New mix, Old song.

[ManInMotion711]

I re-recorded and remixed this song. I did it once and had alot of issues. I think it came out much better this time but i'd still like other peoples opinions. View attachment I Should Have Known...mp3

 

[ManInMotion711]

No bass in it yet, so skip the fact that its non-existent

 

[dobro]

I find those opening guitar sounds harsh. The crunchy driving guitars after the opening are pretty crispy too, but they're not painful to listen to. This is too light and thin (listen to the cymbals, for instance) - I think you need to EQ things less radically and let them have more body. It really needs some bottom too, so posting the mix without the bass is a bit pointless. But I'm glad you did, because I can hear the drums, especially that little clicky kick, really clearly, so when you get around to posting this with the bass it'll be easier to know how successfully you EQ'ed the kit. I'm guessing the kick won't have enough body. How bout sitting down this afternoon and doing the bass part?

 

[ManInMotion711]

Im not gonna be able to buy my bass until friday :'(

 

[ManInMotion711]

I find those opening guitar sounds harsh. The crunchy driving guitars after the opening are pretty crispy too, but they're not painful to listen to.

Do you mean that they are to loud, or i just need to drop some of the distortion on them?

 

[dobro]

Not too loud, but they sorta hurt to listen to. Sounds like the upper mids and/or highs are hyped.

 

[ManInMotion711]

ok, ill take tat into account and when i finally manage to put bass into it which should be on saturday or sunday ill reupload it all complete cause im trying to record a 5 song EP for myself, its the first time ive ever tried something like this so the more help i can get the better and its all greatly appreciated

 

[JimmyS1969]

Yeah, asshole in the room (me) is going to say that the kick drum sound you have going, has nothing to be desired, in any way whatsoever. The snare has a '89 Dokken tone, but without the clarity. It has more air movement than the kick drum has. What drum program are using here to program with? Doesn't really matter here, as is not fitting in the music style, in the way that you are using it. Cymbals are off the charts 'harsh', but don't sound as bad as EZD.

I think the first question I ask, is what you are recording with. What do you you use for monitors/DAW? There is obviously a monitoring/room (what you hear) problem going on here.

Guitar intro is clipped big time. Screw the tone of it, if you cant re-record it or find something that is causing the clipping, it is a lost cause. In the mix, it needs to be far back in volume at the intro anyway. From there, nothing in the mix has any tonal quality that feels big, or large, that this style of music needs.

Now that I am done being a dick, I really like the tune. Vocals are solid, though again, not sounding the way they should. The playing is solid as well, but the sounds are not working well together.

IMO, step one should be listening on other systems, to try to figure out what is wrong with the sound of your mix.


Actually, step one, should be describing your recording/monitoring chain you have, and what levels you are recording at. The more I listen, it seems you are clipping all over the place.

I would be willing to help out any way I can, as I kinda have a soft spot for this genre.

 

[ManInMotion711]

Yea jimyy69 i can tell you have a soft spot. Kinda just took all my work and ripped it to fucking shreds. Either way though, Im using a Tascam US-1800 running direct into my laptop. Im not sure why its clipping, im keeping an eye on my levels and nothing seems like it should be. And ive only been trying to record and do all this mixing and mastering stuff for a few months so please cut me some sort of a break. Im doing the best i can.

 

[JimmyS1969]

Yea jimyy69 i can tell you have a soft spot. Kinda just took all my work and ripped it to fucking shreds. Either way though, Im using a Tascam US-1800 running direct into my laptop. Im not sure why its clipping, im keeping an eye on my levels and nothing seems like it should be. And ive only been trying to record and do all this mixing and mastering stuff for a few months so please cut me some sort of a break. Im doing the best i can.

Whoa man!

I was just being honest in my opinion. I am not in any way, trying to be disrespectful to your work, and was not trying to rip it to shreds. Take my opinion as you will, but I am trying to help. I meant that I would help in any way I can. That means, I am willing to help, by sending you better kick samples, or even mixing a bit of stuff. All in the better of everyone in this forum.


I still hear some distortion all around. Are you using some compression on the output bus? Are you using Cubase LE that came with your interface? What are you monitoring with?



