How be dis mix?

[rayc]

RAMI, there's just the one problem I have with this mix....why can't you get it wrong occassionally so that I can at least have a sense that the songs don't always appear ready for distribution?
I like the levels, the separation & arrangements. The bass has terrific definition and the guitars, well I can't hear the heep references but that was a band I didn't really get into.
You haven't played slide for a couple of songs!!
I rather like the vox as per this mix - they sit nicely near the top of but still in the mix.
KEWL!

 

[timkroeger]

Rami,

I have not been around for as long as some who comment on your stuff and I have only basic tracking / mixing experience. Feel free to check out my soundcloud profile to get an idea of where I come from. I'm a guitarist by the way, but I've been always addicted to good drums due to my brother being on drums in almost all of the bands I've been in.

Regarding the arrangement & performance, I think you did a very good job on all instruments. You played them all yourself, right? I've been listening to the song for the last 30 minutes repeatedly because I really like the new version much much better than the old version. The chorus was still in my ears from the first version and I's been kind of "haunting me" since you posted it and I first listened to it. Now I simply need to comment.

About the mixing: as I said, I'm not there yet myself, so I'd like to comment on your mixing from a listener's view with some basic and improving mixing knowledge. First of all, I like the bass and guitar sounds very much. Nice grit and dynamics on the guitars, and very "natural sounding". Same goes for cymbals/hats and the snare sound, did you change anything from the first version to this one? I think I remember the snare featuring too much reverb on the 1st mix, but I may be mistaken. I like it a lot now. Overall good balancing of instuments, I'd say. No single instrument too strong or weak except for two minor things. More on that later in the nit-picking section. Bringing up the vocals backing track or 2nd track was a big improvement in my opinion, the vocals are strong and full-sounding now.

Now for the nit-picking. Tom sounds feature too much reverb for my taste. You can hear that most in the beginning of the song and the bridge parts before and inbetween the solo parts. The FX sound quite metallic or too harsh / breathy to me. Don't know how to accurately describe what I'm hearing. Maybe a slightly darker reverb type will do but I feel it's much too prominent. I'd cut back on that so it's more subtle sounding unless you're going for the reverb-tom sound for the toms to stand out. I could see that working, too but I don't know what reverb you're using, so I'd consider either a different sounding or higher quality reverb. Again, not sure what you're using, I hope I'm not making an ass out of myself by dissing an expensive Lexicon or TC but it sounds somewhat cheap to me *duck*

Nit-picking Pt.2: Bongo's are a little too weak. I think they could be raised a little. Just a little. Or if you want them to be in the background maybe add a little more reverb but the way they sound now they just sound a little buried. You did a great job balancing your drum kit, I think you won't have a problem figuring out what I mean. In contrast to that, I feel the rattling shaker thing (sample?) is a tad too loud. It stands out too much. It's good to be in the front and not in the background but I'd pull it down just a little bit. Makes for an overall more balanced kit I think. It was the only really distracting thing in your song from my part of view along with the toms' reverb.

Just my 2 cents. Really would enjoy to hear some more tracks of that kind from you.

Cheers
Tim

 

[Greg_L]

I think it's good overall. If I had to nit anything with the drums, I'd say the toms are a little dead sounding for as much play as they get in this song. For quick fills and stuff they sound fine, but if you're gonna go all jungle beat on em, I think a more full and open tone from the toms would suit the song better. I'm not crazy about the drum reverb either. It sounds too metallic. Side note - I used to play in a hardcore punk band in college and our "practice space" was a large metal shipping container. No shit. So I know that metallic reverb sound all too well.

Anyway, the rest of the mix sounds good to me. Great drumming too.

 

[RAMI]

sounds great, Rami!
Your singing's great, your drums don't sound EVEN A BIT like garbage cans, your snare is faboulous, I love the guitar sound and the way you arranged the song to keep the listener's attention. The voice has a nice roomy sound to it and doesn't sound dry at all. Like I said the first time, love it!

Joey

Thanx Joey. I did change a few things since the first mix. There is a little delay on the vocla now, and I brought up the doubled track. I didn't think the drums sounded like garbage cans, either, but they were definitely recorded in a bad part of the room and those toms have no life at all.

