Mix check on isle 5!!!!!

I assume you are using detuned guitars. Well, they're sounding a little muddy. A as a guitar player I'd like more high end and less mids.

Drum machine? Try using different velocities, especially on hi-hat and ride in order to obtain a more realistic performance. At 04:17 you can tell that is not a real ride... why? because you drum machine/software is spitting the notes at the same velocity without any variations.

Lead guitar sound great, I really enjoyed your soloing style. Great technique too. Satriani fan, uh?
 
My first impulse is that you have waaaaaay too much reverb on your drum tracks. Actually, the whole track has a bit too much reverb. It's an easy effect to overdo.

The bass is muddy and buried a bit in the mix. A high pass filter on it should bring it out a bit.

The playing is tight, and there is quite a bit of variation to keep someone from getting bored.

Also, Satriani recorded almost all of his albums with a drum machine, and it didn't sound as good as what is available to us today, but it got him where he is...
 
i also agree the rhythm guitars are a bit "middy' sounding. They are tuned to drop-C. Those are the ones i fussed most with, mixing and re-mixing again....i guess i'll have to get rid of some of those mids after all.

the drums shouldn't sound that 'mechanic". I was using EZdrummer which has random velocity on the midi hits.....maybe i was hitting it with too much compression and they all sounded the same....

satch fan......um....yeah.....guilty.
 
the BASS!!!!! OMG the bass!!!!! ive been struggling with this!! its seems way too "LOW" and not enough body! Ill have to go in and start experimenting again.....
 
bkkornaker said:
i also agree the rhythm guitars are a bit "middy' sounding. They are tuned to drop-C. Those are the ones i fussed most with, mixing and re-mixing again....i guess i'll have to get rid of some of those mids after all.

the drums shouldn't sound that 'mechanic". I was using EZdrummer which has random velocity on the midi hits.....maybe i was hitting it with too much compression and they all sounded the same....

satch fan......um....yeah.....guilty.
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If you are just using compression to make your drums louder, set it for a really fast attack and fast release. And set the ratio to 1:1 and bring up your make up gain. Using EZDrummer, you shouldn't have to compress the tracks to tame them, you know?
 
bkkornaker said:
the BASS!!!!! OMG the bass!!!!! ive been struggling with this!! its seems way too "LOW" and not enough body! Ill have to go in and start experimenting again.....
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Now this is where you want to use compression!!! I set my compressor at a 6 to 1 ratio and tweek from there. Even the most accomplished bassist (I've been playing for more than 30 years) can't keep a constant attack going. The bass will be all over the place. Also, I tend to use a high pass filter on my bass tracks to keep them from fighting for sonic space with the kick drum. I usually set that at 150hz and then tweek it from there.
 
Oh, a good eq is your friend. Try boosting in the 500 and 1000hz range with the bass.

Are you tracking DI, or mic'ing a cab for the bass?
 
I actually really liked the meaty sound of the rhythm guitars at the intro, but maybe they get a little boxy sounding by comparison when everything else kicks in...the whole thing is pretty slick really. Nice technique. I don't hear too much of this kind of stuff normally, but this sounds well done to me :).
 
Rokket said:
Oh, a good eq is your friend. Try boosting in the 500 and 1000hz range with the bass.

Are you tracking DI, or mic'ing a cab for the bass?
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i DI'd the bass.....and used a bass modeler (ampeg IK Mulitmedia). i set it up so the direct/amp sim is about 30/70.

I did use alot of 2k in the EQ to bring in the bass "snap", and alot of 50hz for low end rumble.....and compression galore on it too!

maybe thats too much rumble i used.....LOL

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i think whats throwing us all off is the lead guitar used an 'octave" pedal (whammy pedal) which brings in alot of the mudd. Its set to sweep and octave below and above, but its mostly in the below position.

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the drums sound a bit over 'verb'd' cause i think i had too much "overhead bleed" and too much room verb on the drum track buss.
 
bkkornaker said:
i DI'd the bass.....and used a bass modeler (ampeg IK Mulitmedia). i set it up so the direct/amp sim is about 30/70.

I did use alot of 2k in the EQ to bring in the bass "snap", and alot of 50hz for low end rumble.....and compression galore on it too!

maybe thats too much rumble i used.....LOL

---------------

i think whats throwing us all off is the lead guitar used an 'octave" pedal (whammy pedal) which brings in alot of the mudd. Its set to sweep and octave below and above, but its mostly in the below position.

