Mix help please - Warning: Here there be metal!

[wrathskellar666]

We finished tracking 11 songs at a home studio about a month or so ago, and have been wrestling with mix issues ever since. We re-tracked a couple trouble spots, but it's too late now to re-track anything else, as it's expected at the mastering studio inside of a week. We struggled with boomy low end, and have learned a lot about hi pass filtering. I'm looking for input on a few specific isues, and also whatever your ears come up with.

- The mix feels thin and mid-rangy.
- I think the snare has good presence, but not enough body.
- The bass guitar seems to disappear in parts where it's playing higher register notes.

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

View attachment Seconds From Salvation (pre master).mp3

 

[mixmkr]

very thin sounding. Oh I hope you don't expect the mastering to fix all the things you've pointed out. It's like putting too much sugar in a recipe and hoping extra icing will make it taste OK.

Yes... I'd bet there's hardly anything below 150Htz. If it aint there, the mastering dude won't have anything to resurrect. Get the mix done right FIRST... then master.

btw, I hear no need to retrack.. playing seems solid. UNLESS the indiv. tracks sound poorly tracked.... then you go back one more step again.

If you have a deadline... maybe the rush is OK... but why waste $$ and do it right from the start. You'll regret it a year from now....or sooner.

 

[wrathskellar666]

very thin sounding. Oh I hope you don't expect the mastering to fix all the things you've pointed out. It's like putting too much sugar in a recipe and hoping extra icing will make it taste OK.

Yes... I'd bet there's hardly anything below 150Htz. If it aint there, the mastering dude won't have anything to resurrect. Get the mix done right FIRST... then master.

Thanks for the input

I wasn't sure how much the mastering should be relied on to fill out the sound, so that's just what I needed to know. We may have overdone the HPFs in order to deal with excessive boominess, but I'm not sure what tracks to make adjustments on. IIRC, bass guitar is passed at 80hz, and guitar tracks are passed at 160hz. We're aiming for a full and powerful mix (it's metal after all ) Can you make any suggestions there?

BTW, here's the spectrum plot of about 1:00 of the file:

 

[mixmkr]

Well I guess the plot isn't lying... but it sounds like the whole mix hi-passed much higher. I think on paper, you're right on target...it just sounds thin, like you said too.

I wouldn't count on the mastering engineer to do anything. Think of it as a final touch. Remember, a "perfect" mix won't require mastering...so to speak.