Fool Up

Monkey Allen

Monkey Allen

Fork and spoon operator
Any mix advice for this song?

First song called "Fool Up" at this link:



Thanks for listening
 
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Open up the drums more - define the bass better and add more low end - mix the guitars more with the music - Vocals are pretty interesting.
 
Righto thanks...open up the drums...you mean make them louder, brighter? What do you mean? The guitars are too loud you reckon? Also, I really have no idea how to define the bass. It's a DI...so it's just like a congealed wall of bass. Cutting or boosting frequencies...well I can't even really hear the effect of doing so unless it's exaggerated a lot. And I don't know what frequency to mess with in order to get a balanced response across lots of different play back situations. Any tips?

I guess I want to ask...in summary...how would you go about doing the things you mentioned? Briefly.

Thanks
 
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Monkey Allen said:
Righto thanks...open up the drums...you mean make them louder, brighter? What do you mean? The guitars are too loud you reckon? Also, I really have no idea how to define the bass. It's a DI...so it's just like a congealed wall of bass. Cutting or boosting frequencies...well I can't even really hear the effect of doing so unless it's exaggerated a lot. And I don't know what frequency to mess with in order to get a balanced response across lots of different play back situations. Any tips?

I guess I want to ask...in summary...how would you go about doing the things you mentioned? Briefly.

Thanks
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Just mix them up and down - the mix is quite dense - I would get more air in there and separation. It is an interesting sound.
 
I think your snare needs more top, it's cutting through but doesn't have a complete tone, a lack of crispness. Maybe compressor attack is too fast? Vocals are great. It's a good jam, nice job
 
Sounds good to me except one thing. The vocal needs to come up. It needs to be more up front in the mix
 
Monkey Allen said:
Any mix advice for this song?

First song called "Fool Up" at this link:



Thanks for listening
Click to expand...

Great song, I agree with Papanate, the drums are too dry, I would like them brighter for my taste, the hi hats straight up soud like metronome clicks at some points in the song because they are too tight. But I really liked it, strong Mac deMarco vibes, maybe a good reference for drums if you like him.
 
Thanks man. What can I say about the drums...the bane of my recording adventures. Stupid ezDrummer/ Addictive drums trash. User error. Not blaming the software.
 
Monkey Allen said:
Righto thanks...open up the drums...you mean make them louder, brighter? What do you mean? The guitars are too loud you reckon? Also, I really have no idea how to define the bass. It's a DI...so it's just like a congealed wall of bass. Cutting or boosting frequencies...well I can't even really hear the effect of doing so unless it's exaggerated a lot. And I don't know what frequency to mess with in order to get a balanced response across lots of different play back situations. Any tips?

I guess I want to ask...in summary...how would you go about doing the things you mentioned? Briefly.
Click to expand...
Get the drums louder, put some space (reverb) around them. I would EQ the bass - pick some primary Frequencies and empathize them. Start the Mix with the Drums - get them sounding good - then bring in the bass - and decide which will dominate the kick or the bass- most of the drums carve out above 10k - then the lower register get the Kick and Bass away from each other 50 hz and below take completely out - concentrate on around 80 hz for the kick and 100hz - 300 hz for the bass and remove frequencies that help the kick and bass stand out from each other.

You have to be able to hear - that's crucial.
 
Papanate said:
Get the drums louder, put some space (reverb) around them. I would EQ the bass - pick some primary Frequencies and empathize them. Start the Mix with the Drums - get them sounding good - then bring in the bass - and decide which will dominate the kick or the bass- most of the drums carve out above 10k - then the lower register get the Kick and Bass away from each other 50 hz and below take completely out - concentrate on around 80 hz for the kick and 100hz - 300 hz for the bass and remove frequencies that help the kick and bass stand out from each other.

You have to be able to hear - that's crucial.
Click to expand...

Not saying you're wrong...but what are you listening on? To me it's basically clear enough through a mono phone, laptop, 8 inch speakers and 5 inch speakers. The drums sound basically distinct from the bass across each of those mediums. I mean, I'm sure I'm having issues in my studio monitors and Sennheiser HD600's tend to just make everything sound good...so I'm lacking some critical monitoring (my Yamaha HS8's generally make everything sound great too)...so it's hard to tell.

But when I listen on a laptop or on my 2016 android phone, it sounds ok to me. Not brilliant, no...hell no. But it's ok.

So what did you listen on, if you don't mind just helping me out. Thanks man.
 
Papanate said:
Barefoot Sound MicroMain27.
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Fair enough man. I have heard those have a very forward, smeary, ill-defined mid range. But, you know, I haven't heard them. I guess if the midrange is like that then a song like mine, which in all likeliness doesn't have the greatest mix, could very well sound messed up in that mid range especially on those speakers...just where you're talking about...that low mid area where kick and bass seem stuffed up. But I sure don't want to get into a thing about your choice of speakers etc.

Thing is, the song doesn't sound too bad, as I said, on laptops, phones and sounds quite reasonable on my 8's, 5's and most my headphones. I'm only asking and chasing the issue because I want to try to learn how to use what I've got to hear my mixes well and mix them so they work across as many listening situations as possible.

I'll sure keep in mind your advice about the kick and bass. I tell ya...mixing aint easy.

Thanks
 
Monkey Allen said:
Fair enough man. I have heard those have a very forward, smeary, ill-defined mid range. But, you know, I haven't heard them. I guess if the midrange is like that then a song like mine, which in all likeliness doesn't have the greatest mix, could very well sound messed up in that mid range especially on those speakers...just where you're talking about...that low mid area where kick and bass seem stuffed up. But I sure don't want to get into a thing about your choice of speakers etc.
Click to expand...
have heard those have a very forward, smeary, ill-defined mid range? You are not thinking about Barefoot Monitors. They are exceptionally clear and detailed - and reveal everything about a mix.
 
Cool tune and nice vocals. I would like to hear them a bit louder as others have pointed out.

The snare sounds a bit choked by the compressor. There seems to be a lot going on in the lower mids - sounds a bit crowded and cluttered, IMO.

Cool vibe!
 
famous beagle said:
Cool tune and nice vocals. I would like to hear them a bit louder as others have pointed out.

The snare sounds a bit choked by the compressor. There seems to be a lot going on in the lower mids - sounds a bit crowded and cluttered, IMO.

Cool vibe!
Click to expand...

Thanks. So it seems a lot of people are picking up on the low mid stuff, so I'll have to try to sort that.

Thanks to Papanate for his suggestions regarding freq ranges to focus on. Thanks man.

EDIT: I remixed those areas mentioned and uploaded a new version. I didn't leave the old for comparison. But you guys are right. Those low mid areas and the drums in general...the vocal volume. All the things you mention needed tweaking. The new version I think is better...how much better is anyone's guess. But it's better I think. There's a tick more space in the low mids and things just generally sound a tad more alive and in a better space.

EDIT 2: .....although I will say...listening on my laptop it sounds like Soundcloud has done something quite weird to the levels. There's sections especially in the first 10 to 30 odd seconds where some kind of Soundcloud compressor seems to come on and just clamp the hell out of it. But that's not the case if I listen on my phone. And certainly not the case with the original WAV file.

EDIT 3: Fixed, to the best of my current ability, the low mid stuff. A lot clearer now. Have another thread in the Newb section about the weird HP Laptop audio issues. LOL what an ordeal all that was!

So thanks again. I really appreciate the help here, as a fella trying to improve mixing.
 
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