Alternative rock from Morocco

B

Bouroki

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Sounded over compressed and limited for loudness. The cymbals were pretty in the face and pumping like crazy in the drum fills near the end. I would have found this a lot more listenable with some dynamics back in the drums. The lead guitar came across a bit loud and isolated to me too, especially that sustained feedback outro. The song, performance and vocal sounded good to me, the loudness and the drums freaked me out a bit. :)
 
The performance: It should be tighter. I think it's the drums that are the main problem.

Arrangement: Try this - don't bring in the right guitar until the first chorus. Then bring it in again halfway through the second verse the same way you did on the first verse. It'll help the tune build.

The mix: That screaming held note at the end is too loud.

I really the Soundcloud picture you have for this track, btw. Very cool.
 
Thank you guys, yeah I will not leave the outro like that because it's too much.

- As for the drums, yep it wasn't the tightest performance in the world even though we did several takes. The problem is the drummer is currently away and we've been meaning to sit down together so that he could pick the bits/fills he wants and then we can work on making them tighter through quantizing etc..

- I think that for the reason mentioned above, I have (perhaps a bit inadvertently) made the drums a bit too compressed so that it would mask some of the performance deficiencies for now. I will try to tone it down a little and bring the dynamics back.

- The lead guitar... I could decrease its volume a bit, but the general idea is for it to sound harsh and dry like that and a bit out of nowhere. Kind of like QOTSA which is basically our biggest influence. Obviously it has to be done right for it to give the desired effect. I'll see what I can do in the next mix!

- Overall compression/limiting/loudness - yeah, I have to tone the limiting down a notch. Also, perhaps the whole thing will sound better once I sort the drum dynamics out.

- Arrangement - I will give that a try.

What do you guys think of the chorus guitars? Does it sound like a nice proper rock chorus?

Also, for the rest of you, please do help me out with your initial impression of the song/mix, even if just to say "it's crap" :)
 
Bouroki said:
- I think that for the reason mentioned above, I have (perhaps a bit inadvertently) made the drums a bit too compressed so that it would mask some of the performance deficiencies for now.
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Well, if you have to mask the deficiencies, that's just life's way of telling you to retrack the part. Which also means you're aren't at the mix stage of the process. Which also means it's a waste of time commenting on the mix, since all bets are off once you redo the drum part.
 
dobro said:
Well, if you have to mask the deficiencies, that's just life's way of telling you to retrack the part. Which also means you're aren't at the mix stage of the process. Which also means it's a waste of time commenting on the mix, since all bets are off once you redo the drum part.
Click to expand...
I wasn't thinking "mask the deficiencies" during the mixing - that's just an afterthought that has occurred to me right now after you guys commented on the drums... although I was definitely thinking "need to sit down with the drummer". Re-tracking is always on the table of course, but I think with the 4-5 takes that we have (recorded to a metronome as well) it's just a question of sitting down with the drummer and letting him pick and choose the individual sections, perhaps copy&paste some others. That is also his preferred way to proceed.
 
5 takes to choose from & with a drummer? Sounds like retracking would be faster.
You shouldn't bother with any on the master bus when offering a mix as that stuff does cover up or make issues worse depending on what you use.
I can't hear the "alternative" aspect to the song - I was hoping for something with a touch of Moroccan aesthetics added.
You might try putting a nice compressor over the gtr buss (if you have one) to make those fellows gel together a little more.
 
The pumping is very obvious.

Nice voice! Couldn't really make out the other instruments consistently due to the pumping :/ I think that the bass would sound good from what I can make out.
And yeah, good picture.
 
Thanks guys... I will remove the limiting altogether for now and work on the issues discussed and hopefully post a better mix :)
 
First off I think it's a good song and the groove is there. Good singing
The mix to my ears has way too much sibilance on everything...the splash cymbal is way to loud and sizzley.
The bass guitar is flabby and way too hot in the mix. Fix those issued and it can really be good.
Cool tune
 
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