new mix for the CANS

L

LiveRockVideo

New member
Hey guys,

This started as a home recording and then I booked a studio and got an engineer to assist with the mix and mastering so not strictly a home recording per se.

The band pretty much had the song in the bag, I then asked them to add various bits to it in the recording (vocal style, effects, etc) then worked with the engineer to get the mix to sound as you hear it here.

Let me know what you think. It is called Rolling Home and was written by the band I manage called the CANS. They are based in Sydney, Australia.



Peter
www.myspace.com/thecansband
 
The mix is great, talking about the levels, everything is clear to my ears, but i didn't like guitars sound... i don't know how you mix the guitars but is like you are hearing a very loud band and you put your fingers in your ears... is like that kind of sound...
 
Wow that is a different view, lol. Do you meant the lead guitar? This was mic'd using a few different mics, a Senn MD421U and another condensor mic I can not recall, we used a Marshall stack and double tracked it. Rhythym was recorded the same way but is just 1 track.

I think we are going to try putting down vocals again, the singer had a really off day in the studio and I was surprised that we even got that out.

Thanks for the comments. The track is getting rave reviews to everyone we play it too but we are prepared to keep working on it so all suggestions are most welcome, thanks!

Peter
 
I love the guitar, solo and rhythm..real meat on it...the songs well composed and recorded, the singing's pretty spot on...Ozzies have a tradition of cool, straightforward, clean, rawk and this is a fine example..real retro vibe to it

all the levels sound fine to my novice ears..the snare sounds a little muted but (again) my monitors aren't the greatest
 
Thanks mate. We are going to have another go at laying down cleaner vocals, perhaps sounding just too aussie pub rock style. The singer really could hardly get a note out that day and I really pushed him and got him to prolong his notes.

The snare was gated and you will also hear a lot of toms in there too.

Thinking of bringing out the kick drum a little more as well, cheers.

Peter
 
LiveRockVideo said:
Thanks mate. We are going to have another go at laying down cleaner vocals, perhaps sounding just too aussie pub rock style. The singer really could hardly get a note out that day and I really pushed him and got him to prolong his notes.

The snare was gated and you will also hear a lot of toms in there too.

Thinking of bringing out the kick drum a little more as well, cheers.

Peter
Click to expand...


nope I didn't get pub rock....if that was him not singing well I look forward to the next version :)
 
I liked the song but thought the mix left some to be desired. It sounded a little flat to me as far as no low end or highs. The drums are not as responsive as I would hope. Like I said, good song.
 
I say it sounds a bit pub rock from the POV of vocal style being a little rough and raucus, certainly do not want completely clean vocals but would like it a little cleaner.

What genre do you this in? The band does not have a clearly defined genre, their body of work spans quite a range from rock to country almost. If interested you can hear some more of their tracks at http://www.myspace.com/thecansband

As for the mix, it was intended to be mixed as a demo. The band is coiming back together in the studio on 25 Oct to see if we can improve on it so the more feedback the better, thanks all, keep the pointers coming.

Cheers


Peter
 
LiveRockVideo said:
I say it sounds a bit pub rock from the POV of vocal style being a little rough and raucus, certainly do not want completely clean vocals but would like it a little cleaner.

What genre do you this in? The band does not have a clearly defined genre, their body of work spans quite a range from rock to country almost. If interested you can hear some more of their tracks at http://www.myspace.com/thecansband

As for the mix, it was intended to be mixed as a demo. The band is coiming back together in the studio on 25 Oct to see if we can improve on it so the more feedback the better, thanks all, keep the pointers coming.

Cheers


Peter
Click to expand...


Id put it firmly in a retro rock vibe...from that period before the 80's ruined the genre ;)

Oz has done it well with bands like Jet (though other than a bit of a accent there's no real comparison)..Id put them more in line with bands like Vancouver's Black Mountain, new but strangely familiar..its a marketable sound they should develop..

The other songs are good as well...better mixed than this one..was that you?

though Europeans are not demons...we traded that moniker in to be "Whiney Bastards" lol :D
 
Performance sounds pretty good...tight & high-energy. Despite your misgivings about this take, the singer does seem to have a fine voice that was well captured here. Love some of those crazy snare fills towards the end.

The mix seems odd to me on some levels. There seems to be a lack of cohesion in some sense where you've got all these elements that I can hear pretty clearly (except the bass - oddly absent relative to the kick?) but they don't seem to gel together as well as they might.

The drums sound oddly boxy, particularly the snare which might benefit from more crack or snap or something. The clarity is definitely there, I just think there's an issue with the spatial relationship between the guitar and vox and the drums. Not saying I could have done this well, let alone better, just my thoughts :).
 
Perhaps just a stylistic preference, but I feel like the drums sound very confined and boxy. I think they would work better for the song if they had a big room sound, as it is they seem very dry (I can hear some reverb on the snare, but it doesn't really make the drums sound "big" in any way). The reverb on the guitars and vocals "push them back" quite a bit, they sound more distant from the listener, and with the drums so dry they sound like they're a lot closer, or in a completely different room.

I'm not sure it can be fixed just by adding more ambiance to the drums. The snare needs a lot more slap, and the kick sounds pretty "cardboard box-ish".

The more "dry" kick and snare thing is popular these days, and I like it. Don't get me wrong. But they still should sound big. I think the best first step you could take would be to pull the overhead mics and room mics (if you have them) up quite a bit.

I feel like I would like the guitar sound a lot if I heard it coming straight from the amp but I don't like it as it is. They've got meat, but they do sound very muffled. I can hear a little fizz in the very high end but other than that I completely agree with the poster who said it sounds like listening to loud guitar with your fingers in your ears. It seems to work well in the intro, but other than that I feel it needs work.

The vocal sound and singer are great, but when the dead center vocal stops and the hard panned backup vocals come in it's a little jarring. It's as of the band is playing and then when "I'm rolling home..." comes in two large men jump out of nowhere and scream it into your ears. Not my preference. I feel like they should sound like the backup singers are belting it into the backup mics from behind the lead vocalist, not 1 foot to my left and right. I recommend adding some reverb to them to push them back and making them a little quieter, and probably not panning them so hard.

The bass also seems very muffled and quiet, difficult for my ears to pick out.

Other than that the band sounds fantastic, I like the song, the lead guitar sound is killer and the singer is fantastic, especially in this context.

Just my two cents and personal preferences.
 
Wow! What fantastic and considered review, thanks so much guys. This is exactly the feedback I am looking for. We think we would like to develop this as our band launch track so we want to prefect it as much as possible.

kcearl, thanks for taking the time to review all of their tracks, you are a legend! Your comments are gold, I can hear exactly what you are saying.

heatmiser, my lead singer will name his first born after you, we have collectively been raising doubts about his vox, but I am hearing from you and others that they like the vocal style.

Steve-O, your detailed appraisal is welcomed on so many levels, thank you so much, we will pull apart your post and take from it what we feel is required, thanks again.

I love this forum, you guys are great!

Cheers

Peter
 
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