andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Spent some time reworking a track I had posted here a month or so ago. Vocals now added. Please let me know what you think.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
I'm seeing views, but no comments. I'll make it easier, in case that's the problem. Here's a SoundCloud streaming link:
https://soundcloud.com/andrushkiwt/mayflower2
THanks
https://soundcloud.com/andrushkiwt/mayflower2
THanks
T
TripleM
Well-known member
The guitar in the intro sounded OK. I thought it was well sung. Nice singing voice.
When things kick in right after the intro, there isn't any umph. The guitars are too over driven. So they kind of have a mushy sound. They also don't have quite enough bite. They need more "chug".
The drums are mostly snare. I'm not hearing much kick. Cymbals are very swishy/hissy. I don't know if that's an mp3 conversion, or a streaming issue (I listened to the SC link), or if that's the way they were recorded.
I thought all the performances, now that I think about it, were good. Nice energy and feel to them.
When things kick in right after the intro, there isn't any umph. The guitars are too over driven. So they kind of have a mushy sound. They also don't have quite enough bite. They need more "chug".
The drums are mostly snare. I'm not hearing much kick. Cymbals are very swishy/hissy. I don't know if that's an mp3 conversion, or a streaming issue (I listened to the SC link), or if that's the way they were recorded.
I thought all the performances, now that I think about it, were good. Nice energy and feel to them.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Thanks for listening. I agree with the harshness of the cymbals. Several hours have been spent trying to tame these. The drums are the NY AVATAR pack from superior drummer 2. I wrote and programmed the drum track. Even with extensive eq, I couldn't get them to sit right. Though most reviews of sd2 with nyavatar said the cymbals were always swishy. Purchased metal machine pack yesterday for its reviews on the cymbals.
Thanks for the input.
Thanks for the input.
Schwarzenyaeger
Formerly "Dog-In-Door"
I would generaly advise to use soundcloud. Personally, I don't mind downloading a file but you get like 1/3 of the listens and comments in my experience if you don't have an immediate link.
The whole mix is very buried. The guitars sound rather thing but there is a very muddy resonance going on, like some really constant uncomfortable pressure in the hard pans that won't die down.
The drums sounds rather weak and the vocals sound really far away.
The whole mix needs to be brought further up and the drums need to have more impact.
The whole mix is very buried. The guitars sound rather thing but there is a very muddy resonance going on, like some really constant uncomfortable pressure in the hard pans that won't die down.
The drums sounds rather weak and the vocals sound really far away.
The whole mix needs to be brought further up and the drums need to have more impact.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Most people I shared it with had no issues, though one thought the guitars sounded a tad harsh. Every person I ask has a different opinion. I'll keep working on it, but I'm realizing that you can't satisfy everyone. I know it isn't near perfect, but I have a feeling that once I change the guitars to satisfy one person, another will wish they sounded more like something else. Sorry guys, just frustrated. I'll work on it and get something up soon. Thanks for listening.
T
TripleM
Well-known member
I've been frustrated a gazillion times. I still am. The thing that keeps me going is my insistence on having fun. If you're having fun, you can deal with frustration.
But I can tell you pretty safely that your guitar tone needs work. Sorry, but that's how I hear it. Stay with it and have fun.
But I can tell you pretty safely that your guitar tone needs work. Sorry, but that's how I hear it. Stay with it and have fun.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Not to add to the frustration, but did anyone else notice the vocals sound like they were recorded in a closet full of sweaters. Totally dead sound on a great vocal performance just hit me odd.
I, too, was expecting a bit more "bed of nails" from the guitars that came in after the intro, but it sounded okay once you got used to it. I liked the overall sound, but it is a bit muddy.
Otherwise, no complaints.
I, too, was expecting a bit more "bed of nails" from the guitars that came in after the intro, but it sounded okay once you got used to it. I liked the overall sound, but it is a bit muddy.
Otherwise, no complaints.
Bruthish
Hair Metal Roxx!
Many times I have recorded a song and thought to myself "I can't believe I actually did this, its great!" only to have someone pick out the flaws. My ears hear things differently than people whom have not spent many many hours on it. I listen to my stuff for such long periods of time that I know everything going on in it, and it becomes the "correct way for it to sound". I have posted a couple things on this forum knowing that fresh ears can only make it better, although a lot of it is all just their personal taste. I want criticism though because even though it may be for fun, I want it to sound its best.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Thanks again for the replies. Some quick info:
- PreSonus AudioBox USB
- Guitars plugged directly into AudioBox
- Vocals w/ Sterling ST51
- non-treated room
- no bass guitar. bass heard was a strat ran through a bass amp simulator VST, w bass EQ and Compression presets
- drums are Superior Drummer 2, NY Avatar
- mixing w/ headphones, no monitors at the moment.
Don't judge too much. I needed to see if I could do this at all before I invested in "better" equipment. The whole point was to save myself $$$ I;d be giving to recording studios. The average listeners are liking it, but I know that the more experienced folks are able to pick out the imperfections and offer suggestions. It's frustrating to hear, sure, but I can't deny the comments given that I'm only about 4 months into this and have inferior equipment (and some lacking necessities).
Coincidentally, a friend, just yesterday, let me borrow their bass for some time. I am guessing that some muddiness is coming from the faked bass in combination w the 4 guitars in the track. The guitars were already -10 or so db around 500hz, so I wasn't sure I should bring them down anymore. And any gain around 3-8khz becomes much too bright. They don't get the greatest sound out of that Audiobox or the few distortion options through Studio One's Ampire. The guitar bus also had extensive cuts around 500hz, as well as a tiny cut there on the master EQ.