I used a US1641, and then the US1800 for all of the sample recordings on my website (in my sig).

Again, I am sorry you feel like I was ripping you. I was actually giving advice, because I liked your music.

 

[ManInMotion711]

I'm just a bit touchy with it cause this is honestly the best ive been able to do due to my new equipment. And I run it all straight through the Interface into my laptop. And i dont i use Mixcraft 5.

 

[dobro]

It works like this: somebody says to you 'I hear X'. Now, whether X is good news or bad news, you have to listen to it again and ask yourself if YOU hear X. If you hear X, then say thanks and make adjustments on your end. If you don't hear X, say thanks and change nothing. After you do this on 50 occasions, you start to record and mix better. So, for example, I heard some harsh EQ on that opening guitar, and jimmy heard distortion. So go back and listen to it again and ask yourself if you hear that stuff. If so, change your game. If not, proceed. This is the simplicity of learning to do it better. As for the disappointment and butthurt, well that stuff will come up sometimes, but that stuff just slows down the learning process.

 

[Steenamaroo]

What drum program are using here to program with?

I see Jim thought your drums were fake too.
I know you said they aren't but if the first few listeners think they are, there's a fundamental issue.

I think Jim's right. He nailed what I couldn't put my finger on.
The snare is big and solid whereas the kick drum is thin and clicky.
The two are probably fine independent of eachother, but for me they don't work together.

Maybe you could mic the kick for a little more thud and experiment with a HPF on the snare just to take a little bottom from it. Not too much!

A good tip is to mute everything except the overheads and aim for a great sound.
Once you have that sound, use the kick/share/tom mics to subtly compliment that sound.

It's a totally different result from solo+fine tuning your kick, then snare, then bringing up the OHs.

 

[Greg_L]

I agree with everything Jimmy said except I'm not a dick about it.

It's like you've got the kick and snare roles reversed. If your snare had some of the kick's attack, it would be better. If the kick had some of the snare's body, it would be better. The overheads are thin and brittle. Toms sound like they're a mile away. The guitars sound scratchy and thin. The vocals are done well but they're too wet. I appreciate that this is an early attempt at mixing so I'm not trying to be harsh. These are just fundamental issues that you must address though before you drop an EP on the world's ears.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I agree with everything Jimmy said except I'm not a dick about it.

LOL!
Man in motion, I didn't realise there was a vocal track in this take.
Just thought I'd balance things out and say your singing's pretty good.

It'll come down to preference, but just a little tip about vocal reverb/delay.
It's NOT a rule, but usually for me the 'right' amount of delay is the amount that I'm not sure I can hear.

Seriousy...I turn the wet/dry down while the whole mix is playing back. As soon as I think I can't hear delay any more, it's perfect.

That sounds stupid but I almost always mix delay/verb too wet then revisit to fix it time and time again.
Obviously a big slow ballad or something is gonna be different. Just a tip.

 

[Greg_L]

I agree with that. IMO the best use of reverb or delay on vocals is when you can't tell it's there, but you can tell if it isn't. Does that make sense?

 

[Armistice]

Could just be me but is anyone else hearing some pumping going on at the kick drum hits?

Look, always hard to give balanced feedback on a mix that's missing a critical component, like bass in your case.

Agree on the opening guitars clipping and the kick drum needing more work. Like the intro, musically however... nice.

Reverb on the vocal is just wrong though... too much when everything else sounds pretty dry. And way, way, too much on the backing vocals as well... sound like you're in the bathroom. Dial that down, get your kickdrum sorted, the guitars unclipped and some bass in there and you've got a good tune there my man.

Keep plugging on...

 

[ManInMotion711]

Do you think recording the guitar clean and then adding distortion on to it afterwards would eliminate the clipping?

 

[dobro]

Clipping doesn't have anything to do with recording it clean or distorted. Clipping means it's recorded too hot and you're getting digital mangling, which is not the same as that good saturated crunchy distortion you get when you start overdriving your guitar amp.

 

[ManInMotion711]

Does anyone have any helpful tips on how to avoid having the guitars clip?