1st real attempt

[jjones1700]

I'm working on recording some friends and this is the most cohesive take we've gotten so far. It's still a bit rough. There was alot of construction going on in the studio that day so everyone (including me) was tired. I broke up the bandmates in order to record them and it threw them for a loop.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=25940

I'm just looking for any and all suggestions and or tips you can throw out there. Don't be shy, as I can't learn and improve if I don't know.

 

[tonesponge]

Very nice!

If it were me, I'd automate those guitars to bring them down when the vocals are present.

Also, I'm listening on my lap top, and I can't hear a bass part at all, which is a common problem when porting to it. This thing

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MaxxBCL/

is supposed to fix that problem, but it's pricey, so I still don't have one. I wonder if there are any other ways to fix it?

 

[Greg_L]

Very nice!

If it were me, I'd automate those guitars to bring them down when the vocals are present.

Also, I'm listening on my lap top, and I can't hear a bass part at all, which is a common problem when porting to it. This thing

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MaxxBCL/

is supposed to fix that problem, but it's pricey, so I still don't have one. I wonder if there are any other ways to fix it?

Here's an idea: don't listen on laptop speakers. And another idea: don't critique people's stuff by listening on a laptop. Do you mix through laptop speakers? If not, why would you critique someone else's mix through laptop speakers?

Sounds pretty good. Don't automate the git. I think you just need to bring it down some. It's burying the vocals and the drums, so just bring it down. Another guitar track would fill it out nicely. The bass does seem pretty mellow, but a little more definition would make it pop out more without overpowering the sparse song. Not bad for a first run. Is this an analog recording?

 

[Tobe]

I agree with Greg, very good, but the guitar is sitting in a strange place, and taking room away from the vocal. I think it's the mix space that needs work.

Try taking a double (or double track) of the guitar and panning it to both sides of the mix. Experiment with putting a slight delay or a few cent pitch shift on one side and see if that pushes the guitar back a bit and gives the mix better balance. Keep it subtle though

 

[jjones1700]

Thanks guys!

Greg, it's actually via my US-1641 into my laptop with Reaper. I used some outboard effects (lightly) on the vocals, snare, and cymbals. The guitars and bass were kind of hard to gauge for me. Depending on the pedal in use, it goes up and down in the mix. As for the bass, it seemed that as the song went along, the more heavy handed the bassist became and it too kept creeping up. I'll pull it down a notch or so and repost it when I get a chance.

Thanks again for the critique!!

 

[jjones1700]

I agree with Greg, very good, but the guitar is sitting in a strange place, and taking room away from the vocal. I think it's the mix space that needs work.

Try taking a double (or double track) of the guitar and panning it to both sides of the mix. Experiment with putting a slight delay or a few cent pitch shift on one side and see if that pushes the guitar back a bit and gives the mix better balance. Keep it subtle though

Sounds like good advice. I had to add tracks for the snare, vocal, and cymbals, so adding one for the guitar seems reasonable.

 

[Tobe]

I meant push the original to one side and the double to the other in case that wasn't clear

 

[jjones1700]

I meant push the original to one side and the double to the other in case that wasn't clear

I figured that's what you were suggesting. I knew something sounded flat but couldn't quite figure out what to do. I'll give it a shot and post the reworked version.

 

[tonesponge]

Here's an idea: don't listen on laptop speakers.

no

And another idea: don't critique people's stuff by listening on a laptop. Do you mix through laptop speakers? If not, why would you critique someone else's mix through laptop speakers?

Lots of people, including your potential fans and customers, hit up iTunes and listen to hooks on laptop speakers. Why wouldn't you want your mix to sound good on laptop speakers? Not every 13 year old is going to have expensive headphones or monitors to enjoy your mix. And they're the only ones with disposable income to buy your stuf, seeing as how they didn't spend it all on expensive headphones and monitors.

 

[Greg_L]

no



Lots of people, including your potential fans and customers, hit up iTunes and listen to hooks on laptop speakers. Why wouldn't you want your mix to sound good on laptop speakers? Not every 13 year old is going to have expensive headphones or monitors to enjoy your mix. And they're the only ones with disposable income to buy your stuf, seeing as how they didn't spend it all on expensive headphones and monitors.

That's some seriously flawed logic. A good mix will sound good anywhere. Do you think pro producers mix through laptop speakers? Do you think they give one shit what it sounds like through a laptop? No, because they know a good mix will sound good everywhere. But for the purpose of critiquing someone else's mix, listening on a laptop is fucking stupid and you're not helping anyone like that.

 

[tonesponge]

That's some seriously flawed logic. A good mix will sound good anywhere. Do you think pro producers mix through laptop speakers? Do you think they give one shit what it sounds like through a laptop? No, because they know a good mix will sound good everywhere. But for the purpose of critiquing someone else's mix, listening on a laptop is fucking stupid and you're not helping anyone like that.

