First time recording someone elses band - mix help

[gbav]

Hey guys, its my first time recording somebody elses stuff other than my own and this is the first rough mix ive done on the song and would really appreciate some help while in the process of doing this. Its more of an alternative group, we recorded everything in there basement so you can already guess im sure some of the issues im having.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks alot guys.

Songs called Sunday
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=3452&alid=-1

ill be round trying to review some recent songs on here (not too qualified but i can say if i think a song rocks lol)

Take care
Gary

 

[brummygit]

nice chune, sounds really good. maybe (possibly) IMHO the heavy guitar sounds a little thin?

all in all tho, i like that.

 

[ender4trackmind]

"ill be round trying to review some recent songs on here (not too qualified but i can say if i think a song rocks lol)"

Do you really need any other observational skills?

I say this as IM checking out your track...this is really nice...you got a lot of stuff here. Like the vocals. Guitars are fine, hehehe and I really enjoyed the sharp on and off of stomp boxes...tight. The feedback...ahhh how I love good controlled feedback "

Sure you could get some blah blah try this or that, just I honestly think you know what your doing and what your going for. Anything past this is just sharper sword.


Basement...well if you know the issues, you can just focus on taking advantage of the location. For what your recording "live band in the room" you got a great space ( put a mic in the rafter, and a few off under the house <arms reach from the walls or so > ). You could get some HAUNTING recordings down there. Sun Studio was/is just a one room studio "

Other then that...if your only running the bass direct, I would say mix it with a mic bass next time. < as I wait for someone to speak of silly phase issues " >

 

[gbav]

brummygit - thanks for the comments, i thought the same thing about the guitars too but with the track played live bouncing off the stomp boxes i tryed to get it as even as possible without making either one sound too bad, could use some eq automation .. hmm

ender4trackmind - yeah i hear ya with the review thing. Good idea with the mics in the rafters and all that, unfortunately i dragged my gear to there place hopefully they'll want me to do another ill have to give that one a try. Yeah i like the idea of mixing the mic'd bass amp/direct, probably would have a nicer feel. Thanks a ton for the comments. Loved your website btw, specially dug the art and those movies, real cool stuff.

later
gary

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Guitars mushy and thin... probably too much preamp gain/distortion. They sound unprofessional. They sound like crappy direct guitar... What the song needs is a ripping, raw rock tone in the vein of the Sex Pistols. Something real.

Bass guitar is a little tubby and non-distinct, but a decent enough tone.

Kick drum doesn't move much air. Needs more definition and punch.

Snare is a little weak and indistinct.

Ride cymbal jumps in volume... drummer needs to learn some control... for now it looks like you'll have to compress it. Give it some high end too, it sounds a bit too lofi the way it is.

Vocals need WAY more definition in this song... more charisma and to punch out of the mix. The way it is now it is about a step behind the ride cymbal for mix importance. OOPS!

I kind of dug the song though.

 

[Doink]

Biggest problem is the distorted guitar. Sounds like it was done on a "Grunge" pedal into a little Peavey. I think a Soldano or JCM 900 would do the trick.
I also agree that the low end isn't fat enough.
I personally like how the vocals turned out. Laid back like. I like the clean guitar too.

Kind of reminds me of the Foo Fighters or Sparklehorse.

 

[axeman69]

Good song. Nice performances.

Drums: A bit more click in the kick (Hey, I made a rhyme) may separate it from the bass a bit and give the bottom more definition. The bass is really round sounding. Cymbals are a bit odd. I'd try some compression on the overheads to try to even them out a bit. I think the cymbals are clashing with the air in the vox.

Guitars: Clean guitars are cool. I agree with previous that the dirt guitars are a bit thin. If you can't retrack, I'd try to spank them hard with some hard knee compression. maybe 8-10:1.

I like the laid back vocals. They really fit the vibe of the song. I'm not sure if they need to come up, or just have some space carved out for them. If you fix the other problems, that may be enough.

Nice job.