Reincarnation - original song, need help

[fat_fleet]

this is pretty typical of what my full recordings are sounding like.
i'm aware of quite a few problems with the mix. can you folks help?
i'll try and comment on your mixes, but don't take anything i say too seriously as i am and always will be, first and formost, a hack. i wrote it and played everything.

Reincarnation


hey boppa livin off the land
hey boppa livin off the land
hey boppa livin off the land
isn't nature grand?

 

[rickidoo]

I'm a mix amateur, but I do agree there are some issues. Primarily for me, there seems to be a lack of clarity, and the recording seems to lack dynamic range - not the song, but the recording. It's almost as if something is locking the sound to one specific volume level.

 

[phlopip]

i'd say you would need to push the bass a little louder. the kick drum is non existent and the snare is a tad quiet too. pan the overheads a bit wider and maybe eq them as they seem to be competing for frequencies. the guitars sound a bit out of tune.

 

[fat_fleet]

I'm a mix amateur, but I do agree there are some issues. Primarily for me, there seems to be a lack of clarity, and the recording seems to lack dynamic range - not the song, but the recording. It's almost as if something is locking the sound to one specific volume level.

cool, thanks for the feedback man.

i'd say you would need to push the bass a little louder. the kick drum is non existent and the snare is a tad quiet too. pan the overheads a bit wider and maybe eq them as they seem to be competing for frequencies. the guitars sound a bit out of tune.

ok, i updated the link with a newer version with retracked bass and bumped the bass up a couple dBs. the kick drum is a problem i'm not quite sure how to deal with. the kick and the bass both live right in the 100-150 range. i've tried scooping the kick between 200 and 500 and boosting the bass in that area but the bass just does NOT want to sit there. so do you think the issue with the kick is an eq issue or does it have to do with overall gain? and if it's gain related, should i back down everything that's not the kick track? or everything that's not a drum? is it that the kick lacks "click"?
also could you explain what you mean by the overheads "competing for frequencies"? sorry, i'm kind of a newb. in the present mix, they're panned 88% per side.... i considered this to be fairly wide already, but maybe i should go the full 100% ?
also, if you don't mind, what did you listen to it on? sorry if it seems like alot of questions, i've just really got to figure this shit out. thanks!

 

[joeym]

Something sounds terribly out of tune...guitars? Vocal performance leaves a bit to be desired. Drums are the weakest point. Overall the mix sounds muddy. Tune isn't bad, but this mix doesn't do it justice.

 

[fat_fleet]

ugh. thanks joeym. just updated the top link again. took out alot of low mids from the guitar, really did some chiseling with the kick and bass, and did some light pitch correction in places, and gave the whole thing a little more 5-6k air. right before i rendered i put a little 100hz bump on the master eq. now, listening back, i think it might have been a mistake and the kick is too loud now, but my ears might just be fried.

i'm pretty sure it's my voice and not the guitars that are out of tune. either that or one of the multiple kazoos... those kind of sound like guitars a little. could that be it?

sound any better now maybe?

 

[aaronmcoleman]

agree with drums being weak link. vocals are alright, the out of tune stuff is fine with me, not so bad that it's distracting.

I'd do something to clear up the vocals, maybe less effects, or EQ a space for them.

I'd also take some of the OD off the guitars to make them clearer.

And, I'll second or third the dynamics...too compressed? Maybe build stuff up a bit, or allow the quiet parts to be, well, quiet.

 

[fat_fleet]

thanks aaron.
yeah, i've only been playing acoustic drums for a year. in some ways i think it's a mistake to make my kick so audible cuz my timing isn't that great yet. a better drum performance will be possible a year from now, or maybe even a few months, but right now that's pretty much all i can do.

that or use software and i really don't want to do that.

 

[aaronmcoleman]

yeah keep working the drums, as you learn to play better, you'll perfect your recording technique and get some really good stuff.

i can't play drums at all, and i can barely record them drums take a lot of time to get right...just keep working at it and you'll end up with something good.