First attempt at recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter GrungeXGuitaris
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Gtrs tone is good. Vocal needs some de-essing in parts. Drums need more clarity overall - they sound kind of lowfi. Bass needs more balls, less zing on its high notes. Band's inconsistent in the performance. Some phrases of the song are very good, others very sloppy. The intensity's good.
 
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I separated the tracks in my head, and they sound pretty impressive, individually. Try remixing with more bass and make sure you fix that timing. Singer has good vox. Between 1-10, I'd give it a 7. ;)
 
wow. this thread is like an emotional roller coaster. but it has a happy ending. I love happy endings.
 
I'm gonna try a different approach here, but be forewarned: I'm just going to say what Chris already said.

I don't consider mixing as an end in itself, only a means to an end. My general approach to mixing is listen to what's there, decide what's really sucking most, and try to find a way to make that suck less. What's the old sculpting quote about removing all the bits that aren't part of what you're making? Remove all the suck and you're there. Sometimes the solution is compression, EQ, level setting, panning. Very often it's retracking.

The drums are weak in this mix. You could probably do a lot to punch them up, depending on how you recorded them. But even getting the existing tracks sounding killer will not help the song. They simply cannot make the impact they need to make in this song with plug-ins. Even though it's not the criticism you want to hear, it is the best criticism I believe I can give you. Whether or not its positive is all in what you decide to do with it.
 
Man I aint trying to pile on here or be a douche, but I have to agree with what chrisharris said. The first step in a good mix is a good performance. This is a bad performance. Bad performance = bad mix. :(


But, I think if you want to try to make this better, start with the vocals. They're way too shrill and loud. Cut them back into the mix. They're literally killing my ears. Way too much high end. The instruments are hard to judge. I can't tell if its bad tracking, bad EQ'ing, or just bad level mixing. The guitars sound pretty good, so don't mess with them. I'm not hearing hardly any bass on my setup. Turn it up or EQ it to pop out the mix more. The drums are back in the mix. Bring them up and see how they sit. From there you can see if its an EQ problem or volume problem. They may not be fix-able. Just my 2 cents. If you wanna flip out over it, be my guest. I'm no pro, so take it however you want.
 
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Hey - I'm glad to see you reopened the thread. That took guts and I respect you for doing it.

Like Chris said, the learning curve is huge; sometimes it feels more like a ladder. But it's well worth the trouble in my view, particularly when you get real input from people instead of just more ego stroking. One's useful and the other just feels good for a little while and then is gone. So brush off your singed hair, come on in and welcome to the Monkey House!
 
if you cant take critisism then fucking give up - shit song, awful playing!

The reason chrisharris (or whatever..) said your wasintg your time is that your never going to get a good recording if what your recording is absolutly shittttt.

The only bit of advice im going to give you is to boost the treble of the bass drum and reduce the mids only slightly but take off some bass aswell because the double bass sounds muffled as fuck.
 
breeeeza said:
if you cant take critisism then fucking give up - shit song, awful playing!

The reason chrisharris (or whatever..) said your wasintg your time is that your never going to get a good recording if what your recording is absolutly shittttt.



Exactly, Chris was basically telling you that you aren't helping yourself by recording a band that sucks a monkeys dong. You're going to pull your hair out trying to figure out why you can't make this band sound great. On the flip side, and if you're lucky, you'll one day get to record a band so talented that you'll just sit there and ask yourself, "is there really anything I can do to make this better?" because it'll already sound so fucking good. Trust Chris, trust me, and trust everyone else who's told you the same thing, I personally cringe when I record a shitty band and usually try to weed them out from now on. BTW, and in case nobodies told you(this is what I've heard on this site) Chris is probably better educated than most of us, and certainly very wise, not to mention the Ballad of TelePaul is one of the greatest songs ever posted in this bbs. If you want everyone to tell you "good job little buddy" then go over to tweakheadz.com and pray bluebear doesn't listen to your track.
 
jonnyc said:
...and pray bluebear doesn't listen to your track.
Ouch! :D Hey - bluebear calls 'em as he sees 'em and some really don't like hearing it. But he knows his stuff and will help out in a heartbeat for the asking. :cool:
 
thanks for the help...i apologize for saying stupid shit i was just frustrated...im going to record the band again today and spend a lot more time making sure the timing is better...again thanks for all the feedback...i basically learned performance is everything
 
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GrungeXGuitaris said:
thanks for the help...i apologize for saying stupid shit i was just frustrated...im going to record the band again today and spend a lot more time making sure the timing is better...again thanks for all the feedback...i basically learned performance is everything
That's the spirit! :cool:

If it's of any consolation, 80% or more of the music I've ever recorded is pure garbage, and I've been at it longer than I can or care to remember. There's a lot of hit and miss when it comes to recording at home, and I think that the learning process never ends.

The point is, have fun doing it, and don't be afraid to post your efforts.
 
GrungeXGuitaris said:
thanks for the help...i apologize for saying stupid shit i was just frustrated...im going to record the band again today and spend a lot more time making sure the timing is better...again thanks for all the feedback...i basically learned performance is everything

Bravo. You're in the right place, man. Post more.
 
Yeah, music is such an emotional subject that it's easy to get carried away. And that's not a bad thing, all told. Better to be sincere and edgy than the opposite.
 
There is an outside chance that I will someday record something that doesn't totally kick ass(difficult to believe, I know) and I'll be glad to have these ass hats around to be totally useless to me! :)
 
Hey grungexguitaris, I'd recommend spending some time reading through the jillions of posts on this board. Theres a ton of very useful info here and it has helped me immensely. It helps everyone. Theres some very knowledgeable people here that are very generous with the goods. Check it out.
 
has anyone seen my tweezers????????










I could of sworn I left them here in the clinic.............



















I need my tweezers..................ya know? :D
 
it could be said that recording a good track is based 95 percent on the musicians, if you have bad musicians its not your fault but it would be hard to ever make it sound good not only because of timing problems but changing dynamics etc
 
Treeline said:
Ouch! :D Hey - bluebear calls 'em as he sees 'em and some really don't like hearing it. But he knows his stuff and will help out in a heartbeat for the asking. :cool:


That, and he's a pompous douchebag.
 
I don't know about pompous, but I take pride in being a douchebag.
 
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