First ever mix - please be gentle with me

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akpcep

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Hi everyone,

Like I say this is my first ever mixdown - I've been recording for about 3 or 4 months so pretty much everything is learning, reading, researching and trying.

Please give me some feedback on how it could be improved - I would be very grateful!



A few notes to bear in mind:

Everything is a "first take" - I was concentrating on tracking good quality sounds in a bid to EQ as little as possible, so the actual performances were not the issue - so apologies for the sloppy playing and singing!
Drums are played on a Roland SPD20 and not programmed.

Guitars and bass recorded using a Pod Pro.




I think the vocals are overcompressed definitely, anone have any other helpful hints?

Many thanks in advance

Alexander
 
There is a bit of overcompression here and there...

The hat could be a little less "in your face"

The guitars sound pretty cool...

Everything is reasonably clean & clear at the "core" so the right elements are there...

The guitars seem a little dense in parts... Including the lead...

Certainly not bad. Good show. Keep it up!

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
Thanks for your comments John! I'm pleased that you think the "core" of the mix is sound, as this is what I'm trying to put my finger on before attempting anything too experimental.

I'll take your advice on board and work some more on it.
 
Tried to check it out but wouldn't download for me, just thought I'd let you know that...
 
Good song. Really good. I agree that the guitars are fine. The verb on the vocal verses sounded a little Billy Idol-y. Unless that's what you're going for you may want to change the kind of verb or the length of it or use less or whatever. It didn't really sound bad though. The kick drum sounded a little "poofy" or something. That's just a couple of things I noticed but, don't get me wrong, the song is good, and the vocals are pretty nice too. I like this track. I'm ok with the little interlude around 1:40.
 
lynx - thanks for trying - think my server fell over some time during the night GMT, should be fine again now.

Ray J - many thanks for taking the time to give me your comments. I think I have a tendency to over-reverb my vocals because I'm quite paranoid about them. I've noticed it's easier to listen to how much reverb there is on a track over headphones, so I'll go back and do that. I'm not too happy with the kick drum sound either, I'll see if I can make it a bit snappier, and try and bring the snare out and the hats back.
 
great song, man! The over-all production is pretty good - especially the vocals, they stand out. The only thing that really bugs me is the damn hat ;) It's almost on top of the mix.
 
I agree - sounds good, but definitely lighten up on the hihat. I personally prefer bigger snare with just a hint of the hat. Maybe turn up the gtr lead a bit, too. Not really my style of music though, so maybe the lead level is perfect for you.

nice job, keep it up!
 
Thanks again guys - I've got a little checklist of stuff to do with it. Thing is, after all your positive comments I'm a bit scared it was a fluke! Nonetheless, I've learned a hell of a lot just tracking and mixing this one song, so hopefully it will start to get easier from here!

I'll maybe post the next one and see if you can all be as helpful again!
 
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