First time posting in here, very limited equipment

mikeyhasnobones

mikeyhasnobones

"stop dropping my mics."
hi there!
so this is my first time posting in the mp3 mixing clinic. keep in mind i'm very sensitive and tend to cry easily :D

http://www.myspace.com/swahiliiiiis

this was recorded with very little equipment. a roland vs-880 ex and 3 cheap dynamic microphones. the instruments were recorded live and those aren't overdubs on the guitar, it's looping with a delay pedal :) my idea was to capture how we sound at a show which is our reasoning for that. there is one mic over my shoulder facing the kick drum, one mic on the snare and one on the guitar. any and all feedback is appreciated as i have already learned soooo much from you guys!
your friend
mikey
 
You mean the first song on there, right? Scatter?

First of all, MySpace's quality sucks, next time try uploading a good quality MP3 (192KBPS+) to http://www.lightningmp3.com. However, clicking the Download link lets me here a better quality copy.

With that said, the drums sound fine to me. I had to turn my volume down when the guitar first came in, kind of overbearing. I think it sounds like crap at first. Then it starts to sound cool, a little bit like "Are you experienced" by Hendrix. Or, at least it has that effect.

There's still a really high frequency overtone or something in there that makes my brain hurt.

If you were going for a live sound you did good on that. It sounds like you're playing live. A lot of places in the vocals do not sound good at all. 90% of the vocal parts sound like crap.

There is a lot of clipping. Especially on the vocals. It's pretty obvious when my speakers start distorting and you can hear real bad "fuzzy" bursts of crap coming out of them.

I hope this doesn't make you cry. :) It doesn't sound terrible. A lot of people will hate the guitar part probably. I actually like it. I would redo the vocals if possible.

I would give it a 4/10 with the vocals. Probably a 6/10 without them. Considering the cheap equipment you used, I'd score higher than that.
 
Get out your tissues!

I'm going to be brutally honest: your stuff sucks! I got through 1:40 of Scatter before turning it off; 1:22 of `Round Here, and :36 of Furniture. The underlying hum and other noises are overriding. The mistakes in playing are glaring! The sound quality is worse than horrible!

I've got some old 1/4 inch mono reel to reel tapes of garage bands from the 60s made with one cheap dynamic microphone that aren't as bad as this.

Did I say I was being brutally honest? Yes, I am. Sure, you may not have the best stuff, but who really does? Obviously, you were able to digitally record this crap. If so, you must have some control over the eventual product. If this is what you sound like live, I'm surprised you have any bookings.

I hate to be the one to unload on you like this, but when you are offering something for a critique of your mixing skills, which is where you posted this, at least clean it up: play the correct notes, remove the background noise, etc.
 
mikeyhasnobones said:
hi there!
so this is my first time posting in the mp3 mixing clinic. keep in mind i'm very sensitive and tend to cry easily :D

http://www.myspace.com/swahiliiiiis

this was recorded with very little equipment. a roland vs-880 ex and 3 cheap dynamic microphones. the instruments were recorded live and those aren't overdubs on the guitar, it's looping with a delay pedal :) my idea was to capture how we sound at a show which is our reasoning for that. there is one mic over my shoulder facing the kick drum, one mic on the snare and one on the guitar. any and all feedback is appreciated as i have already learned soooo much from you guys!
your friend
mikey
Click to expand...



There's your problem :-|
 
I actually thought the guitar part in Scatter sounded pretty cool despite the shitty ass sound. And the drums didn't sound bad either. Everything else sounded bad though. I really didn't want to hear any of the other songs.
 
did i knife rape some nuns?

wow...

