Think The World

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NotThatBright

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This is the first time I ever played with a metronome, so the drums aren't as bad as everything else I've ever played. I always loved this song primarily due to the bass line, which made me dizzy while playing and took me a shitload of tries to come up with a passable one. And it's barely a minute long. From now on I'm going to stick to songs with AC/DC-style bass.

I couldn't play (or even identify) the guitar chords in the real song, so I had to dumb it down to my level. I'm not sure I did a decent job mixing the guitar and bass. Any advice with this, and possibly with EQing the bass so it's easily audible without drowning out everything else, would be swell. Comments of any kind are appreciated. This is another ALL song.

And most importantly- is the kick drum at a good volume? I've been having a problem with this lately.

Thanks.

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/think-the-world/s-HDCEN


UPDATE- new mix

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/think-the-world-1/s-y38Kl
 
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The kick works for me. When you said that you'd used a click, I was going to say 'a click will just keep you on tempo, it won't make you play tighter' but you actually played tighter on this one lol. The bass is coming through fine. Recently I've been putting a distortion plug on a lot of bass tracks so that it gets heard higher up the frequency spectrum - it gets heard without having to turn up the low end too much.
 
Sounds like the Vandals :) I've never heard this band ALL before. Good performance, the only thing I really notice different is the guitars slide a bit on the chord changes, yours are more on the beat,

I'd have the drums slightly more prominent. I'd like more kick drum, but it does cut through at the higher end. Your snare is quite saturated compared to the one on the original.

I'd think you could afford to eq down some of the midrange on the bass. Might help get the kick through.
 
Or leave the bass as is in the low mids and cut it at the low end so the kick comes through better.
 
Hi, NTB. The kit's starting to sound pretty good (what we can hear of it :D). The kick drum is the right level but I'm not sure about the sound of it. It's quite boxy to my ear. Your tracks always seem to come out quite midrangey, and I'm coming to the conclusion it's because you're attempting the same style of music each time, and getting used to using the same treatment for the instruments each time too. I don't think it's teaching you anything new when you record something. I'd like to hear you record something that's a complete departure from what you normally do - something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Perhaps learning how to mix a different style will give you some skills to bring back to your own projects. Just a thought.

The playing is great, btw - what a manic bassline! :D
 
Jesus, I must have still been dizzy when I posted it, I need to do come up with a guitar part that is more in line with the original, but that I can still handle. This one just sucks. At least it will give me something to do after the Eagles game. That's American football, to my soccer-loving buddies across the pond. :)

Thanks for the comments. It's "pub" time!
 
I don't love "soccer". I detest "soccer".

Actually, that's a lie. I hate the fact that all those dickless pieces of shit get paid PER WEEK what it would take me ten years to earn.
 
Bubba po said:
Your tracks always seem to come out quite midrangey, and I'm coming to the conclusion it's because you're attempting the same style of music each time, and getting used to using the same treatment for the instruments each time too. I don't think it's teaching you anything new when you record something. I'd like to hear you record something that's a complete departure from what you normally do - something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Perhaps learning how to mix a different style will give you some skills to bring back to your own projects. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

+1 That midrangey thing, yeah.
 
Good that you got a metronome.
It shows.

Your bass playing is neat.
 
Thanks for sharing man. Here are some quick comments:

-Vocals sound great. They really fit the style, and the doubled vox & harmonies are sweet.
-Snare and toms could be louder and punchier.
-Kick drum is at a good level, but sounds very mid range. I would scoop out some of the mids, and find the sweet spot in the 70-90hz range, then boost a little around 2k for the clicky part of the beater to get it to cut thru the mix more.
-The guitars also sound mid rangey but they don't bother me. I think the tone sits well with the genre.
-Bass is heard, but not felt. The low end of the whole mix seems missing except for the kick drum. I would use a shelf in the 120hz and below on the bass to bring some fatness into it, then maybe bring it up a bit in the mix.

It's coming along, keep at it!
 
Good ol' user92696274096, a SoundClick celebrity :)

This is definitely outside of my usual genre, but I like the intensity and the performance. Simple and to the point, nothing wrong with that. Overall it does sound focused in the midrange, but that's what I associate with this genre as an outsider. Maybe I've heard too many cassette tapes out of people's cars to judge...

Drums sound good to me, they could use a little more meat overall. Like more thump in the kick, and more beef to the low tom. Nice guitar tone, tight playing. The guitars are a little too midrange focused as well, but maybe with more bass elsewhere in the mix they'll sit just right.
 
dobro said:
The kick works for me. When you said that you'd used a click, I was going to say 'a click will just keep you on tempo, it won't make you play tighter' but you actually played tighter on this one lol. The bass is coming through fine. Recently I've been putting a distortion plug on a lot of bass tracks so that it gets heard higher up the frequency spectrum - it gets heard without having to turn up the low end too much.
Click to expand...

