how good are my mixes

[Roktuk]

I've put my first 3 songs on guitarlibrary.com http://guitarlibrary.com/index.php?page=mp3_list&category=Rock
and would like to know how well I mixed and mastered them. I just line out, line in from a pretty unimpressive bass amp and equally so, guitar amp, Sampled drums. And just so I don't waste the time you spend lookin at this post, here's somthin funny. I record on a (drum roll) 486\33. Obviously I mix on a faster machine, but it's funny how I can record 44100 16 bit on somthin that can't play mp3's.

 

[drstawl]

I listened to each of them in order and only really liked the third one. The first two sounded too much like tentative noodling around. That last one had some nice scronk, some rhythmic interest and a lot of different ideas in a fairly cohesive medley.

As to the recording: I thought the balance between the instruments was fine. Levels right up there. A few places where I would've toned down the reverb. And the bass needed to be a little crisper beneath that searing guitar.
Why the 486/33 if you have another machine at your disposal?
Are you running win 3.1 or using a DOS recording app? I've seen win 95 on these old beasts but they really bog.
That CPU was my first PC. I had the DX, 8MB RAM/340MB HD.
What's the other machine?
What cards are you using in these machines?

Oh- and make mine double chocolate chip....

 

[Roktuk]

Thanks for the input drstawl. I think no.3 is more interesting cause it came from improv. I used to put a tape in, hit record, and try to find a zone for 30 min. No.3 came from that.

For reverb I've been adding a light close type as needed for the individual tracks and kind roomy verb to the whole mixdown. I don't know how to isolate reverb levels, wouldn't they have to morph from one setting to another? I knew that bass would be a problem, the strings have a birthday comin up . I should really start using my brothers amp, tube vs. transister. Maybe that laser beam of a guit will breathe a little more.

Why the 486? it's just logistics, use my dads computer (Compaq Presario 5715 466mhz 128ram ESS SOLO-1 Audiodrive) to mix, because there just ain't no room in the "ham shack". Small room with his puter ham radios tv...so I just use the ol Packard Smell. Got Win 95, and record with old version of cakewalk, 5.0. Just play along with the midi file I sample the drums from. Sounds like your first pc could be this ones twin. This one has 36 meg ram, a 2gig drive and Aztech Sound Galaxy, but before those upgrades pretty much the same deal. If it weren't for WinBoost 2001 I'd be recording @22050. A couple of those settings really streamline it, no stacks, limit ram cache...etc. Even tryed to overclock it but the damn cooling unit doesn't fit on the chip!

Thanks again, and the cookies in the mail...