First Song... Critique me..

  • Thread starter Thread starter ConnorRegan
  • Start date Start date
The various tracks are not sitting together in the mix like they belong as a collective. The vocal sounds like its way out of the mix, there is 50-60 Hz buzz under the track, on the plus side the lead guitar licks are ok but a little on the thin side tonally. Maybe listen to a well produced track or two and aim for that kind of coherence. I couldn't quite stretch to purchasing a download what with it being the festive time of year, but the thought was there.

good luck

Tim
 
Any tips on how to make the vocals fit in the mix better?? definitely a point of frustration for me :S
 
Any tips on how to make the vocals fit in the mix better?? definitely a point of frustration for me :S
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Experiment with EQ and small reverb adjustments for the vocal and once you have it tonally closer, maybe look at the compression parameters. A fair amount of the track needs sorting tonally. Start with a couple of tracks and thicken them out with EQ until they sound good together then add one additional one at a time and work with it until sounds like it belongs. It requires an ear for tone, in so much as you need have an idea of what something that's done well sounds like, that's variable because each artist has their own idea of what they are after. Know that, then tailor your own material to fit somewhere near your desired sound. It takes time and patience, and a little objectivity. Read some of the information that's posted all over this forum as a whole, there most certainly is enough info to point you in something resembling the right direction.

Tim
 
The bass could be phatter. :D

I say so because the song sounds.....sparse? I don't know how to describe it but I think it would just sound more full with phatter bass.

Phat = Bass heavy/full.
 
Yeah, the funk ain't funky without da bass. Focus more on the 'push' in the low end, then worry about the vocal fitting in.

No kick that I can hear. Bass guitar has nothing below 200 Hz.

What are you monitoring your mix with?
 
Hi ConnorRegan,

Nice 1st effort. Good to hear you are concentrating on the vocal, which are always hard to get right, especially when mixing your own. It's hard to be objective. The vocals do sound a bit detached and distorted (or tinny) for what you are going for. They need to come straight down the middle, and the guitars (not the bass) panned a bit wider. When listening to this all the instruments seem to be coming down the middle and sound a bit mono except for the drums.

First I would try to get the bass a little hotter and the vocal more direct, thinking in terms like "snap" and "punch" (for the performances as well). The most common way to add more cohesion to a mix is to add an ambient (fairly short) Reverb FX Channel and send a little bit of everything to it (perhaps more of the guitar and less of the bass). That might help sweeten the vocal too. The idea is you don't notice it until you turn it off. Another way of adding glue is compression on the master bus. That will interplay with the ambience. Once you get on top of that you can work on the space and stereo image and panning.
 
good effort - i agree with crowsoffritz with bass needing to be 'phatter'. Dada life sausage is decent lil one for that ;)
 
iamsmash said:
good effort - i agree with crowsoffritz with bass needing to be 'phatter'. Dada life sausage is decent lil one for that ;)
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I'm not quite sure what ConnorRegan is going for. I hear a bit of retro and at first assume "Grandmaster Flash" is the target for the vocal. But didn't they use synth bass?

Grandmaster Flash The Message HQ - YouTube

For natural funky bass James Brown is the place to start. (this isn't a good song to post for mixing purposes, but the performance and attitude is just plain funky)

James Brown - Sex Machine (1976) - YouTube

The thing is ConnorRegan, that people here will tell you the kind of bass they find hot... you need to find the kind of bass you find hot.
 
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