For me, I think a lot of the "looseness" has to do with indecision (albeit for split-seconds) about whether I'm keeping good time or not while I'm actually playing. With the metronome clicking in my ear my mind is somewhat eased and I can relax. Though I know this still isn't tight enough, I need to develop some actual drumming skills. I'll get there.

madmush said:
Sounds like the Vandals I've never heard this band ALL before. Good performance, the only thing I really notice different is the guitars slide a bit on the chord changes, yours are more on the beat,

I'd have the drums slightly more prominent. I'd like more kick drum, but it does cut through at the higher end. Your snare is quite saturated compared to the one on the original.

I'd think you could afford to eq down some of the midrange on the bass. Might help get the kick through.
Click to expand...

I think I was outclassed with this one. They say you gotta crawl before you walk, but sometimes I try taking off on a full sprint and wind up stumbling. :) Thanks for the comments.

bubba said:
Hi, NTB. The kit's starting to sound pretty good (what we can hear of it ). The kick drum is the right level but I'm not sure about the sound of it. It's quite boxy to my ear. Your tracks always seem to come out quite midrangey, and I'm coming to the conclusion it's because you're attempting the same style of music each time, and getting used to using the same treatment for the instruments each time too. I don't think it's teaching you anything new when you record something. I'd like to hear you record something that's a complete departure from what you normally do - something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Perhaps learning how to mix a different style will give you some skills to bring back to your own projects. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I may not want to hear it, but you're right that if I actually want to learn something I need to diversify a bit. Gotta force myself to learn some chords. I actually did a while ago, but I never practiced them, and though I can remember them, changing from one to another takes a good second in-between. As Allen Iverson once said... "Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice??" :)

I need to figure out how to get rid of that boxy/midrangey sound. I was able to lessen the boxiness a while ago by cutting @450Hz with my toms, but I guess I still have some ways to go. I think a lot of it comes from my snare sound.

brian miller said:
-Vocals sound great. They really fit the style, and the doubled vox & harmonies are sweet.
-Snare and toms could be louder and punchier.
-Kick drum is at a good level, but sounds very mid range. I would scoop out some of the mids, and find the sweet spot in the 70-90hz range, then boost a little around 2k for the clicky part of the beater to get it to cut thru the mix more.
-The guitars also sound mid rangey but they don't bother me. I think the tone sits well with the genre.
-Bass is heard, but not felt. The low end of the whole mix seems missing except for the kick drum. I would use a shelf in the 120hz and below on the bass to bring some fatness into it, then maybe bring it up a bit in the mix.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Brian.
Tadpui said:
Good ol' user92696274096, a SoundClick celebrity

This is definitely outside of my usual genre, but I like the intensity and the performance. Simple and to the point, nothing wrong with that. Overall it does sound focused in the midrange, but that's what I associate with this genre as an outsider. Maybe I've heard too many cassette tapes out of people's cars to judge...

Drums sound good to me, they could use a little more meat overall. Like more thump in the kick, and more beef to the low tom. Nice guitar tone, tight playing. The guitars are a little too midrange focused as well, but maybe with more bass elsewhere in the mix they'll sit just right.
Click to expand...

Before establishing a soundcloud account, I established my account here and called myself "NotThatBright". I figured any name the site chose automatically was probably better than that. :)

dog in door That's right, recognize the bass! :) Thanks.

ido1957 The link does work, but you don't need to waste your time, this was not ready for public consumption.

Thanks for listening and your comments, guys. I really was not ready to try this one, I have some learning to do first.
 
NotThatBright said:
Before establishing a soundcloud account, I established my account here and called myself "NotThatBright". I figured any name the site chose automatically was probably better than that. :)
Click to expand...

You're definitely bright. I don't know why you picked that name, except as some attempt at irony. :D

There are some really thick twats on this site. :D
 
Bubba po said:
You're definitely bright. :D
Click to expand...

Oh, I know that. Can't remember what I was thinking when I picked the name... I was either trying to be funny, or maybe I thought people would be more prone to help me out if they thought I was retarded. Or both! :)

That said, given my relative lack of experience and knowledge when it comes to this subject, "NotThatBright" is a pretty accurate name for me to have on here. Tell you what... if I get really knowledgeable about this stuff and learn to play my instruments, I'll change my name to "FuckingGenius"! :)

Thank you for the kind words, though. You are pretty sharp, yourself! And I can't even hear your English accent, which always adds about 20 perceived IQ points in the minds of yanks. :)
 
Song is great, the playing is great . . . very busy, but also very tight.

Guitars sound good. Vocals sound good. The kit and bass should sound good, but disturb me a bit. I think the kit disturbs me because it sounds very squashed. The bass . . . I think I'd like to hear less mid bass, and more bottom and top. That's just a taste thing.
 
It sounds like it's from 77.
that WAS the point wasn't it?
I like it.
 
Gecko and Ray, thanks for the comments. 77? I'm from '77, as it turns out! :)

I went back and did different guitar tracks for it (the guitar is tighter now, but I still can't play the right chords), re-sang it, and remixed it. I also cut a bunch of frequencies from the guitar tracks, as they really seemed to be covering the vocal this time around for some reason... also cut the mids from, and boosted the high and low of, the bass. I think the drum sound definitely improved with the new mix. It's on the initial post if anyone wants to hear.
 
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