Please provide Feedback on this Metal Mix, Beware the Wiccan

  • Thread starter Thread starter Crazy Luke
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Crazy Luke

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Please let me know what can be improved on this mix - going for, at least "good demo" quality.
 
Hey luke, just a hit and run - listened twice but i've got to shoot through in about 30 secs. Drums seemed a bit thin and a lot of wash on the cymbals. The spread on the cymbals sort of made everything else seem a in the middle of it all. The 'choir' and pads sort of wanted to be a bit wider and fuller too, bit more ambient, to my taste. Couldn't hear much bass guitar either. Maybe the whole mix is a bit bottom shy. I imagine there is a fair bit you could do with the arrangement to fill it out a bit too. Like i said, real quick first impression, sorry to be so vague. Pretty 'retro' sound, i've heard a lot worse 'demos' including my own. But i thought wicca was more about white magic, what's to beware, or are you trying to say something? ;)
 
Thanks, Anders, yea, I'm waiting on putting a couple of bucks together to buy Softube Bass Amp Room, so that I can add some "girth" to the bass. Also, I have to be careful with the kicks, since there are double bass parts, but I will soon experiment with making my Slate drums and Trilian bass VI's sound more real. I would like to try sending the drums through an IR plugin that sims a drum room.
The song is "tongue-in-check" re: wiccans - will post lyrics soon.
 
No problem, thanks for the listen.
Real drums don't seem to be big in metal anymore, so what's real anyway. I don't mind the cymbals jumping around the field, and unreality and obvious effects are part of what have made some of the recordings and music I love great too. It's not always about capturing the sonic purity of a 'great performance', and if that's blasphemous to say, so be it. I love the metal studio album sound as much as any other, so whatever. But i tend to agree that a bit of tinkering with reverbs and getting everything in the same sort of space and meshing in the mix is as good a place to start as any. The sounds and tone of the instruments all sounded pretty appropriate to me. I probably neglected to mention that this was listenable to me as it was, especially given the qualification of demo, and i actually enjoyed listening to it. That comment about wicca by me was just tongue in cheek too - i'm not really a spiritual person, definitely no affiliations with any organised religion.
 
I can't really properly critique the mix because I listened on ear bud (in my office during lunch break) I will comment on the performance though. Man it really rocks. Everything is as tight as it can be and the vocalist has a great rock and roll voice. Kind of reminds me of axel rose.
Good song man!
 
Thanks for the nod to this singer, but he tends to push too hard, so I might have to do some subtractive EQ on him. Mixed this in headphones last night, and listened to it in my car today - I need to bring up the rhythm guitars, and add more body to bass. Need to cut some highs overall
 
Luke, the 1st mix is awful - nothing hangs together - it's all separate parts & pieces.
The 2nd mix is better but the guitars sound ike added extra bits - particularly the lead - soonically they sound like they were lifted from a different song.
The drums are thin and lifeless.
It sounds like the bass & kick are up the middles and everything else was thrown to one side or the other.
Vocals are weak - not in terms of volume but there's no grit or meat to them.
The song doesn't hold together either.
Beware the Wiccan? Why be afraid of a "good" witch in a metal song?
 
rayC "Luke, the 1st mix is awful - nothing hangs together - it's all separate parts & pieces."
I usually don't use such broad negative terms as "awful" and "terrible" when describing someone's mix. I will take your constructive criticism into account, however - Just trying to get a good demo quality.
The song is about a high school aged wiccan girl who is shunned by a boy/classmate, she's turns, and casts evil spells on him - or, at least, he thinks she is.
Will post lyrics soon
 
Luke,
You asked for a critique. I compared the 1st & 2nd mixes and stated the obvious. The 2nd is better but is some way from being sorted to a levele that I'd accept for a demo.

I'm glad you explained the story - the lyrics & narrative don't come through in the song or mix at present.
My advice? Start by mixing the song in mono - NO PANNING.
When everything seems clear and present start moving them to the sides as fits the sound and image presented.
START with the drums and bass.
Add the vocals.
Bring the guitars in last.
DON'T add anything to the master bus until you've settled on a good mono then solid stereo image.
The 1st mix isn't good mate. the 2nd is an improvement but you've some way to go.
The song sounds a bit disjointed but if it flows well when just bass, drums & vocals you'll know that the placement and the guitar arrangement is an issue.
 
In my opinion the drums cymbals could be "warmer". The bass guitar could be more present. The vocals sound a little closed.The guitar tone, mainly the rhythm one should be more worked out.
 
First mix:

1. Cymbals sizzle too much
2. Kick is weak
3. Snare has too much sizzle as well

The drums are loud but don't sound that great.

The vocals could be a tad more upfront, along with the guitars (or maybe just the drums further back). Especially the guitars need to be a lot louder.

2nd mix:

The kick is still missing low end power. I'm not too sure about the EQ or effect on the vocals. It makes him sound rather nasel.
The guitars need to come up more or the drums need to go down. I can't even hear what the guitars are doing half the time. It still sounds like separater instruments rather than an entity but it isn't as extreme as with the first mix.



Really good performance though. You just need to bring it all together.
 
I'm going to start experimenting on putting these virtual instruments into a common IR room for glue.
 
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