My first mix...

[dmikulinski]

Well I just threw together a mix for the first time of a complete band. I think I have some serious issues with eq.

I used Cool Edit, and recorded the drums on four tracks, one on the kick, one on the snare, and two overheads.

I know I am asking a lot here because most mixes i have listened to in this clinic sound pretty darn good... but any specific help, or general pointers would be appreciated.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2154&alid=-1

The song is disconnected

Thanks,
Daryl

 

[Jamal Bucket]

really cool tone to your voice!!!...
the drums seem a tad too loud in relation to the guitar anyway...but a pretty decent drum sound i will say..some minor timing issues drumwise...and then it KICKS IN!!.....cool...the guitar is waay to crispy...to me anyway...altho i have shit tone myself...lol...it would be more effective with less distortion maybe overdrive ...??..the changes keep this pretty intersting through out...yeah the drums are the only thing that NEEDS to be fixed....the timing is distracting ...good playing mind you just timing off...



very good for a first mix tho...hats off!
jamal

 

[darwinsdoggy]

As a relative beginner myself I can't offer much about mixing specifics(since I would probably steer you in the wrong direction)but I can pass along some general advice. When the heavier part kicks in (about 1:20 I think)the guitar gets completely buried and seems to turn to mush. Some eq on that and the vocals to make them a little sharper may help.

There are a few issues with performance but I'm sure those could be corrected easily.

Was the entire band recorded live? I'm just curious...

 

[dmikulinski]

thanks for the quick replys guys.

jamal - i am sorry to say that is not my voice, i wish... i sing like a cat in a blender

darwin - i am aware of the performance issues, since it wasn't my band and i was doing it for free, i reached the 'it's good enough point', and it wasn't recorded at once, everything was seperate



i agree with the guitar being to crispy, i rolled of the eq after 150hz to try and allow room for the other instruments.

the drums are a tad loud too i think after taking a break and listening again, and i am assuming the 'muddiness' is caused by the drums.



it just seems like everything in my mix falls into the low mids and i am having a hard time figuring out how to correct that.

Thanks again guys!

 

[A1A2]

I have never worked with a four track before, so, excuse me if I am asking for somehting that can't be done on a 4 track.

The guitar needs to be stereo, like how it's like @2:00 or at least pan it slightly off center.

The vocal probably needs some delay or reverb since it sounds like the vocal is out of breath. Some compression might help this, too.

Rolling off 150hmz won't help the guitar being too crisp, but it will help giving the bass and kick more space tho.

The crashes get a bit too busy/loud, maybe some adjustment on the position on the overheads.

Do I hear the snare shifting from left to center from time to time? Kinda weird, but there is no set rule.

The kick gets burried quite often. You need to decide either bass or the kick gets lower. Right now the bass seems bassier, so, I would boost some mid or high mids on the kick (or/and cut the same frequencies from other instruments) to get the click sound of kick to stand out more.

I like the stereo image around 2:00. You should really work toward that.

Hope I have been helpful.

AL

 

[A1A2]

it just seems like everything in my mix falls into the low mids and i am having a hard time figuring out how to correct that.

First thing I always do is to roll off everything below 80hz on everthing but kick and bass. Then I try to roll off more until the instrument starts to sound thin "in the mix"

AL

 

[Kramer]

The whole mix sounds thin and mono......everything is dry as a bone too.The guitar definetly needs to be doubled to give the song some body.

 

[wfaraoni]

Hey don't be afraid to post here. If I can post my junk and get good helpful feedback anyone can. I cant tell you how much all these guys have helped me a get better sound.

As for your song, heres what my old ears hear, so take this considering the source and also that this is not a genre where I understand what is currently the IN sound.

The drums have a metalic and distant yet loud sound, I could see adding something to put some bassy punch in them and some compression to keep the volume peaks under control, though that may not be whats desired.

The guitar seems to have drive with no real power either, er? ah? what am I trying to describe here, its like you overdrive an amp to get a heavy distortion but all that comes through is a distorted artificial sound without the Punchwhich belongs with that power. Probably needs some eq + on the low end. But once again that may not be whats desired.

I hope that this helps, I really should probably stick to things I actually know about.

Sounds pretty good for a first recording of a complete band if you ask me.

Peace
Bill

 

[dmikulinski]

Thanks Al, you have been most helpful.

First, to clarify, I wasn't using a four-track, i was just stating there are four seperate drum tracks (my bad for mixing jargon like that).

Snare shifting - I have no idea, whatever it was it wasn't intentional.

How exactly should i put the guitars in 'stereo'? There are two guitarists so i figured that would fill it out a bit, but it doesn't seem that full. Would I copy and paste each track, and throw one to the left and one to the right?

 

[A1A2]

Copy and paste probably won't do you any good but louder.

what you might want to do is double track them, then pan them left and right to taste(usually hard left and hard right). When you track the same thing the second time, try different pickups or eq settings, that will differ the 2nd one from the first one. this is a pretty straight-forward process to make guitars sound less thin without boosting mid lows or lows. they usually sound "bigger"

AL

 

[TripleM]

Pretty nice song. I rather liked it.

I'd agree with a lot of what's been said in the way of improvement. I'd certainly double track the main rhythm guitars. I'd work for a sound that has a little less mid-range and a little more "umph" around 400hz-1000hz. Then pan them pretty hard. You'll need to work at the stereo thing - getting each strum of the guitar in sync in each track can take time. But the resulting sound, in my opinion, is worth the work.

The singer has a good voice. But something in the recording is lacking. I got the feeling the mic was about 10 feet away from him (and I certainly doubt that it really was ). So I'm not sure how it was recorded and what it was recorded with. But it should be more "upfront" sounding. A nice reverb or delay would thicken it up. It's also possible to double track the vocals, much like the guitar (but don't pan them). But it doesn't seem to me that it would work real well on a song like this.

Some timing issues on the drums (e.g., at 2:24). Harmonies in the chorus would be a plus IMO.

Keep working and posting.

 

[dmikulinski]

Thanks so much for all the pointers guys. I started trying some eq stuff on the drums today, and I am going to record some new guitar tracks over the next couple days.

Hopefully in a few days, I can have a 'round 2' post for this tune that will sound better.

Thanks again,
Daryl