Not everyone coasts by on the low production quality expected in the punk genre.

 

[gregsk777]

Not everyone coasts by on the low production quality expected in the punk genre.

There are a lot of amazing sounding punk albums. Low quality is not expected in punk... it is just that they didn't have major label backing and had to do it DIY or for damn cheap. Plus they were too busy rocking out instead of sitting around a studio snorting coke off a mixing console.

 

[tonesponge]

There are a lot of amazing sounding punk albums. Low quality is not expected in punk... it is just that they didn't have major label backing and had to do it DIY or for damn cheap. Plus they were too busy rocking out instead of sitting around a studio snorting coke off a mixing console.

Relax dude. I'm just treating greg like he deserves.

 

[gregsk777]

Relax dude. I'm just treating greg like he deserves.

Well he does make a good point. Maybe just not as eloquently as others would but have you listened to his "low production quality" punk? It's pretty tight and top notch.

 

[Greg_L]

Not everyone coasts by on the low production quality expected in the punk genre.

Lol. Any time you wanna put one of your tinny harsh mixes up against one of mine, I'm game.

Look holmes, this isn't the first thread you've spread your really bad misinformation in. Stop doing that, and I'll quit calling you out. Really dude, laptop speakers? jjones is a good dude. He deserves better.

 

[tonesponge]

Lol. Any time you wanna put one of your tinny harsh mixes up against one of mine, I'm game.

Look holmes, this isn't the first thread you've spread your really bad misinformation in. Stop doing that, and I'll quit calling you out. Really dude, laptop speakers? jjones is a good dude. He deserves better.

You're not the only one who gets to have an opinion. You just seem like a bully to me. Go mind you're own business.

 

[Greg_L]

You're not the only one who gets to have an opinion. You just seem like a bully to me. Go mind you're own business.

I never said you couldn't have an opinion. You can have your opinion and still be wrong though. This is my business, and your business, and everyone else's business because this is a public message board and jjones made a public thread looking for feedback. Yours was just screwy, so I pointed it out. He didn't send you this song in a private message for your ears only. I'm not hacking your account or anything. So telling me to mind my own business is just dumb. You seem to make a habit of dishing out really bad advice. I'm just pointing it out to you and maybe you can learn from it. I'd do the same for anyone else, and I'd expect someone to do the same for me if/when I say something that's just fundamentally wrong. I haven't seen anyone run to your defense though, which would normally happen if you're right, so maybe you should think about that. No one is born knowing this stuff, but a toddler shouldn't be telling an adult how to drive a car, right? We're all on the same team here, so calm down.

 

[Chater-La]

That's some seriously flawed logic. A good mix will sound good anywhere. Do you think pro producers mix through laptop speakers? Do you think they give one shit what it sounds like through a laptop? No, because they know a good mix will sound good everywhere. But for the purpose of critiquing someone else's mix, listening on a laptop is fucking stupid and you're not helping anyone like that.

I actually disagree here. I mean, I agree that mixing should not be done on laptop speakers but before finalizing you should check out what they sound like on a PC, in your car etc. Most people don't listen to tracks on high-end studio speakers. So if you can't hear the bass loud enough on low end speakers, you need to go back and remix.

And we can disagree, but still be civil about things...no?

 

[Greg_L]

I actually disagree here. I mean, I agree that mixing should not be done on laptop speakers but before finalizing you should check out what they sound like on a PC, in your car etc. Most people don't listen to tracks on high-end studio speakers. So if you can't hear the bass loud enough on low end speakers, you need to go back and remix.

And we can disagree, but still be civil about things...no?

I'm being civil.

And I agree that mixes should be referenced on several systems, as many as possible, but laptop speakers shouldn't the first and/or only system you listen on, and it's totally dumb to give someone feedback or advice based solely on a listen through laptop speakers. An experienced mixer would throw that advice out the window, and an inexperienced mixer could potentially screw his mix up following that advice.

We use flat-respone studio monitors for a reason. They're not typical hi-fi speakers that try to make everything sound better, and they're not tiny, tinny laptop speakers. They give us (hopefully) an accurate representation of what the mix is doing. A good, balanced mix done on studio monitors will translate everywhere. Something sounding off on a laptop doesn't really tell you anything though. That's all I'm saying. Aren't we supposed to be helping people in here? It's almost disrespectful to not give someone a worthwhile listen. If you're gonna comment, at least listen on the same system you'd mix your own stuff through.

 

[TripleM]

I thought in general it sounded very good.

But I thought the kick was quite a bit too loud.

I caught a couple of pitch problems. One was on the second syllable of "smother" at about 1:12.

Can't decide if I'd rather have some of the mud removed from the rhythm guitar or not. It's a bit muddy - but one person's mud is another's "warmth".

The guitars make the mix lean to the left. Not enough on the right side to balance it out.