Critique this live rock mix!

[timthetortoise]

http://www.myspace.com/1000talons
The song is called Slowdawner.

We recorded this 80% live. Did some overdubs and a few edits on guitar. There are still a few screw ups, but we were too tired to notice them so it's fine for now. I know that the kick is not placed very well and that the bass is a little too present, but what else is wrong with this mix? What's right with it? Do you like the song itself? If not, what do you hate?! I WANT TO KNOW YOUR LIFE STORY. Okay, sorry. We just got a new member from a somewhat well-known band and I'm excited to start getting an album made but am not confident in my ears. Confirm or kill my fears, homerecording.com/bbs/forumdisplay.php?f=15!!!

 

[Chip_Saffire]

hi!

Listening to the tune right now!

In my ears the kick and bass needs more definition, especially the kick. The whole song feels distant when you don't feel the punch... I sertainly would like to check this out when the lyrics been added.

/Chip

 

[timthetortoise]

: \ Any others? I already knew the kick and bass need work, and that's why I put it in the first post. But thank you for listening anyway.

 

[XLR]

Good arrangement. I like the panning and levels in the mix. The guitars could be rhythmically tighter with each other. The high notes of the left guitar during the opening section get a little peaky in the 3-5 kHz range.

The "test tone" thing makes a surprisingly good ending.

 

[ido1957]

More definition in the bass drum and the bass guitar - already mentioned....

The drums are really nice, what did you do to record them?

The guitars sound hot (that's a compliment). The panning gives them distinctive positions in the mix...Nice dual leads. Never loses sonic power when the solos come in...it stays consistent...that's nice.....

The song has a lot of merits - verse is mellow and would allow some soulful chanting, the chorus kicks it up a notch and the bridge/solo gives it even more variety.

All you need is some vocals to complete the job. Or leave it as an instrumental...

 

[timthetortoise]

Sweet, thanks for the input. Guitarist on left side is getting an amp today that will not have all that fizz to it (that's a Line 6 Flextone II HD through a 4x12 with Celestion Rocket 50s). I'll definitely do a cut in that range. Also I think that I accidentally added a bit too much compression on that side, which would be a contributor. This was, I think, the fourth or fifth time we were actually able to play the song, so the timing and everything is basically everyone just feeling it out in some parts still. I think that there will be vocals to it. If any of you have heard them, the singer of Codeseven will be laying down some vocals and synth/noise, hopefully some to this track.
To record the drums I used an SM57 on the snare, some Sennheiser tom microphones, a D112 on the kick (gotta get our drummer to port his front skin so I can get a better sound out of it), and two Samson CO2s behind the kit. I think it's a pretty good sound for being a quick and dirty setup. Used a bit more reverb than usual on the kit, but it's not too bad. Still looking for how to get more clarity out of the cymbals (ahem, aside from a mic change ).