rather reverb. I'm not against reverb on vocals, but I think this song calls for more of a dry vocal sound.
 
I agree with Raw Tracks that the vocals need something. Maybe a bit of compression on the vocals to bring them up and toughen them up a little bit.

I also agree that the kick is a little low. Little more low end.

I really like the guitar tones though. Especially the cleaner tones.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Hi,
I like the guitar in the L channel - the one that has a lot of the guitar & less distortion. The other needs either a drop in level or a change of sound though it sounds good when not strumming at 1000mph.
Vocally the best bit is at 1.51 when the music drops & the vocal has a place - it seems dropped in & not well placed. A bit of passion would help too - in extremis...
Bass gtr & bass drumm both appear to be distant thunder - though I can hear the "click" of the bass drum that's just not propulsive. In fact there's more bass in your toms.
If you're gonna do a slow outro you'll need to give the lead line more presence - the line is good but it doesn't command the centre stage you give it.
BUT
I really like the overall song & feel. Do some tweaking & stress the vocalist out a little so there's something on the line when he sings.
Most of the above you can fix in the mix I'm sure.
I look forward to hearing an update.
Cheers
rayC
 
I worked on the vocal this weekend using FordVan's Vocal tip he gave last week. I think it will help quite a bit and I should be able to get away with not using so much reverb on it. I am going back and working out some guitar issues that I knew needed fixing. The bass is starting to sound better, but I will know better once I have worked on the low end of the kick drum.

Again, thanks for the advice.
 
The song has a lot of potential. It really lacks sparkle and impact tho.

On the other hand, I really dig the song.

If you feel like it, I have some spare time and if you need a 2nd perspective on of the song, feel free to PM me and I'll do a 2nd mix for ya.

Let me know. Great song man. Nicely done.
 
This is a cool tune - I like the intro a lot. Drums sound pretty good. I think the singer is singing too quietly for most of the song... Not that the volume isn't high enough, just that the timbre of his voice when he's singing along rather gently dosen't jive with the heaviness of the song in general. It sounds better starting right around 1:30 something. Some background vocals could really have helped the vocal presence along.

Nice work.

-Casey
 
Finally a new Mix

Here is my new mix. I went back and did some things I thought it need plus included some of the suggestions given here. Let me know if this is an improvement... or not. :D

New Mix
 
Second mix is definetely a substancial improvement. I absoloutely love the song, can't fault the composition/arrangement. I still think the vocals need a little work though, I dunno they kinda sound a little 'sepearate' to the rest of the mix. It sounds as though you've took off a lot of verb from them in the second mix, which to my ears leaves it just a tad dry sounding, whereas in the first mix they were too wet sounding - I think if you find a happy medium between them it will be awesome. Great song. :)
 
I agree, I am not completely satisfied with the vocals either. I think I just needed a break from working with them all weekend. Thanks for the input.
 
Just finished listening to it, comparing it to the 1st mix.

I am hearing some weird things at 32 seconds into the song. the snare hit is pronounced for one hit, then it disappears for a long time. If you are compressing the entire mix or just the snare track itself, make sure that you are not overdoing it.

I liked the volume of the guitars just fine in the 1st mix. In this newer one, you took down the volume by a couple of decibels and its lost a bit of its fullness.

I like the more detailed high end of the sound spectrum this time around, but the overheads are a little funky. They sound kind of compressed and overprocessed - i can hear VCA-sounding ducking in the overheads.

Overall, the toms sound better and more full, but watch the overuse of compressors and EQ. The snare was more full and had more body the 1st time around, so I would go back and listen to the 2 and decide what needs to be done. Make a list, then go thru the mix and fix whatever you wrote down.

I guess I am being overcritical, but the song is good and demands a good mix to really get across to the audience.

Keep it up!
 
Listening to the latest mix and not reading the other posts (so I don't know what was addressed, fresh mind on this one ;) ).

Bring up the guitars and once that's done you'll need to bring up the vocals a tad. Add some reverb and compress those vocals a tad more. Solid recording and playing. Vocalist needs to build his confidence, he sounds like he's holding back too much. Do they write on acoustic then play it together? If the vocalist was forced to "do more" in the song's writing stage he would be more likely to come up with parts that forces him to be more into the song. It sounds like he's relying on the rest of the band to do all the work. Should be the other way around, at least in most rock bands :D. Guess what I'm saying is the vocals should be more emotive!

As an engineer you could be a powerful voice of objectivity and motivation in the studio. It's your choice, but I know I try to help people along - push them to be the best they can. Most of the time people are open to new ideas. In the cases that they're not it's very likely they aren't going to get far because as we all know music and the crafting of it is an ongoing learning curve. Most of that curve is climbed with the help of other's input and lots of practice.
 
From a noob recorder, I think the drums are overpowering the guitars. I like the song but the drums overpower the sweet sounding guitar tones.

I also agree with Pinky about the vocalist needing to build his confidence and sounds a bit reserved.

Other than that great job man ~
 
Pinky said:
Listening to the latest mix and not reading the other posts (so I don't know what was addressed, fresh mind on this one ;) ).

Bring up the guitars and once that's done you'll need to bring up the vocals a tad. Add some reverb and compress those vocals a tad more. Solid recording and playing. Vocalist needs to build his confidence, he sounds like he's holding back too much. Do they write on acoustic then play it together? If the vocalist was forced to "do more" in the song's writing stage he would be more likely to come up with parts that forces him to be more into the song. It sounds like he's relying on the rest of the band to do all the work. Should be the other way around, at least in most rock bands :D. Guess what I'm saying is the vocals should be more emotive!

As an engineer you could be a powerful voice of objectivity and motivation in the studio. It's your choice, but I know I try to help people along - push them to be the best they can. Most of the time people are open to new ideas. In the cases that they're not it's very likely they aren't going to get far because as we all know music and the crafting of it is an ongoing learning curve. Most of that curve is climbed with the help of other's input and lots of practice.
Click to expand...

The funny think here is that the singer is the one who writes the music and lyrics, and I do believe he does most of it on an accoustic guitar. He does play one of the guitar parts. I have worked with this guy several times over the years. I think he has talent as a musician, but we end up butting heads often when we get to the post production. Although I do give him my suggestions, he has not hired me as a producer, so I only take things so far, even if I know things can be done better. I am sure NOBODY has EVER experienced this before. :rolleyes:

I am liking the mix of the instruments, but I am still not satisfied with the vocal mix. They use to have a keyboard player and his parts complimented the singer well. I agree that the vocals are week compared to the rest of the music. I shall get it right (or close to it) one of these days.

Thanks all for your thoughts.
 
The whole mix sounds very 2D and confined. The guitars need to be revamped, and the snare sounds just a bit too thin along with sticking out just a bit too much.
 
Cool song. Sounds pretty well balanced but over compressed to me. I think parts would pop out more with less compression.

Tim
 
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