How to fatten/clarify a mix?

[Douhgy]

My band is finishing up the instrumental tracks on our first CD. I need some help with the mix so I would appreciate anyone who can give me some feedback. The mp3 is here:

There are no vox yet so be patient. Does it sound professional or cheesy? I would really appreciate feedback in the following areas:

Kick Drum: Does it sound fat yet defined? Eq tips?

Bass: Too muddy? How can I make it more powerful?

How is the panning/space?

Anything else that you feel could make this better! Thanks!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

You've got some serious flanging occurring on the cymbals... either you tracked drums to tape and your drive motor is shot, or you've got phase issues from poor mic placement.

The drums overall sound a bit thin and too far back... bass seems reasonable.... I didn't care for your choice of kick tone for this particular song, but that's a matter of personal preference - something flatter and tighter with less "point" maybe. Also, your snare sounds very muddy....

Imaging seems very constricted for the most part.... kinda like the mix closed-in on itself somehow....

Not a bad effort, but could be improved!

 

[Douhgy]

Ok...thanks for the input. What specifically can I do do fix some of these probs? Freq ranges? Effects?

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

There's no way to fix the flanging on the cymbals except to retrack....

As for the rest, maybe one of my articles will give you some more tips!

Mixing 101

 

[MAC2]

damn....that's one of the hotter mixes I've heard in a while! ....gotta go with what the Bear said on the drums and cymbals....if the drums were more articulate and present the bass would probably be just fine with only some adjustment in volume...the lower frequencies of the gits sound like they clash and muck up the mix here and there...you might want to try eliminating the lower frequencies from the gits altogether and just go with the strength of their individual timbre and keep them panned.....also I can hear amp buzz on the track from the guitar that intros the tune....it's almost as if the instruments overpower the drums (with the exception of the kick...)

 

[groucho]

I'm wondering if that odd sound on the cymbols might just be clipping. Also, there's a kind of scraping sound during the "chorus" - the acoustic guitar I believe. Is it like, the new thing to cut everything below 4k on acoustic guitars lately, or what?

Except for the high end issues, this sounds nice to me. I think I agree with Blue Bear on the kick, but I never notice stuff like kick drums unless someone points it out.

Looking forward to hearing the full version, with vox. Be sure to post it, okay?

Chris

 

[Douhgy]

Yeah, I will for sure post some samples when we get the vox laid down. The scrapping that you hear is from the pick on my acoustic guitar. I am going to have to notch out that freq so that it doesn't sound so "picky." The buzz in the intro is intentional... it's supposed to sound really lo-fi until all the instruments come in. I may need to make it even more lo-fi so it's understood that's what we want.

I will try messing with the low end and bringing out the drums a little more. The toms really need some work.

By the way... what's a "git?"

 

[MAC2]

"git"=guitar

 

[Douhgy]

oh duh!

 

[Douhgy]

OK, I now have a sample of the song with the VOX. Please check it out and let me know whats good, and what needs to be better. Please let me know specifically about the mix of the VOX, Bass, and Drums. Thanks

Here's the sample:

 

[HevyD47Ca]

Hi there......

I am listening to this second mix and finding it to be very GOOD.
I'm not really commenting on the mix, but more the way the whole production made me feel.
I believe your song and the way it was performed is very GOOD.
I didn't listen to Ver.1 but I sure liked the one I heard.

Looking forward to more!!

 

[Douhgy]

Thanks... Anyone have comments on the Mix?

 

[boydrj]

Listening to the version with the vox. Very nice song, well performed and nicely arranged. I like the guitar sound you have on there. I'm listening on headphones and I like the drum playing but it sounds odd in the mix, somehow. I'm not sure how you would fix this, or if it just me

I like the song, though. Nicely done!

 

[participant]

Another UTAH boy, eh?

D I live in Sandy )

Clarify and Fatten? Well... if you want "fatten", look into tape...
seriously... are you recording to tape? Have you tried tape sim plugins? What about something like a Fatso/Distressor?

Really, I'm not hearing these problems in your mix.

Bass is too low.. clarity is fine... I love the laid back vibe...
great singing... cool drumming. And EXCELLENT guitar sound.

This song is really growing on me... sounds like a candidate to
get burned to CD-R for more listens... really good job.

If you're looking for a more commercial sound, bring the vocs
up a bit... remove some of the reverb from them, and push the drums
back slightly with MORE reverb. Compress the bass some more until
the level is up about 1.5-2db.

Cool stuff.


Chad

 

[Douhgy]

Hey thanks for the input Chad. Our full CD project is on its way soon. So you'll have to check out the rest of it. Right now we are finishing up the tracking of aux. percussion, then we will start mixing and mastering. Hopefully the CD will be printed in the next couple of months. Keep and eye out for us, we will definitely be playing around SLC. The name of the Band is "Glikk". www.glikk.com

 

[Douhgy]

I posted another song of ours under the thread: "Feedback on Rock-Groove song"