Care to help with my very modest mixes?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Luckis
  • Start date Start date
L

Luckis

New member
Hello.

My name is Lucas, from Argentina. So bear with me english please.

So, been a reader of the forum for a looong time, but never got around to post anything because, well, i am sort of a newbie and could not contribute much to anything. Never liked to ask for help when i cannot contribute something first, but well, here goes.

Long story short (somewhat) i´m a street musician here, and always wanted to record my stuff. But, as you can imagine, my funds are nowhere near being able to buy expensive hardware or software or to pay a profesional studio. Add to this the fact that most of the hardware you guys use or discuss is only a dream over here.

Another fact that always turned me down is the impersonal treatment you get in studios around here. Even with other musicians. If you dont have the big money, or you are unknown, nobody gives a crap about you. So i figured, even if i am not a recording or mixing engineer, damn, nobody will put more love in these songs than myself.

I´ve been around studios here, recording for other people as favours or as jobs, i´ve read, i´ve talked to people, i´ve learned a lot of things. And finally, i´ve spent the better part of this year saving money to buy some hardware to record my songs at home.

So now, i managed to record all the tracks (played all the instruments by myself, althought some of them are virtual instruments) and struggled to get the best sound possible. And now, i am at the mixing stage.

And this is where you come in :D since i am working on this alone, i would appreciate soo much if other people with fresh (and experienced) ears would give me some tips or corrections. Please don´t expect nothing fancy or a great sounding mix, i do what i can with the modest resources i have available, but anyway, any help would be really welcome!

Thanks to you all who take the time to read all this!
 

Attachments

Hey Luckis, I listened to Agui. Given all the concerns you list, this sounds good. All the real instruments sound well recorded, it's well sung and the melody is strong.

There were a couple of things I picked up while listening that might help you:

The drums are lost in the mix a little at times - I think it's because there's quite a bit of reverb on them that they sound a little washed out and lacking definition. It might be because you're not happy with the quality of your samples without the reverb?

The guitar break that's panned right comes in too loud and I would pan it slightly more centrally. It sits on top of everything as it is.

Good work though :)
 
On Aqui...

You have a real nice singing voice. Good harmonies. Vocals sound nice.

I think the kick is a bit too loud. I think the cymbals are too soft.

The lead guitar really jumps out on the right side at 2:43 and a couple of more times. It sounds much dryer than everything else on the song. That makes it sound out of place in the mix.

I thought the distorted rhythm guitar was a bit too thin.

On Circulos
I thought the song took a little too long to get started. I thought the repeated vocal effect didn't work.

Kick is too loud here too. It's not playing well with the bass.

Great voice.

I thought the lead guitar had a little too much bite to it. Good playing. I'd turn down the guitar solo that starts at 2:49 by about 3-4 dbs.
 
Agree on whats been posted... drums are out of balance... kick too loud, snare needs some pop... cymbals are lost.

Some nice playing here for sure and I have no idea what you're saying :facepalm:

catchy tune.
 
I got "silencio" which I bet means silence. Which is what the song might need a tiny bit more of.

The song is great. I keep getting amazed every time I listen to someone posting their music here in the clinic and there is nothing even comparable to the learnisque qualities of this place (hey I just invented a new word, or did I?). I love this song. What is it about?
 
AQUI
I could live with the drum levels but the lead guitars are way too loud. Well played and all but the mix needs a little work.
CIRCULOS
I REALLY like this tune. Maybe because it's a LOT like Little Wing. Agian watch the lead guitar levels. Nicely played. The extreme panning is a bit much for my tastes but that's just me.
 
Wow, thanks for the tips and for the praises, i certainly wasnt expecting much of the latter :P

So, generally speaking, a little more cymbals, a little less kick, and a little less guitar?

I would have expected to be automatically excessive with the guitars, since i am mainly a guitarist. Hard to get that musical ego out of you when you are self producing and mixing your songs :D

robgreen said:
The drums are lost in the mix a little at times - I think it's because there's quite a bit of reverb on them that they sound a little washed out and lacking definition. It might be because you're not happy with the quality of your samples without the reverb?
Click to expand...

This raised me a doubt.. Do the drums sound too much like samples? I would like them to sound as authentic as possible, not machine-like

TripleM said:
Kick is too loud here too. It's not playing well with the bass.
Click to expand...

79_Les_Paul said:
snare needs some pop
Click to expand...

I take it these are EQ matters? How could i solve them? I never got that "bass and kick" thing really down.

Track Rat said:
I REALLY like this tune. Maybe because it's a LOT like Little Wing.
Click to expand...

Ahh yes, The chorus on this song is highly similar to little wing, except in a different key and with minor changes. I always wondered if this would get me any trouble :D

Thank you again! If you could give me some tips about how to solve this problems, i will try to post new mixes soon.
 
Going from memory... I'm not sure if the kick/bass problem is an EQ issue. It seemed to me the kick was just too loud. I'd try turning it down 3-4 dbs first. Then I'd listen to see if I could hear both the kick and bass. If I can, then the problem might be solved. If I still can't hear the bass then you might need to notch out some frequencies in the kick or boost some frequencies in the bass.
 
Well, after some time looking for mastering options and some other personal things, and, of course, taking a vacation from the songs to refresh my ears, i finally got around to do some remix of Aqui.

I tried to solve the problem with the kick and bass, i noticed the low mids were sounding a little muddy. I also took some bite off the solos, leveled them, compressed the vocals a little more, and balanced the panning. To my ears, it sounds more balanced than the previous. But i leave those judgements to you.

I upload it here, again, i hope you take the time to take a listen and give me suggestions!

View attachment AQUI.mp3
 
Last edited:
Listened to both songs; the musicianshipand songs are good but the mixes are not balanced and could use work. As part of the learning process you could post one of the songs tracks to get a feel for how others would mix your songs. I would be interested in taking a crack at mixing one of your songs and I am sure others would as well. It is a good way to hear what other mixes sound like and ask questions about those mixes that interest you.

If you don't what to post the tracks and are interested in working with someone to provide you a reference mix, PM me
 
Thanks simman! Any replies about the remix of Aqui I posted anyone? It would really help me, since i have to continue mixing the album.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top