Demo mix for a London garage band (need feedback :))

J

jimitom

New member
Hello everyone. I'm new to this community so I will appreciate any signs of a warm welcome :)

Here's a demo mix I recently finished for a band from London called Suburban 100. I'm not an experienced mixer and I own only the very basic equipment. But... I love doing it. The tracks I got were really basic, no double takes or stuff like that, no pop filter used, lots of reverb on a tracked guitar solo, etc.

But I would really like to hear what you guys think of this demo mix. Thanks!

Cheers,

Tom

 
Hey Jimitom.
Good work pal, and welcome to HR.
I'm only listening on my bose dock but it's better than most and I know it pretty well.

For the most part this just sounds like a proper record to me.
I'm not a big fan of the space used on the solo, to be honest, but that's what you got in the raw tracks, right? No sweat.

If you want to take it from good to great, in my opinion, tune the vocals in the chorus. It all sounds full and professional until he moves from the opening repetitive lines.
I'd definitely tune "up like a phoenix, straight from the flames" every time, and the "you'd be a fool" line.
Not like kanye or anything. Just a tidy-up!

It sounds like the repetitive lines are double (or more) tracked and then the 'out of tune lines' are single takes?
Maybe that's not the case but to me it went from Kaiser Chiefs to karaoke in the space of one line, for me!
Because the vocal is, or sounds, exposed on certain lines I think it needs to be perfect.

The verses aren't exactly 100% tight tuning wise but for some reason you can get away with it there, you know? Character. ;)

Also, the rhythm guitar just after the solo sounds a little bit exposed. It's probably just juxtaposition with the solo being very spacious, but I might be inclined to pull the volume back a touch when that rhythm enters and gradually reintroduce it.
Nothing drastic; Just enough to take the edge off.

Just my tupenny worth. :)

That sounds like a lot of negatives! Again, great job overall and thanks for sharing.
 
Hmmmmm.........quite the trip around the sound stage this one is. And I mean that in a good way. The mix is really a good use of what's there I think. And creative at that. The shifting sense of center really adds to the character of this song. The bottom end seems like it could use a bit more kick drum.......but not much and maybe that's just me. I have to wonder if this song was mixed 10 times by 10 different people if anyone else would have done it this way. Nice job!! Thanks for letting me listen. My Two Cents.
 
Nice tune, nice mix, I have to agree with Steen. I am not a picky guy when it comes to overall sound, but in this case, the vocals do sound out of place. That might be the aim here, but it didn't work. I like out of tune vocals, but this one missed the goal I think.

Rather than "tune it up", maybe another go at it would get the intended results and get the verse and chorus better harmonized.

My 1 cent.
 
I think the main vocal needs another go. I kow you've dealt with the hand you were given but if you point out the glaring misses perhaps he'll hear and volunteer to redo the vox.
You could do it with software but a fresh take of the chorus would help the whol thing along.
Drat the reverb on the solo really puts it in the wrong room and it compares poorly to the rest of the stuff.
You've done well.
Ask if they want better.
 
Steenamaroo, Mickster, DM60 and rayc,

thank you guys for your useful comments and thoughts. This is really helpful and I appreciate it.

Steenamaroo - I agree with you in pretty much everything you've said. Unfortunately I only got one vocal track (that goes for other tracks also). Maybe it will make sense if I point out that the recording session was really budget and time limited. Also, this was probably the first recording experience for the guys.

So working with what I had, I did tune the vocals throughout the track but I did it subtly because I didn't want to lose any of original color of the vocal. And you've noticed well Steenamaroo: " It sounds like the repetitive lines are double (or more) tracked and then the 'out of tune lines' are single takes?" That's true. I did that because i felt like it could bring some more balance and harmony to chorus, and I left a couple of lines single (on slightly higher level) to give some more dynamic. I just felt like doing that... maybe I shouldn't but the guys did like it.

As for the solo, it was recorded with tons of reverb on it so I couldn't come up with anything better to do with it. It's pretty distant and on a verge of being muddy. I should've raised the level a bit more. And the chords after the solo are on the same level as before, but as you've mentioned Steenamaroo - it's the juxtaposed effect of a distant, spacious and not-at-all-in-your-face solo.

Mickster - thank you very much. I have to say I was surprised to hear that :) I wasn't aware that my approach was that different. Cheers! From the beginning of the mixing I had a feeling I had to fight with the dullness of the couple of tracks that I received. Maybe that explains "the trip around the sound stage" :)

DM60 and Rayc - I agree that the best thing would be a new vocal take, or even better, a couple of them.

Thanks again everyone for the feedback :)
 
jimitom said:
and I left a couple of lines single (on slightly higher level) to give some more dynamic. I just felt like doing that... maybe I shouldn't but the guys did like it.
Click to expand...

Oh, no, don't get me wrong. I really like that choice. I just think the exposed lines need to be a lot smarter to be able to get away with it.
It's amazing what you can away with when there are a few layers with it. ;)
 
You already got some good feedback, so I'll just add a couple of things.

The backing tracks are fairly wet with reverb but the lead vocal is very dry. It's kind of a disjointed sound. Actually the reverb on all the guitars is all over the place.

The lead solos are a bit underwhelming performance-wise. Liked the main riff tho.

Little pop at 1:18.
 
Sounds good, nice recording. The kick needs more punch/level. The changes in reverbs is a bit too much, awkward. There is a lot that sounds very good. I like the vocals, the levels sit very nice in the track. Good job !
 
I really like this tune.

My only nitpick would be that one guitar on the left side seems slightly louder than it should be. It does have some nice grit though, so kind of cool to showcase that tone.

The vocals don't bother me at all. Kind of like the way they are.
 
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