RAMI, there's just the one problem I have with this mix....why can't you get it wrong occassionally so that I can at least have a sense that the songs don't always appear ready for distribution?
I like the levels, the separation & arrangements. The bass has terrific definition and the guitars, well I can't hear the heep references but that was a band I didn't really get into.
You haven't played slide for a couple of songs!!
I rather like the vox as per this mix - they sit nicely near the top of but still in the mix.
KEWL!

Great, thanx Ray. I'm far from getting it right every time. It's pretty much an established pattern now that I post the first mix, knowing that I'm going to make changes based on other people's ears. I usually end up getting it right at around my 5th-8th mix.

Rami,

I have not been around for as long as some who comment on your stuff and I have only basic tracking / mixing experience. Feel free to check out my soundcloud profile to get an idea of where I come from. I'm a guitarist by the way, but I've been always addicted to good drums due to my brother being on drums in almost all of the bands I've been in.

Regarding the arrangement & performance, I think you did a very good job on all instruments. You played them all yourself, right? I've been listening to the song for the last 30 minutes repeatedly because I really like the new version much much better than the old version. The chorus was still in my ears from the first version and I's been kind of "haunting me" since you posted it and I first listened to it. Now I simply need to comment.

About the mixing: as I said, I'm not there yet myself, so I'd like to comment on your mixing from a listener's view with some basic and improving mixing knowledge. First of all, I like the bass and guitar sounds very much. Nice grit and dynamics on the guitars, and very "natural sounding". Same goes for cymbals/hats and the snare sound, did you change anything from the first version to this one? I think I remember the snare featuring too much reverb on the 1st mix, but I may be mistaken. I like it a lot now. Overall good balancing of instuments, I'd say. No single instrument too strong or weak except for two minor things. More on that later in the nit-picking section. Bringing up the vocals backing track or 2nd track was a big improvement in my opinion, the vocals are strong and full-sounding now.

Now for the nit-picking. Tom sounds feature too much reverb for my taste. You can hear that most in the beginning of the song and the bridge parts before and inbetween the solo parts. The FX sound quite metallic or too harsh / breathy to me. Don't know how to accurately describe what I'm hearing. Maybe a slightly darker reverb type will do but I feel it's much too prominent. I'd cut back on that so it's more subtle sounding unless you're going for the reverb-tom sound for the toms to stand out. I could see that working, too but I don't know what reverb you're using, so I'd consider either a different sounding or higher quality reverb. Again, not sure what you're using, I hope I'm not making an ass out of myself by dissing an expensive Lexicon or TC but it sounds somewhat cheap to me *duck*

Nit-picking Pt.2: Bongo's are a little too weak. I think they could be raised a little. Just a little. Or if you want them to be in the background maybe add a little more reverb but the way they sound now they just sound a little buried. You did a great job balancing your drum kit, I think you won't have a problem figuring out what I mean. In contrast to that, I feel the rattling shaker thing (sample?) is a tad too loud. It stands out too much. It's good to be in the front and not in the background but I'd pull it down just a little bit. Makes for an overall more balanced kit I think. It was the only really distracting thing in your song from my part of view along with the toms' reverb.

Just my 2 cents. Really would enjoy to hear some more tracks of that kind from you.

Cheers
Tim

Hey Tim, I really appreciate that in-depth review. Yeah, those toms were so dead that I probably over-compensated with reverb trying to get them to sound bigger. Of all songs to end up with a dead toms track, this song happens to have that jungle part that keeps coming up. I'll probably end up re-tracking the drums on this one day.

As far as the levels of the shaker and bongos, etc....I'll definitely pay attention to that. I have to admit that I was so pre-occupied with trying to get the mix right, that I hardly paid attention to them.

Thanx again, man.

I think it's good overall. If I had to nit anything with the drums, I'd say the toms are a little dead sounding for as much play as they get in this song. For quick fills and stuff they sound fine, but if you're gonna go all jungle beat on em, I think a more full and open tone from the toms would suit the song better. I'm not crazy about the drum reverb either. It sounds too metallic. Side note - I used to play in a hardcore punk band in college and our "practice space" was a large metal shipping container. No shit. So I know that metallic reverb sound all too well.

Anyway, the rest of the mix sounds good to me. Great drumming too.

Thanx man. Yeah, ditto on the toms, especially for this tune which sort of features them.

