Latest Catastrophe: Going Nowhere (Take 2)

[arcadeko]

Check it

3rd Mix (doubled guitars, retracked bass, added surfer guitar part)

2nd mix: (retracked guitar / boosted bass)

...

first mix: (quasi mastered)

 

[Monkey Allen]

Yeah, your link's fucked

 

[arcadeko]

Yeah as soon as I uploaded my ISP went down =/

 

[Murdersgalore]

Put it up on Box.net temporarily.

 

[arcadeko]

server came back up finally

 

[Murdersgalore]

Ill give you an A+ just for the cough 10 seconds in.

 

[arcadeko]

Ill give you an A+ just for the cough 10 seconds in.

hehe - gives it that live studio feel doesn't it!?

 

[joeym]

Sounds very mono to me, that makes it sound muddy. A bit on the lo-fi side but that's OK for this style. What exactly did you do in the "mastering"?
Song idea's good, got a touch of Ramones there (sorry Greg.....!)

 

[Greg_L]

Have you posted this before? It sounds familiar.

I don't think it's very Ramones-ish (that's okay, Joey ), but it does have a late 70's/early 80's garage-pop-rock feel to it, like the Knack or the early days of the Cars.

The guitar sounds pretty bad though, and I think it being close to center makes the whole thing sound kind of messy. I like the trashy open hats banging throughout and the rest of the drums sound good. They sound great for the song. Bass tone is rubbery and cool, but I'd like it louder.

 

[arcadeko]

Have you posted this before? It sounds familiar.

I don't think it's very Ramones-ish (that's okay, Joey ), but it does have a late 70's/early 80's garage-pop-rock feel to it, like the Knack or the early days of the Cars.

The guitar sounds pretty bad though, and I think it being close to center makes the whole thing sound kind of messy. I like the trashy open hats banging throughout and the rest of the drums sound good. They sound great for the song. Bass tone is rubbery and cool, but I'd like it louder.

I posted a demo scratch version of the song about a month ago- this one is re-written and completely re-recorded - I dunno wtf happened when I recorded the guitar but I hate it - I am going to have to re-record the whole guitar part. - I agree with the bass thing too - maybe spreading the guitar out will bring the bass forward some, otherwise I will boost it a little - thanks for checking it out

Sounds very mono to me, that makes it sound muddy. A bit on the lo-fi side but that's OK for this style. What exactly did you do in the "mastering"?
Song idea's good, got a touch of Ramones there (sorry Greg.....!)

Thanks for the listen Joey - I'm planning on spreading the guitar out a little - any other suggestions for making it less mono? For Mastering - I mixed down to a wave, then I brought that file into cubase - normalized, and ran it through a compressor and an EQ and exported

 

[arcadeko]

Remixed

Ok - I re tracked the guitar part and brought the bass up

(I also added the new link to the first post but here it is again in case you missed it)

new mix: (retracked guitar / boosted bass)

 

[Greg_L]

The mix is bigger now, but I still don't know about that guitar sound. It sounds like one take, duplicated, shifted, and panned wide. It's really scratchy and kind of strange. If you like it, roll with it. Bass sounds better, but now the flubs and timing issues between the bass and drums stand out more. I think something this simple (that's not a knock on your song - I love simple) should be locked down tight. Is this a live take with the whole band? Just you? Either way, use a click and stick to it.

 

[arcadeko]

The mix is bigger now, but I still don't know about that guitar sound. It sounds like one take, duplicated, shifted, and panned wide.

that's because its one take, duplicated, shifted and panned wide! I will record another take and use that instead - I am pretty happy with the tone I am getting but I have just started micing instead of DI guitar

Bass sounds better, but now the flubs and timing issues between the bass and drums stand out more. I think something this simple (that's not a knock on your song - I love simple) should be locked down tight. Is this a live take with the whole band? Just you? Either way, use a click and stick to it.

its me an a drummer - We record the guitar/drums/vocal scratch live then I go back and add Bass, vocals, sometimes more guitar.
I did a one take on the bass - just made it up as I played - I can bust it out again with better timing - just need to play if a couple times first.

I really should get more creative with the bass but I essentially just play the chord root notes of the the guitar part. once in a while I try to mix it up a bit.

Thanks dude - great feedback.

 

[Greg_L]

that's because its one take, duplicated, shifted and panned wide! .

I knew it! Don't do that!

For real though, two distinct takes always sounds better. I know we're not supposed to deal with absolutes here, but fuck it, it ALWAYS sounds better than copy/paste/shift/pan.

Creative bass playing adds a lot to a song, but you can go too far with it. Simple is good too. What you have here on bass seems just about right to me; it just needs to be tighter.

 

[arcadeko]

Alright! I am getting happier and happier with this song - The guitars sound way better now that I added a second take instead of the copy - I also recorded a new bass part and added a cool surfer guitar riff into the chorus...

lemme know what you guys think:
3rd Mix (doubled guitars, retracked bass, added surfer guitar part)

 

[Greg_L]

Yeah dude, getting better. Sounds much fuller with two actual guitar takes. Bass could use more definition, but definitely an improvement.

 

[Supercreep]

Listening to the third mix, all I can offer is that the vocals are occasionally too quiet. The bass sounds like it might want a little compression to bring out more string. Cool song.

 

[arcadeko]

Yeah dude, getting better. Sounds much fuller with two actual guitar takes. Bass could use more definition, but definitely an improvement.

thanks for all the feedback on this dude - very helpful - gonna work on the bass

Listening to the third mix, all I can offer is that the vocals are occasionally too quiet. The bass sounds like it might want a little compression to bring out more string. Cool song.

Thanks for the listen and suggestions SC - gonna try out some different compression and EQ on the bass and check those vocal levels.