honestly, i have read through this forum many times and know that some of the critiques can be especially brutal, so don't think that i am completely shocked by all of your responses. HOWEVER, "I'm going to be brutally honest: your stuff sucks!" is totally mean spirited. archiegood, i see absolutely nothing constructive about your reply. i repeat, NOTHING. is this board not about "D.I.Y."? if this is just a forum for gear snobs who need an outlet to show how much more they know than a kid who just wants some information, then maybe i'm in the wrong place. i am just surprised because usually i find this space to be VERY informative and helpful. anyhow, sorry i don't have 30 years and a million dollars behind my recordings and that i wasted your time. i guess i will just continue to try to offer CONSTRUCTIVE information to people on this forum that i might be able to help and not try to get it because it's obviously too difficult for others to give it.
 
mikeyhasnobones said:
wow...

honestly, i have read through this forum many times and know that some of the critiques can be especially brutal, so don't think that i am completely shocked by all of your responses. HOWEVER, "I'm going to be brutally honest: your stuff sucks!" is totally mean spirited. archiegood, i see absolutely nothing constructive about your reply. i repeat, NOTHING. is this board not about "D.I.Y."? if this is just a forum for gear snobs who need an outlet to show how much more they know than a kid who just wants some information, then maybe i'm in the wrong place. i am just surprised because usually i find this space to be VERY informative and helpful. anyhow, sorry i don't have 30 years and a million dollars behind my recordings and that i wasted your time. i guess i will just continue to try to offer CONSTRUCTIVE information to people on this forum that i might be able to help and not try to get it because it's obviously too difficult for others to give it.
Click to expand...

Ok, next time we'll just say something like "Not bad, keep up the good work" even if it honestly sounds bad. I don't know about you, but I'd rather someone tell me my stuff sucks if it does than not, otherwise, how are you going to improve?

2nd, you're not a "kid" you're 22...a grown man. Start acting like one. Grow some balls. :D

I agree that his post didn't really contain any kind of useful information, but honestly, there's not much we can say...

What kind of microphones are you using? For guitar amps, get an SM57 or SM58. The SM58 might be good enough for vocals if you're on a tight budget. Put the mic right up on the amp and start there & experiment with mic placement.

Tell the singer to practice.

You may want to try doing 1 or 2 tracks at a time so you can get a better sound. It sounds live, but it also sounds bad.

On Scatter, the guitar sounds kind of cool to me but the sound is pretty crappy. You will probably want a better amp. If you can't get one, tweak it until it sounds better. Turn down the distortion (a lot).
 
mikeyhasnobones said:
wow...

honestly, i have read through this forum many times and know that some of the critiques can be especially brutal, so don't think that i am completely shocked by all of your responses. HOWEVER, "I'm going to be brutally honest: your stuff sucks!" is totally mean spirited. archiegood, i see absolutely nothing constructive about your reply. i repeat, NOTHING. is this board not about "D.I.Y."? if this is just a forum for gear snobs who need an outlet to show how much more they know than a kid who just wants some information, then maybe i'm in the wrong place. i am just surprised because usually i find this space to be VERY informative and helpful. anyhow, sorry i don't have 30 years and a million dollars behind my recordings and that i wasted your time. i guess i will just continue to try to offer CONSTRUCTIVE information to people on this forum that i might be able to help and not try to get it because it's obviously too difficult for others to give it.
Click to expand...
Easy now.....you did ask for critiques...that said, I listened and its just not my cup of tea. my advice is, given the limited resources that you have, you might make the most of it by polishing what you do. I heard several mistakes(not talking tone, style or anything else) just big mistakes. A little woodshed time would do you and your band a world of good....pratice up and record again, even a bad recording can't cover up talent. Now, get back out there and hone your craft and when you think you're ready, post again......not all of us here are pricks:D
 
jpw23 said:
Easy now.....you did ask for critiques...that said, I listened and its just not my cup of tea. my advice is, given the limited resources that you have, you might make the most of it by polishing what you do. I heard several mistakes(not talking tone, style or anything else) just big mistakes. A little woodshed time would do you and your band a world of good....pratice up and record again, even a bad recording can't cover up talent. Now, get back out there and hone your craft and when you think you're ready, post again......not all of us here are pricks:D
Click to expand...