 

[Seafroggys]

I like this. It sounds pretty good. Vocals are kinda Hetfield-esque. Which, unlike most people, I actually like. The song is amazing. Drums sound good!

 

[RAMI]

I like this. It sounds pretty good. Vocals are kinda Hetfield-esque. Which, unlike most people, I actually like. The song is amazing. Drums sound good!

Thanx alot, Froggy!

I re-mixed it once more. Actually, the reason is, I've decided to take the plunge and start mixing in my computer, using REAPER. So, since I really wasn't happy with the drums and a few other things in this tune, I decided to use it as my first in-the box project. I hope it sounds better. A lot different mixing in the box. I'm going to have to learn a few short-cuts.

My first REAPER project : OUT OF THIS WORLD

 

[rayc]

RAMI,
You dealt with the intro bass issue really well.
1st IN the BOX mix - well I wouldn't have known - well done & congrats oon being such a fast learner.
This song is now SORTED!

 

[Dogbreath]

RamiDude!

I dig it man. Guitar tone, playin, tightness, vocals. Nicely done. And this is your first shot at Reaper?
Bravo sir.

 

[Monkey Allen]

Guitar sounds good rami. Drums sound good. Quality sounding old school type classic rock song...nice production

 

[drumslinger]

Rami,

Nice tune and very well mixed. The one thing I picked out right away was the toms and how dead they were bud you made it work well. What kind of heads on the toms? Perhaps some heads with a more open tone like Remo Ambassadors or Evans G2s. I really like the changes and your one talented individual. Way to go man!

DS

 

[noisewreck]

Awesome playing, great singing, love the arrangement and mixing. Everything is wonderfully in tune. Great performance!

The only nitpick I have, and this is only a nitpick is that I was wishing for a bit more dynamics, actually more explosiveness in some parts, like when you have the guitars and drums playing those short hits/chords, like around 00:23, the whole thing just needs to pop out a bit more. The middle around 1:17, the toms need to sound more epic. It might even be cool to overdub the rhythm several times playing it on different sized toms and pan then across the soundfield, kinda giving the feel of several drummers playing at once.

So, when is it coming out on CD? I'd buy it.

 

[RAMI]

RAMI,
You dealt with the intro bass issue really well.
1st IN the BOX mix - well I wouldn't have known - well done & congrats oon being such a fast learner.
This song is now SORTED!

Great! Thanx ray. I'm geting sick of this tune, so I'm glad I can put it away for a while.

RamiDude!

I dig it man. Guitar tone, playin, tightness, vocals. Nicely done. And this is your first shot at Reaper?
Bravo sir.

Thanx Dog. Yes, I've had Reaper and have been using it for my "massacring", but not for mixing. Once I get to know this thing even better, it will be a lot faster and easier. Just the fact that I had the choice of a million different reverbs, as opposed to my little Alesis micro-verb and nothing else, was a choice that took a long time to make, having to try all the different rooms, plates, etc......

Guitar sounds good rami. Drums sound good. Quality sounding old school type classic rock song...nice production

Thanx Buddy.

Rami,

Nice tune and very well mixed. The one thing I picked out right away was the toms and how dead they were bud you made it work well. What kind of heads on the toms? Perhaps some heads with a more open tone like Remo Ambassadors or Evans G2s. I really like the changes and your one talented individual. Way to go man!

DS

Hey DS. I don't know if you've been following the thread, or if you're just mentioning the toms because you just heard them. But the toms were definitely a problem. I use REMO pinstripes. They actually sound great and they're the skins I like for my kit. Problem is, I didn't realize how long I've had them on and how old they got. Once I get new skins on there, my drums wiill sound good like they usually do. On this track, I was dealing with dead skins on the toms for sure

Thanx for the listen and comments, bro.

Awesome playing, great singing, love the arrangement and mixing. Everything is wonderfully in tune. Great performance!

The only nitpick I have, and this is only a nitpick is that I was wishing for a bit more dynamics, actually more explosiveness in some parts, like when you have the guitars and drums playing those short hits/chords, like around 00:23, the whole thing just needs to pop out a bit more. The middle around 1:17, the toms need to sound more epic. It might even be cool to overdub the rhythm several times playing it on different sized toms and pan then across the soundfield, kinda giving the feel of several drummers playing at once.

