Recording my bands EP in my basement. how am i doing?

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chopchopporky

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I've only been recording for about a year.

We needed to release something. We did an EP in my basement over the past two weeks. We're 14 and 15.

Tell me what you guys think. Is there anything I could improve in the mixes?

Thanks :D
 

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Listened to the 1st song.
Sounds not bad recordings for first time.
The Mix could do with a bit of work though.
The low end could be a lot more solid using EQ and compression. This type of music sounds great with a really tight low end.

G
 
Agree with ecktronic. Main gripe was that the bass guitar sounds off centre. I liked the kick, but the rest of the kit seemed to need a little work EQ wise. But generally the mixes sounded pretty well balanced. very good, especially considering the amount of time you've been recording. Possibly bring the guitar up a bit more, perhaps having it a little louder while there's no vocal and dropping a tad when the vocals come in, riding the fader. Instrumental part in last song could come up. Could suggest doubling the guitar and panning them wide, but I like the cut back approach, raw and refreshing. Well done.
 
toad_uk said:
Possibly bring the guitar up a bit more
Click to expand...

Bring the guitar up A LOT more. The style reminds me a bit of Blink 182 and Sum 41; listen to how they place guitars in their mixes. Also the drums need to sound fuller. Other than that, great work!

edit: needed to emphasise "a lot" because the guitar is really way too low. I think the mix would sound great with louder guitars and come to think of it I actually think it could compensate for the lack of drum fullness. Would love to hear a new mix!
 
Hey guys! Thanks for the replies! I tried to take everyone's suggestions into mind, and i brought the bass up a bit as well, it needed LOTS of EQ'ing to put it mildly I would say.

One thing I'm doing that I'm not sure If I like or not is I'm panning the bass hard left and guitar hard riht which words pretty well since its just the three instruments and vocals occupying the stereo field. but you guys let me know what you think. It doesn't seem like too much of a problem on speakers. But it'd be weird if someone was bein' all cool and only usin' one earbud. Anyway. Here's the new mixes.
 

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Not able to listen to the new mix yet, but regarding the bass. The vast majority of recordings have the bass centre. There are reasons to do with vinyl why this bacame the norm, but it usually sounds better balanced that way, especialy when using earphones/headphones, like you say.

However. Al lot of earlier recordings did not follow this. Black Sabbath paranoid album has the bass over on the left, the beatles, lots of sixties and early seventies stuff. Lenny Kravits has done it for that retro feel. Rules are there to be broken, so if that's how you want it, that's fine. I doesn't sound bad, but I thought I'd mention it as it wasn't the norm and could have just been something you'd missed.
 
I enjoyed these tracks and wasn't really put off by the panned bass, despite convention. For me the stand out thing to work on is the snare. It is every thin and I expect that it is to do with the micing rather than anything that EQ could add - that said you can always parallel compress smarter guys here than me will be able to tell you the frequencies to boast to fatten it up.
 
I listened to versions 1 and 2 of Matches to Ashes. A definite improvement from 1 to 2. Loved the energy. Loved the guitar solo.

The vocal seems to be missing high end. It doesn't sound like there is much above 4K or 5K or so. It also has a bit of a hollow sound.

I think the song would sound much better if you double tracked the guitar, panned each take wide to each side, and then sent the bass down the middle.

Drums lack a little power. I can't hear the kick too well. Snare is real dry and missing high end.

I'd definitely take the chorus off the guitar solo. It's real good, so leave the effects off. My opinion anyway.
 
Chopchopporky,

Great work. I have to add I like the rawness persay. Like DainBramage said listen to similar artists that have the style and listen to the "soul" of the mix. You are defintely headed in the right direction.

Great job again! Can't wait to hear more of your work.
 
chopchopporky said:
Hey guys! Thanks for the replies! I tried to take everyone's suggestions into mind, and i brought the bass up a bit as well, it needed LOTS of EQ'ing to put it mildly I would say.

One thing I'm doing that I'm not sure If I like or not is I'm panning the bass hard left and guitar hard riht which words pretty well since its just the three instruments and vocals occupying the stereo field. but you guys let me know what you think. It doesn't seem like too much of a problem on speakers. But it'd be weird if someone was bein' all cool and only usin' one earbud. Anyway. Here's the new mixes.
Click to expand...
Listening to Every Move You Make (Mix Two).mp3‎.
The guitar in the right speaker is a tad harsh in the high mids, so cut some of them, and use a bit of compression to tame those stray notes that are a bit louder.
The bass should be centred, please!! The bass needs a good deal of editing. Listen carefully to the bass and you will hear at the start of some notes they dont sound that great, they sound as if they are distorted. Use fade ins at the start of the bad notes to try and get rid of the nasty sounds. The nasty sounds are from the way the bass was played. You can also try compressing with a shorter attack to catch those nasty notes that don't sound very nice at the start of the note.
At 27secs you will hear the bass noise I am talking about.

G
 
Whatmysay said:
It is every thin and I expect that it is to do with the micing rather than anything that EQ could add - that said you can always parallel compress smarter guys here than me will be able to tell you the frequencies to boast to fatten it up.
Click to expand...
Boost the low end to fatten the snare. :) Start at around 100Hz and see what is the best frequency to boost so as to fatten up the snare. Be aware of the low mids when boosting the low end though. You might need to cut some low mids so the snare doesn't end up muddy sounding. But cutting too much low mids will mean you end up at the start again... a thin snare. :)

G
 
do not pan the bass to one side and the guitar to the other.

keep the bass right in the middle and double track the guitar panned left and right.

you will be happy
 
The vocals on this is where the road ends sound funky I would double track the vocals and maybe use some vocalign as that seems to be the standard in pop punk type stuff i would also track another copy of the guitar pan it hard left and pan the bass center. On the bass i would boost a bit of lows and roll of some low mids. the bass generally has a scooped tone and the guitar has a good amount of mids. I the snare needs to be a bit thicker still.
 
Biggest thing for me is the drums, snare has no pop to it and with only three instruments, you need them all to sound great. Drums also sound very narrow in the field which muddies them up. If you used multiple channels on the drums, spread them out some.. the ride cymbal towards the end seems to drown out the snare.

Considering your age, You have a great start both in recording and playing... band sounds very capable.
 
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