:D

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It is what it is, theres a lot to say about it, but you are new at it, so nobody has high expectations. It does sound like a live recording which is cool i guess since thats what u said u were going for.

In regards to the other people saying it sucks, yea maybe it does, but just because some random person on the internet said it does shouldn't offend you, or hurt your feelings. If you want people to say good things about your music, then practice more with the band and with recording.
 
I agree with a few people on here about trying to not do everything live if your equipment will allow it. For example, on "Round Here", when you hit that low note then the chord... you should let that chord ring out, then use the second track to do the higher arpeggiated stuff. Also, turn your distortion down, it took mne awhile to do it... unless you want feedback for a special effect or something, turn it down. The song will then have more clarity and will come out sounding much much better. Hope this helps.
 
If you want your ego stroked, play it for your mom...

If you want an honest opinion, post it here...
 
That bad hum in the beginning can be edited out. Start the song after the drums kick in. To avoid it, get a power conditioner and plug all your instruments and recording gear into it. Get rid of any flourescent lighting too.

The recording quality can be fixed with some time and a bit of practice mixing. If I were you, I'd retrack it.

This does need a lot of work.
 
From a production standpoint, you take far too long to come in with the vocals. The guitars are also way overbearing; try in places to be quiet, giving the listener space to breathe. The best bit is that which comes in at 4:14, it has proper melody and the guitar parts and indeed the drums are constructed to much, much *much* better effect...The vocals seem to loose it after a while though

All the best in you endeavours
Ben.
 
Yes the critiques are brutal, but they will help. When I started recording three years ago, I post some material, and I was ripped apart. Though the critique was bad, It forced me to get better. YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE CRITIQUES, IF NOT PLAY YOUR MUSIC TO YOUR MOM, WHO WILL PRAISE YOUR EFFORTS!!
 
I wish people were as brutally honest with me when I first started posting. When I go back and listen to some of my earlier postings, I can't believe how bad they were, but I still usually got a "Hey pretty good", or something. If someone was honest enough to say it sucks, I might have improved faster. Consider yourself lucky.
 
Well if something sucks, I'll say so . . .

but I kinda like this track. Yeah, you'll do better sonic-wise if you track stuff individually. Get rid of the chatter in the beginning, it's just boring.

Otherwise, cool track, keep it up. The mix is too bright and harsh, but I'd want to hear something better than myspace before I start making EQ recommendations. But if I had these raw tracks, it could be a very, very solid mix.
 
all things considered, i don't think this is half-bad. in fact, the drums sound much bigger than i'd expect.

of course, the sonic youth style lends itself well to a lo-fi, live sound. and since this is technically a mix critique forum, i have to say the mix of what you're working with is actually pretty good. the recording techniques need some work, but that's because of what we traditionally are trying to do around here, and it's not like you didn't admit all of this up front.

so if you were going for that aforementioned lo-fi live early sonic youth sound, you've pinned it fairly well. of course, most of us are trying to get a cleaner, more professional sound, and if you've heard any of sonic youth's post-"sister" albums, you'll know that even they abandoned the garage 20 years ago...
 
I like it, very 80s garage punk sound to it.

This could potentially have a huge sound to it. While the live sound is good, it's not always best to achieve it by actually playing live. With your current equipment, playing it all live just isn't an option. If you could get some stereo interaction going on here, it could sound really nice. For example, use 2 of your mics as overheads for the drums, then the third for the kick drum. If you move the mics around enough you can get a pretty good, wide drum sound from that.

The guitar is going to be a beast to get to sound wide, but it's doable. You might want to think about what parts you can separate and double up. I know that's not how it's going to sound live, but it would make for a more exciting listen.

Dynamics. The levels are out of proportion with each other. Some compression on the vocals would go a long way.

A good start, but that's all it is, a start. This is punk rock, it's supposed to piss people off. With that in mind, it's also possible to make a good sounding recording without losing the "live" energy.
 
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