So, when is it coming out on CD? I'd buy it.

Thanx Noise. Good insight on the dynamics. Not much I can do about it in this tune, but definitely something to look for whenever I have punchy, staccato parts next time. I like your idea of just layering toms in those jungle parts. That's something I might try on this tune before I put it to rest. Thanx alot!

 

[PoeticIntensity]

Listened twice. Once from my monitors and once from the crappiest computer speakers on earth.

Sounded stellar on both. Overall mix is superb.

If there were any nits to be had, I'd say the toms sound a bit muffled / dampened on my monitors. On the computer speakers, everything sounded excellent.

Just out of curiosity... How many drum takes are in this mix? They seriously are like mechanically on-beat.

 

[RAMI]

Listened twice. Once from my monitors and once from the crappiest computer speakers on earth.

Sounded stellar on both. Overall mix is superb.

If there were any nits to be had, I'd say the toms sound a bit muffled / dampened on my monitors. On the computer speakers, everything sounded excellent.

Just out of curiosity... How many drum takes are in this mix? They seriously are like mechanically on-beat.

Thanx Poetic. Yes, those toms were dead when I recorded them. Old skins.

As far as how many drum takes, I really don't know. (Or did you mean "tracks"?) 4 tracks, if that's what you meant. I don't do a lot of punching in for my drum tracks. I usually go once through, and then maybe punch in a few parts that needed tightening up or fixing a mistake here or there.

 

[CIRO]

I listened your last version - guitars and vocal (still) sounds excellent.

My only criticize is about the low frequencies - bass drum and bass guitar.
They sound "thin" compared with other songs / mixes (an example I have in my HD:"Where the sun don´t shine")
(but as I´m the only one to talk about this - chances are I´m wrong...)

Good job as usual

Ciro

 

[RAMI]

I listened your last version - guitars and vocal (still) sounds excellent.

My only criticize is about the low frequencies - bass drum and bass guitar.
They sound "thin" compared with other songs / mixes (an example I have in my HD:"Where the sun don´t shine")
(but as I´m the only one to talk about this - chances are I´m wrong...)

Good job as usual

Ciro

Thanx CIRO. Yes, the kik is a little thin for the same reason the toms are. It was one of the first recordings I did in this house last July, and where I had the drums placed made the drums sound weird and thin.

I think I was too close to a wall that was screwing everything up. I sort of noticed it sub-consciously, at the time, but since it was new room, I think I was in denial trying to convince myself I'm not used to the sound of the room yet. But, as it turns out, when I moved my drums for later songs, my sound was back.

 

[Greg_L]

I think overall it's very good. Like you mentioned, the old heads are really the only problem and you can't do much about that except to retrack. But even with the old, dead heads, it's still pretty awesome. I think you consistently get awesome kit presence from just the overheads. Way better than what I get.

This is a time when individual tom tracks could be a life saver. You can coax a lot of bombastic room shaking tone of of an individual tom track with some EQ and compression.

 

[RAMI]

This is a time when individual tom tracks could be a life saver. You can coax a lot of bombastic room shaking tone of of an individual tom track with some EQ and compression.

Yeah, I realized that after doing this tune (though, I still think that with new skins , we probably wouldn't even be talking about this). But, I'm beginning to think that having the toms miced would at least give me that option. I can always mute them if I don't think I need them.

 

[Nakatira]

Awsome, I really dig all the sudden stops.
the riffing is driving very well.

I also dig your distorted guitar tone, sounds very warm and "tubey".

Sounds very well recorded, and damn well played, I'm gonna try and steal some of those sudden stops into a song of mine

your awsome man

 

[RAMI]

Awsome, I really dig all the sudden stops.
the riffing is driving very well.

I also dig your distorted guitar tone, sounds very warm and "tubey".

Sounds very well recorded, and damn well played, I'm gonna try and steal some of those sudden stops into a song of mine

your awsome man

Thanx man! Nice to hear from you. I want 15% of any money you make from something you stole from me.

Nothing wrong with guitar.in the mix. From what i can hear.
Check me out at the URL below

http://www.soundclick.com/bukskywokerus

Thanx for the comment. As far as the second part, that's not the way we do things around here. Start a thread and post a tune if you want hits to your Soundclick page.