Sandweaver - One Thread

Peter Lancaster

New member
This is another track from my session with local band Sandweaver.

One Thread

I would appreciate knowing what you think of this. Obviously I am not responsible for the song, but please give feedback on all aspects of it as I will pass your comments onto the band and if necessary re-mix it before the album is finished.

Pete.
 
are these real drums? the snare sounds super compressed. I think the drums could also have more power when they come in. I hear the cymbals but nothing else is really clear. I like the vox and tone of the guitars. Sounds good

T
 
Listening -

Nice guitar tones... Nice vocal could come up just a whisker - 1dB or so... Or maybe a dull chorus to spread it out a little.

WOW those drums are squashed! And mono? Are they?

2:00 - Back to nice guitars again...

Yeah... Drums lack highs & dynamics although I like the 9mm-Luger-like thaWHACK on the snare... Are they on their own mega-compressed buss? Need space on the drums to match the space in the guitars...

Cool tune -

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
Glad you like the guitars and vocals. As a guitarist I always seem able to get good sounds for the guitars, but drums are still a bit of a mystery to me.

The drums are real. A brand new Yamaha Maple Custom kit.

They're not in mono, but they're not widely panned either. It's just a four mic recording (kick, snare, two overheads). The overheads are panned about 40% left and right. Any wider and the sounds that are picked up by both overheads start being spread across the stereo field affecting the sound quite badly.

As for the compression on the drums it is as follows :

kick : ratio 5.6:1, attack 10ms, release 250ms, max gain reduction 6dB
snare : ratio 5.6:1, attack 12ms, release 300ms, max gain reduction 4dB
overheads : ratio 4:1, attack 10ms, release 500ms, max gain reduction 4dB

There is compression in the mastering with ratios of about 1:2 but the gain reduction is no more than 2dB in any of the frequency bands.

I may be wrong, but that's not vast amounts of compression (not compared to what I did to the vocals anyway). Could there be something about my mic'ing or the playing that gives it a really compressed sound?

Because the drums drop in and out of the song I concentrated on the vocals and guitars. I then fitted the drums in around them, but didn't really leave them enough room. Before it goes on the album I'll re-mix it to get a better drum sound.

Thanks for your comments they are incredibly useful. I should now be able to create a far better sounding mix.

Pete.
 
the intro ac gtr sounds sloppily played...and the vocals come in very uninspiring. At 1:00...still waiting for some action in the song.... ah..ok around 1:20. Very compressed. The wham of the band coming in is gone and not there at all.

I don't like it when the ac gtr plays by itself in the break.. Like the intro, it seems strummed without any finesse. ...and lots of sloppy pick noise.

a very laid back song. I'd like to hear it kick a bit more ..especially when the drums come in.

Nice song to a degree... just needs some "wham-o" factor to it.

the guitars DO have a nice sound to them...just not in *awe* of the ac. gtr playing. Almost sounds the equivalent (the performance) to sitting around the campfire strumming.
 
I can't comment much on the recording/mix as I'm not really experienced enough yet, but I thought the song itself was quality. Kept my interest the whole song, and really like the hook. Simple melodies and structure, but effective and not overly redundant considering the length of the song. Vocals are great.
 
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