Mixing feedback for a short (0:53) rock song (w/ breakdown of equipment and tracks)

Captain471

Captain471

New member
Hey guys.

This is a rock song I recorded earlier today. From start to finish, it was about 3 hours of work. Here's the track: soundcloud.com/stevensuller/skujaster-metrioglypha
(Here's a link to the uncompressed WAV file if needed: dropbox.com/s/n7zc7dv01t7xoni/Metrioglypha.wav)

LINK

I recorded it basically to practice, as I haven't produced a rock song in a few months and I've definitely gotten better at mixing since then. So I was interested to see how well I could do one.

Here's a breakdown of the equipment used:
Guitars: Schecter Diamond Series Omen-6.
Amp (Virtual): Guitar Rig 5.
Bass: Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass.
Bass Amp (Virtual): Guitar Rig 5.
Percussion: Superior Drummer (VST).
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i4.
D.A.W.: Cubase 5 + Ableton Live 9.

And here's a breakdown on each track's chain:
1 Lead: Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @317Hz, Cut @4kHz) > Compressor (2:1, 10ms/100ms, -21.5dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @2.50kHz) > PSP Vintage Warmer
2 Rhythm Guitar (Group 3+4): Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @100Hz, Cut @250Hz, Cut @500Hz, Cut @2.45kHz) > Compressor (2.29:1, 10ms/100ms, -21.5 Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @400Hz, Boost @3.41kHz) > PSP Vintage Warmer
3 Rhythm: Panned 20L and filtered into track 2.
4 Rhythm: Panned 20R and filtered into track 2 (recorded the rhythm guitar twice).
5 Bass: Sausage Fattener (Very very light settings) > Subtractive EQ (Cut @510Hz) > Compressor (Sidechained to Kick track, 2.63:1, 30ms/120ms, -23.2dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @100Hz, Shelf @150Hz, Boost @1.61kHz) > PSP Vintage Warmer
6 Percussion (Group 7-10): Multiband Compression > Limiter (Just an upper ceiling, no boost) > iZotope Alloy (Cutting out the sub, boosting around 100, and boosting the highs + exciter, dynamics, and another limiter for upper ceiling).
7 Cymbals: Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @187Hz) > Compressor (1.50:1, 1ms/100ms, -21.5dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @10kHz) > Saturator > PSP Vintage Warmer.
8 Toms: Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @60Hz, Cut @100Hz, Cut @776Hz) > Compressor (4:1, 30ms/120ms, -22.6dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @200Hz) > PSP Vintage Warmer.
9 Snare: Utility (Lowering the stereo width to 50%) > Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @150Hz, Cut @491Hz) > Compressor (4.74:1, 14.9ms/150ms, -19.2dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @250Hz, Boost @10kHz) > PSP Vintage Warmer.
10 Kick: Subtractive EQ (Hi-Pass @30Hz, Cut @483Hz, Low-Pass @20kHz) > Compressor (4:1, 30ms/120ms, -21.3dB Thresh) > Additive EQ (Boost @100Hz, Boost @10kHz) > PSP Vintage Warmer.
Master: Limiter (Upper ceiling, no boosting, but just as a precaution) > iZotope Ozone (Very light EQ, cutting mids very slightly, boosting highs / Harmonic exciter / dynamics / lowering the stereo imaging (specifically in the subs and highs) / maximizer).

That took way longer to write up than I thought it would. Think I gave more info than was needed, but thought it would be useful to write all that up to give you guys an idea on what I did.
 
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I think adding the specs like that was interesting and helpful. Right off the bat I can say that is a good sounding mix. However the cymbals sound very harsh, that may have to do with the harmonic exciter on the master. The snare seems to be a little lost. For this style of music blending a "gunshot" type snare sample may work well.
 
Yeah, cymbals are harsh. I would get rid of that compression/EQ boost on the overheads/cymbals track.

Send me just the snare track alone. I can send you a few Trigger samples, that may help to pull the kit together.

Actually, send me all of the separate drum tracks, if interested in experimenting with sample layering. :)

Fixed that link up there for ya too. :)
 
+1 on the overheads. I imagine the harshness could be deafening when using headphones.

The biggest thing for me in that mix what the kick drum being in the background. You can tell it's there but there's no real punch to it. It needs some balls to it.

Guitars sound great.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far! I'm surprised I got replies, I thought I'd scare people off with my wall of text.

One thing I've noticed with all my mixes is they end up sounding a bit "harsh". I get that a lot with the other songs I've produced (when I share them with friends, or test the mix in my car). I'm assuming that's a problem with my monitoring. I use Audio Technica ATH-M40fs headphones (saving up for monitor speakers), since they're headphones, I don't think I can blame the acoustics of my room. I have some computer speakers (Klipsch ProMedia 2.1) that are heavily colored so I'm not sure if I can trust them and say it's also the room since they don't sound harsh on those.

What I've also gathered is my percussion is a bit weak, the kick and snare aren't really powering through. They're both compressed, so maybe I need to layer them to give them a real snap to cut through the mix. I'll have to play around with that.

Thanks again!
 
Captain471 said:
Thanks for the feedback so far! I'm surprised I got replies, I thought I'd scare people off with my wall of text.

One thing I've noticed with all my mixes is they end up sounding a bit "harsh". I get that a lot with the other songs I've produced (when I share them with friends, or test the mix in my car). I'm assuming that's a problem with my monitoring. I use Audio Technica ATH-M40fs headphones (saving up for monitor speakers), since they're headphones, I don't think I can blame the acoustics of my room. I have some computer speakers (Klipsch ProMedia 2.1) that are heavily colored so I'm not sure if I can trust them and say it's also the room since they don't sound harsh on those.

What I've also gathered is my percussion is a bit weak, the kick and snare aren't really powering through. They're both compressed, so maybe I need to layer them to give them a real snap to cut through the mix. I'll have to play around with that.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

There are many ways to get the drums to cut through, in this genre. I'm here to help, if you want.

This message however, will self destruct in 5 minutes...lol
 
jarupert said:
There was text? I just went right for the link! :p

Question...are there any compressors, or others effects on within the Superior Drummer software itself?
Click to expand...

:D

I don't know. I use Addictive/EXDrummer, myself. I would hope that SD would have that. Google it. :)
 
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