Rate the mix

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roman

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Hey you guys (oh, and girls ofcourse),

My band just recorded a few songs for a new EP in my own studio. I've been building this studio a year ago and had some bands to come over and try my studio out. Lately I've had some interresting things to mix down, like my own band.

Of course I've been doing much hours on this project, but I think I finally came up with the perfect balance.

Would you rate my mixing/mastering? I'm very curious of what you think.

Uhm, I must worn you, we don't play them 3 minute popsongs.. it's more a mixture of TOOL, Dreamtheater, Pink Floyd etc. so, not your average music. I think the term progressive rock/metal is in place here.
whatever.

uhm, just check the audio section of this website where I've put 3 tracks already:

www.mobiasdust.com

thanx!
 
The Message

On a scale of 1-10, I give this mix a 6.

While the mix is clear, and everything has it's place, it sounds quite cold & sterile. I also didn't dig the extreme panning on the drums. There are also some intonation issues with both the vocals & stringed instruments.

Very ambitious song. Cool heavy prog-rock.:)
 
You did a great job with the drums, but maybe you went a little too far. The snare really pops but almost sounds electronic.

The bass might be kinda rumbly and guitar could use a little more presence (maybe throw another track on).

I'm a Tool fan though - this sounds pretty cool. The tune and the playing are awesome! Recording is not bad at all. Just a few things to tweak.

How 'come I can't rewind or fast foward the mp3?
 
Thanx, for the repy.

The drums are indeed panned a bit more than the average pop/rock song. But, in this case I've used the drums to make the track more 'stereo' and having the rest of instruments panned to mid. There is generally only one guitar playing, which is not strumming full cords so it will not sound wide and heavy. But that's exactly the kinda thing I'm looking for in this band.
(I warned you, it's not your well fed average pop song)

The snare drum is tuned very high, maybe that's why it may sound a little electronic??
The drummer was very impressed with the drummix and exectly what he had in mind. I myself am a drummer too, so I do tend to spent a few minutes more on drums :)

The guitars; they were a real pain in the ass to mix...
Although it sounds exaclty like my amp does in reallive, I had trouble getting the sound right in the mix. It still is the weak point in the mix I think.

The bass is tuned very low (like guitars by the way) so mixing it was a pain too. Had to find a warm-spot where attack was clear..
Next time maybe I'll ask him to use a plectrum/pick? I dunno....

It was a difficult job, that's for sure. But still learning...
(I'm surprised everytime about how good the recordings are, considering the room I record in... when I was building it, I didn't have a clue about accoustics etc. But hey, it sounds good so I'm happy...and, up to now, my clients are)

Thanx for response!

ro
www.mobiasdust.com

ps. the song was converted to VARIABLE mp3, that's why you may have trouble forwarding/rewinding it. Try Winamp, it can handle the variable format 100%!)
 
It's not bad, but not good either :)

I can imagine why the drummer was a happy puppy with this mix (and o, do I hear a lot of Portnoy there...;) ) Seems like everything is built up around the drums. It sounds perfect and clean but in the mix it doesn't 'fit' very well. Perhaps a little more reverb or well chosen delays on all tracks (so soft you barely hear it, just for filling it up) could 'paste' the different tracks together. Especially the vocals are wayyyyyyy to dry, well too dry for my taste. :) But it seems like that's what you're looking for, so my comment is useless :D

The bass sounds a little undefined. Tuning a bass very low seriously alters the tone and the way it responds to attacks - it's almost like pressing 'the mud button'. Perhaps a little more eq and compression or even distortion can help you pulling it out of the mix. Or let him buy a 5 or 6 (with a low F# instead of a high C) string... ;)

I agree with M Brane on the intonation issues.
 
The wide panning of the drums is somewhat distracting headphones. Just something to think about. Ditto for some of the guitar riffs. The drummer was real good though. Or the drum programmer. Anyway I thought so.

The doubled guits maybe were panned too hard too. Was it one track with a delay on one side? Seemed like it might have been.

The vocals were real dry. I might suggest doubling them and/or some reverb. Some small pitchiness here and there (e.g., 1:33, 1:42 and 1:55).

The bass was nice and punchy. I really liked that.

Prog rock isn't my thing, I hope that didn't taint my comments.
 
Thanx again. I once more listen to the trax with your suggestions in mind and altered a little here and there.
I did not add any reverb to the VOX, coz, basically, I like'm dry like this. I've done the 'reverb to total tracks' already, added 5% of a .8 sec. rev. But was not happy with the result, so I removed it (the first track. the other two did great with this extra reverb.)

Oh, and yeah.. the drummer is a portnoy-wanna-be :) but hey, I tell him what to do, and he plays it like that, cool!

again, thanx. you guys helped me clear my mind and reavaluate my stuff.

gr, ro
 
I kind of think the drums panning sounds cool. I like things that are different. I really like the drums...the vocals need more beef. Bass sounds a little muddy sometimes. All in all I like the mix.
 
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