Since yesterday, I have done one thing that gave me almost immediate results (to my ears anyway): I moved the palm muted, constant guitar tracks off of the hard pans and switched them with the "lead" guitars, on both sides, that were around 50% panned. So, the hard pans are the leads and the 50% pans are the rhythms. This seemed to "ease up" the extreme pans in each ear, especially since the cymbal I'm riding is hard to the R. I also used the bass I borrowed and that took out some excess rumble and grit that was buried under everything.
I'll have something up again by tomorrow. I hope you'll listen and offer some more feedback. Though they aren't always what I expect, the comments here help me to get the music sounding more rounded and enjoyable to those that listen.
- PreSonus AudioBox USB
- Guitars plugged directly into AudioBox
- Vocals w/ Sterling ST51
- non-treated room
- no bass guitar. bass heard was a strat ran through a bass amp simulator VST, w bass EQ and Compression presets
- drums are Superior Drummer 2, NY Avatar
- mixing w/ headphones, no monitors at the moment.
Don't judge too much. I needed to see if I could do this at all before I invested in "better" equipment. The whole point was to save myself $$$ I;d be giving to recording studios. The average listeners are liking it, but I know that the more experienced folks are able to pick out the imperfections and offer suggestions. It's frustrating to hear, sure, but I can't deny the comments given that I'm only about 4 months into this and have inferior equipment (and some lacking necessities).
Coincidentally, a friend, just yesterday, let me borrow their bass for some time. I am guessing that some muddiness is coming from the faked bass in combination w the 4 guitars in the track. The guitars were already -10 or so db around 500hz, so I wasn't sure I should bring them down anymore. And any gain around 3-8khz becomes much too bright. They don't get the greatest sound out of that Audiobox or the few distortion options through Studio One's Ampire. The guitar bus also had extensive cuts around 500hz, as well as a tiny cut there on the master EQ.
Since yesterday, I have done one thing that gave me almost immediate results (to my ears anyway): I moved the palm muted, constant guitar tracks off of the hard pans and switched them with the "lead" guitars, on both sides, that were around 50% panned. So, the hard pans are the leads and the 50% pans are the rhythms. This seemed to "ease up" the extreme pans in each ear, especially since the cymbal I'm riding is hard to the R. I also used the bass I borrowed and that took out some excess rumble and grit that was buried under everything.
I'll have something up again by tomorrow. I hope you'll listen and offer some more feedback. Though they aren't always what I expect, the comments here help me to get the music sounding more rounded and enjoyable to those that listen.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Try stacking your guitars: Use a parametric EQ and find sweet spots for each guitar: Sweep*. Say one has a nice tone if you boost 1.5K, another at 2K, still another at 1.2 and the last sweetens up at 900Hz. Now boost each guitar about 3dB at each of those points and drop the rest 3dB at all of the other spots. Will give you more depth and better separation. Cleans up a lot of mud. Bear in mind each guitar will have to have a different sweet spot.
* If you don't understand "sweep", it goes something like this. Push the Q all the way up (narrow) and the gain all the way up. Now turn the knob on the frequency and listen till something really sweet pops out of the sound. Now cut back down to ~3dB. Also works if you find tones that sound bad or muddy in the mix, except you'll want to drop the EQ to -3dB or better. You can cut much more than you boost with fair impunity.
* If you don't understand "sweep", it goes something like this. Push the Q all the way up (narrow) and the gain all the way up. Now turn the knob on the frequency and listen till something really sweet pops out of the sound. Now cut back down to ~3dB. Also works if you find tones that sound bad or muddy in the mix, except you'll want to drop the EQ to -3dB or better. You can cut much more than you boost with fair impunity.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
I'm definitely familiar with this and use this technique. All the guitars are minimally boosted at different points on their individual EQ's. To be quite honest, when I sweep, anything more than 3db on any guitar sounds "swishy" or "phaser-like" as I boost. For example, if I narrow the Q and test out how 1hz sounds at +6db, it sounds like a gush of wind. The same continues as I sweep, except that the gush of wind just gets higher/brighter as I move the freq dial up. I'm not sure if this is normal or a guitar/interface problem.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Might just have a really nice EQ. I know I can hear the whoosh sound at +6 sometimes too, but I just turn it down a bit and try again when I do. Good on ya!
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Yeah, I dial it down to keep that stuff out. But I'm needing to find that balance between taking out the mud, having enough "chug", being somewhat bright and alive, and not being piercing.
Regarding the vocals, as someone posted earlier, they were recorded in an untreated bedroom, as expected on a home recording forum. Most comments outside of this forum have been on the sound of the vocals, that they sounded great. There is quite a bit of reverb and some tiny delay on one instance of the vocal track, and some deep chorus w distortion on the second instance of the same track (same take is reproduced twice). I don't know what else beside reverb (pre of around 90ms), delay, and chorus could make it not sound like a closet full of sweaters...in fact, I think those exact effects combat that notion. Any ideas? Perhaps the room itself is the problem, which I can't change at the moment.
Regarding the vocals, as someone posted earlier, they were recorded in an untreated bedroom, as expected on a home recording forum. Most comments outside of this forum have been on the sound of the vocals, that they sounded great. There is quite a bit of reverb and some tiny delay on one instance of the vocal track, and some deep chorus w distortion on the second instance of the same track (same take is reproduced twice). I don't know what else beside reverb (pre of around 90ms), delay, and chorus could make it not sound like a closet full of sweaters...in fact, I think those exact effects combat that notion. Any ideas? Perhaps the room itself is the problem, which I can't change at the moment.
BroKen_H
Re-member
I'm not the best source on how vocals should sound, so don't be bothered that they just sounded dry to me. I was an 80's prog and hair freak, so I was used to some pretty heavily effected vocals...back in the day.
andrushkiwt
Well-known member
Fair enough. I do appreciate all the suggestions and comments.