First Mix

  • Thread starter Thread starter mikemoritz
  • Start date Start date
M

mikemoritz

New member
Hey all,

I just did my first real mix using a Korg D16...any suggestions would be appreciated. The only real beef I have with it is the bass/kick drum blend. They aren't articulate enough. So, lemme know what you all think. It's called "cinco de funk"


Thanks a lot,
Mike
 
Additional information is: The drums are miked with 4 AKG d770s, a audiotechnica vocal on the hihats, and a C1000 for an overhead. Guitar and bass done with d770s, and the vocals and sax are c1000s
 
Hey, this tune is radio friendly...I really liked it....I dunno 'bout the drum sound, parts sounded like they need to come up...nice vocals too........good writing.....gibs
 
Here's what I can offer

Keep in mind that as the quality of songwriting and recording goes up, the criticisms get nitpickier.
Overall I liked it. The soprano sax (clarinet?) was a cool, unusual element that held my attention through the whole song. I liked that it came in on the 2nd verse to develop the song a little.
I kept hearing more harmony vox on the chorus, but they never materialized. Only the word "wrong" got them. I would liked to have heard them along the entire chorus, or at least the entire sentence "Where did I go wrong." I guess growing up the in the '80's has conditioned me to big choruses.
Another conditioned '80's reflex: it was a little too dry for me.
I thought the drums were just fine. REAL DRUMS!! YAHOOO! The only other thing is that the entire song had a really nice, loose, almost acoustic vibe to it except for the glaring synth swell into the last chorus. I din't like that.

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a cut above a lot of what I have heard, and I liked it overall. And all of my gripes are purely a difference in taste and arrangement.
Well done!
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Cool tune...liked the jazz flavored funk feel with a real good chorus hook....you mentioned five mics on the drums..did they go to five seperate tracks or mixed down to two or one or what?
 
It was actually six mics including the AT on the hats...I ran all 6 through a Peavey Unity 2002 16 channel mixer, and then ran that stereo into the D16. So the drums were done on two tracks. The guitar was miked right into the D16, as with the bass. The sax, vocals, and synth (done with an Alesis QS8.1) were overdubbed.
 
You mentioned in your first post that you weren't happy with the sound of the drums. I'm not totally familiar with a D16 but have worked with a D8 in the past. Can you apply parametric EQ to the drum tracks? If so (and depending on the drum mix you fed into the D16) you may be able to tighten the bass/kick drum mix. Consider using EQ to bring out the kick (and maybe the toms and/or floor tom)on one of the stereo drum tracks and bring out some of the higher end stuff (snare hits, hi-hat, etc.) on the other. Experiment with the pans of the drum tracks and EQ each one differently.You may find you'll get better sounding seperation on the drum tracks as a result. Then use EQ to accentuate (either cut or boost)the bass track to "tighten" it with the kick drum. Adjust gain accordingly also. Hope this helps you find the sound your looking for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top