-----

the drums sound a bit over 'verb'd' cause i think i had too much "overhead bleed" and too much room verb on the drum track buss.
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Yeah, I'd take that 50hz kicker off there. You are battling big time with the kick drum in that range...
 
ok, mix revision is up! (same link above)

i took everyones suggestions, and re did some SUBTLE changes.

........and i mean subtle.....

guitars should have less 2.5k and more 8k (clarity), drum buss has less verb, and bass should be less muddy ("should" is the key word here)....

is it going in the right direction now?
 
I lost the audio on this damn pc, so I'll have to listen to it tomorrow... Sorry about that. The admins on this ship can be that way sometimes... :mad:
 
Good song! I dig it a lot :D

I think the bass still sounds a bit muddy and lack definition. Its got the kind of tone that sounds so good when you're playing alone with rumbling low and crisp highs, the big V on the EQ. Unfortunalely in a band or mix situation this kind of sound often doesnt "pierce" the mix that well, the lows clash with the kick drum and the high harmonics with the cymbals and guitars.

The bass main frequencies should rest between the kick drum and the guitars lowest notes. You should kinda take the reverse approach of what you're doing right now, with the highs and lows at 0 and boosting the "high lows" and "low mids".

Im a bassist so thats what I payed more attention but the rest seemed pretty good.

Keep on the good work!
 
you need some help hearing what this should sound like. Why not have someone else mix it. Pay a lil bit of money and sit with a mix engineer for a few hrs and ask questions. Some engineers usually project types will be happy to kind of help younger guys along. Find someone whos work you admire and bring the tracks in. I did this with an album I was working on cause it's hard to play the producer, the tracking engineer and mix engineer on the same project. I could tell you that you need to carve some space in the guitars so the kick and bass can sit better in the mix, then I could tell you you need to make some space so the bass doesnt sit ontop of the kick. I also could tell you that you should use some compression to bring the bass above the kick mixed in mono. I could tell you that you should first mix this in mono and learn how compression moves things to the back or front of the mix, but it would be invaluable for you to hear these things and see it done first hand. think of your mix as a sphere you have up down left right then depth front and back in a mix you want to create this imaginary 3d space on the depth you want to have certain sounds up front and some further back if you think of this in mono I'd think of this depth like this kick furthest back then bass then guitars then vocal the vocal being the furthest in front now in mono you can actully move things to the front or back of the mix with compression yes even in mono you can hear it effect this 3d space then when you switch to stereo things will be pretty close to where you'd want them in the mix just my two cents take it or leave it :)

sphere3.jpg
 
doulos24 said:
you need some help hearing what this should sound like. Why not have someone else mix it. Pay a lil bit of money and sit with a mix engineer for a few hrs and ask questions. ]
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noted........but this is the "home recording" forum? Am i not here to learn how to do it myself?

sure, it sounds like a killer idea to learn from a pro in his/her studio......but for those who would like to learn on their own, in their own home, on their own equipment....

tis' the reason i come here, and ask for suggestions and help.....
 
bkkornaker said:
ok my lil' critiques....i mixed, and listened, and checked it in my car, checked in mono, checked it on my home stereo....

i think i may be close on this one.....but still not sure. I need extra ears to listen and tell me what it still needs....

[...]

thanks again guys!!!
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[first post here... and haven't read the other posts in this thread yet]

You're packing a lot of heat into this -- but maybe a little too much. I feel like you're compressing a lot of the detail out of both the individual tracks as well as the overall mix. There's not much air, for sure. The dropdown/break still felt filled up, even as it got 'quieter.' You did a pretty good job of keeping the drums prominent through that, but the cymbals, not surprisingly, did get pushed aside at times.

It's a pretty good mix, but I could imagine this track coming into a little tighter focus with a little more tinkering.

:)
 
ok, in attempt to fix the bass.......(same link in the very first post is the updated clip)

i notched out a narrow Q in the kick drum (800hz) and added in some (800hz) of that to the bass guitar. I also added in a small amount of 400hz, and rolled of 40hz and below on the bass guitar.

it certainly seemed to tighten the bass, so its not all floppy and loose all over the place.....

but it (bass guitar) still seems week.....:(

i think i may have hit the point of "its as good as i can get it.......". Maybe i can up the volume on the bass guitar a bit more.....but i dont know......
 
im going to try something see if i can show you where it should be 10 bands of compression 4 bands of parametric eq wish me luck this is going to be a nightmare to try an fix
 
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