I Need HARSH Criticism - Please Help

N

ndycus1

New member
I'm a 21-year-old who is ALWAYS looking to improve my mixes and better myself overall in recording. This song is one that I produced, engineered, and mixed. But, I need some more ears to help me out before I release the final product. I would like for whoever critiques this to be as harsh as possible. And please don't worry about hurting my feelings. I'd like to know everything that is good and everything that sucks. I really appreciate anyone who takes time to critically listen to this.

If it will help, or if you're just interested, the gear used was:

Snare: SM57 through Great River ME1NV
Kick (Inside): D112 through Chandler TG2
Kick (Outside): AT4033 through Mindprint Envoice
Overheads: Rode NT5's through Summit TPA200A
HiHat: SM57 through M-Audio Tampa
HiTom: SM7B through M-Audio DMP3
LowTom: AT3035 through M-Audio DMP3
Room Mic: BLUE Cactus through Chandler TG2
Bass: Direct through Chandler TG2
Guitars: SM57's through either TG2 or ME1NV
Vocals: SM7B through ME1NV

All was recorded directly into Sonar 6 through an M-Audio Delta 1010. All effects were obtained via plugins (mainly the Waves SSL Series). And it was tracked and mixed on Fostex PM1 Monitors.

Thanks so much! I can't wait to get some feedback.

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=6193
 
Awesome recording. I'd like to be harsh, but I can't find a whole hell of a lot to criticise. If I had my way, the kik would be either a little louder, or I'd add a db or 2 of 3-5k for some snap to help it cut through. Besides that, sounds great to me.
 
nice job, if I were to comment. Guitars I'd like a bit lower. They kind of take over the song. Vocals could be up, get a bit burried. In general it all sounds a bit thin. Very nice job but a tad thin. Oh, by the way, how many TG2's do you have omg! :eek: Nice preamp, I thought about getting one.
 
i like it.

i agree, a bit thin over all, but that could be my shitty laptop speakers, but everything sounds thin and tinny on them.

and yeah guitars come out too much, overpower the vox which are nice.
 
Sounds really good overall but the vocals sound way way too thin. I dont know if that could be a eq problem maybe. But they just are really thin and dont give me the warmth a tube pre. Maybe try a different pre for it like the M-Audio DMP3 you say you have.

Still a very good listen adn your mixing abilities show in this production.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies.

RAMI:
- I too agree that the kick needs to cut through a bit more. I just want to make sure that I don't over-do it and get that "typewriter" bass drum sound.

jmorris:
- I'll definitely try to thicken the vocals up a bit. And maybe bringing the guitars down will help the vocals pop out a bit more as well.

TragikRemix:
- Thanks for the post. Do you have any ideas for ways to cure the overall thin mix?

DAS19:
- I appreciate what you have to say and taking time to listen. I agree that the vocals could be a bit thicker. But, I'm guessing you're joking about using the DMP3 instead of the Great River...at least I hope you're joking.

Again, thanks for all of the responses. They're helping a lot. Please keep them coming.
 
Great job on mixing everything. It's all very audible and clear.

Besides the comments that have already been made, I'd add that the snare sounds kind of dark and a bit dull. It sounds as though you didn't capture enough of the actual snares in my opinion. However, I have that same problem a lot, so I can't talk too much!

Great job.
 
The cymbals seem a little harsh, but maybe that's just my tired ears. I would have recorded the guitars with a bit less distortion to give them some more definition and a bit more raw, but it seems to work for this song. Maybe a touch of extra reverb on the vocals would thicken them up, but only on the verse.

I like the little bass fills after the first chorus. Is this your band? They seem very solid and professional. Very radio friendly (hopefully that's not insulting anyone).
 
Update!!!!

Thank you so much for all of your listens, comments, compliments, and suggestions. After all of your considerations into account, I did a slight remix. Please take a listen to the new version and let me know what you think. I'm also putting the link to the old version for comparison's sake.

NEW version:
http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=6205

OLD version:
http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=6193

Please let me know if you still hear problems with this mix and let me know what else I can do to fix them. Or, let me know if you think it's ready for me to send off to mastering. Just any comments at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much.
 
New version sounds pretty good. The mix is good, but I personally think the drums sound sort of weak in the mix. They're loud enough, but don't have any balls. The toms sound great but snare sounds sort of lifeless and the kick is dry with no thump to it. I'm no pro by any means but I'd re-EQ the kick and snare or send them to a sub-mix channel and boost some lows. The vocals are done well but still sound buried and thin. Slap some reverb or something on them to give them some life. Overall its a good song and the performance is top-notch. Just some minor tweaks here and there and you've got a good one. :)
 
The snare sounds like a fingernail politely tapping on a jam tin.
The only time the bass comes forward is in the, to me, unnecessary trebbly funkified bit.
The guitar sound is nothing much. The ongoing cymbal toward the end is a bit annoying.
Good song & pretty good recording on your part.
edit off the unused 1/4 so that the download time is briefer & folk will be happier to come back again.
 
The music is definately good. Sounds like that mainstream rock metal stuff that is all over the place now. Breaking Benjamin kind of stuff...

The mix sounds decent. The bass could be a bit more powerful... It just sounds sort of wimpy on the headphones at least. The kick drum just seems too stale if that makes any sense. Just not enough power to it for this style. The song relies heavily on the rhythems and the beats, it sound be bringing me in more.

Vocals do sound thin. Maybe try some compression or various EQ to help boost some fullness into it. Or maybe record the vocals with the mic in a different position or something.

It definately sounds good though and it is a job well done. The double kick beats and such remind me of Mudvayne, but with less power which I think may be the mix.
 
ndycus1 said:
I would like for whoever critiques this to be as harsh as possible.
Click to expand...


Try RP. Some folks are slightly less gracious over there.

Drums are a little boxy. The edited guitar stabs at the beginning of the song, with all the noise removed between stabs, sound really fake to me. I would like to hear a little more "room". Maybe it's a style thing, in which case I just don't get it. Not suprising, really, since I'm permanently stuck in 1978-1988.

There's room for another guitar line or keyboard arpeggio in there.

Good stuff, man. I suspect you are your own worst critic, so there's really not much to say.
 
Supercreep said:
The edited guitar stabs at the beginning of the song, with all the noise removed between stabs, sound really fake to me.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's obvious they're edits or samples. But I think they sound as they were intended to.
 
Thank you all so much again for taking the time to listen and comment. It really means a lot. I've been working hard on this whenever I've been able to find time. Currently, I'm mainly working on the snare and I feel like I'm getting it after trying tons of different ways to make it have power without being overbearing. And it's been really hard, because there is a lot of hi-hat bleed in the snare track because it was one of those drummers that loves to beat the crap out of his hats. So, I had to find a way to bring the snare up loud enough without making the hi-hat bleed audible. Also, I'm working on the bass drum and making the vocals more present. I've realized that they're very weak as well. I will try to post a new mix on here Thursday night for another update. I feel like I'm getting closer. And I'm DEFINITELY learning....and that's the biggest thing to me. I truly think that a big part of my problem is my monitors (Fostex PM1's). I feel like they are hyped in the low-mids. And I believe that's why it sounds like a thin/weak mix overall. I'm trying to combat that...but it's very difficult.

Yes, the guitar parts at the beginning are edited. The amps were way too noisy. So, I cut the gaps between sections. I added a slight bit of delay to give ambience to it. But, I'll go back and see what a touch of reverb does to give it a little more of a room sound.

chrisharris: for your daughter, the band's name is Abide.
 
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