how could i have mixed this right?

[ace516]

ok, so i recorded this song with two friends. everyone liked it, except the violin player. she said i mixed it wrong. i said it was my first time recording a violin.

can anyone help me point out how this mix could of gone better?

Post Scriptum Sorry, Thanks_mixdown

 

[LemonTree]

Sounds like you managed to capture a lot of the room sound with the violin. Maybe mic it closer, Cut some bottom end off the acoustic to give it some breathing space, I'd probably slap some compression on the acoustic guitar too.
Can't be too picky, I like the sounds.

 

[ace516]

yeah i noticed that too.. the violin is not really given its space. but i figured the vocals were not gonna have their space either

 

[mshilarious]

Three things:

The stereo guitar is way too exaggerated. Dunno if that was a stereo effect or what, but it sounds (and often is) out of phase. Have a listen to the mix in mono and you'll see what I mean. As for the violin, well it's behind the guitar in the mix most of the time. She probably doesn't like that, since violin acoustically is much louder than a guitar.

Second, you've given her a fiddle tone, it's possible she wanted a more natural violin tone. I would absolutely not get closer to a violin, that rarely solves any problems. What mic and position did you use? She might be reacting to the space the violin is in, it's more verby than the guitar. I'd use the same reverb on both, and less of it.

Yikes! That transition at 2:21 is way too much! Overall the dynamics on the guitar are too much, compression might help, but I'd prefer a more even performance, or pull the guitar mics back.

 

[ace516]

yeah, it's an out of phase effect.. kind of to make it sound doubled. i'll try and cut back on those.
i used an sm-57 to mic everything. i might of placed in a bit too close to the guitar and a bit too close to the violin. should i try and capture the sound that the violin gives off in the room rather than the violin itself? should i push the violin just a bit louder?

 

[mshilarious]

I think violin is very tough with a 57. Acoustic guitar isn't that easy either. Definitely the close-micing of the guitar is responsible for some of the excessive dynamics.

For this mix, cut back on the stereo effect some, and bring the violin up in the mix.

For the future, look at getting a neutral-sounding (not bright!) small diaphragm condenser mic, or even a pair, then you will have real stereo. The Oktava seems to be popular for that, although I haven't used it. An SM81 works well, but is more expensive. The mic board has lots of threads with more recommendations.