rip this apart(metal)

  • Thread starter Thread starter NYCDrums
  • Start date Start date
I'm personally sick of "metal" mixes where the guitars get all the love at the expense of everything else. And to make it worse, these guitars don't even sound good. They're scratchy. They're just fizz. I'm not feeling the chugs at all. I don't get the impression that they're moving air. The drums are tiny and weak. Bass gtr is non-existant. Ugh. I get it, it's gotta be heavy and brutal and whatever other metal cliche you wanna throw in there. That's fine. But it still has to sound good. All of the pieces have to work together. There should be bass. There should be midrange. there should be sparkling clarity in the high end. And the drums should be kicking my ass. None of that is happening. Just my 2 pesos.
 
Agreed with Greg - it's a big mushy compressed bunch of guitars and drums. Open up this mix so we can hear it. It's taking away from the tight playing - good job there.
 
hey dude, Greg-L wasnt wrong, but his comments were a bit harsh i think. constructive feedback is better than just wineing about it.

As far as i can hear, theres some kinda crazy resonant frequency in the guitar tracks in the bass end that appears to be making a sort of 'whollowy' whooly sort of distorted-ey (not in a good way) noise. i dont think the guitars sound terrible, its down to taste. i often have the same bass resonant frequency in my guitar tracks. try a fairly tight Q factor at maybe between 100 and 200 Hz and lower the gain by maybe 6dB? then also run a gentle bass roll-off starting at 150 going down towards 20, so that its gone at 20 if you get me. that way you should be able to bring the bass guitar up some more and then i think it will be improved. you will notice that it will sound clearer without losing any 'chuggy' ness.

i think maybe a bit more bass around 60-80Hz in the kick drum in order to add some more power to it. snares alright like. have you got compression settings on the guitars? might be worth taking the attack up a little, as in make it a more gentle attack. that way the guitars will 'pump' a bit more.

as i said before, its not a bad mix at all, dont listen to the nay-sayers. its all about opinion. anything ive said in this message is down to taste. im not keen on heavy metal or whatever sub genre of metal this is catagorized under, but i can appreciate a good mix when i hear one. keep at it!
 
Overall, It is a bit fizzy, and lacking midrange punch, the bass and guitars dont really work, you cant really tell whats the bass and whats the low end on the guitars, something really should be changed there.
 
theres nothing 'wrong' with it. its a matter of taste and experience. sounded like a big wine to me...
 
skuthepoo said:
theres nothing 'wrong' with it. its a matter of taste and experience. sounded like a big wine to me...
Click to expand...

You're the one whining about my comments. There's a lot wrong with it. You agreed with me, remember?
hey dude, Greg-L wasnt wrong
Click to expand...

Also, you yourself wrote a phonebook sized post outlining all the "fixes" you think it needs. This isn't little league where everyone gets a trophy just for participating. People post their mixes for feedback. Maybe you just want a bunch of "atta boys" and false praise, but I suspect most people want real critiques.
 
i went wineing in the napa valley...had a lovely chablis, and one or two shiraz's wouldnt be a miss on any dinner table..

To the OP...Im no expert on the genre lol by far :)


but I did find a large ball of bassy instruments in the middle of the mix. I thought the performance sounded pretty solid but theres a lack of separation in amongst the LFs and LMFs which is causing this mash in the middle..

Look at separating the bass and guitars and try to give the drums a little more space and body..Im sure its not used by many homerecorders recording metal but there not reason you cant sidechain compress the kick and bass together, it neednt be obvious and will give you some room

the cymbals sounded a little washy...but that could be a taste thing
 
I'm gonna go with Greg on this one. It's muddy and lifeless. I hear nothing but guitar. There is nothing supporting any kind of real low end. It's a common mistake in metal that I have made myself. I know that big bassy wosh sounds good when you are practicing in your bedroom but you have to change shit up when you record it. Is there even a bass guitar in this mix?
 
P.S. I love death metal so I probably would be as close as it gets to an expert here and I still agree.
 
Also, Greg is kind of a grouchy prick, but he says the things we all want to say but don't have the balls. So kudos and such.
 
Also, my post count is kinda low for having been a member for almost 2 years. Maybe I should do something about that.
 
im not having some argument all over someone elses thread. NYCdrums, keep working at it. you'll get there
 
I equate listening to this mix like this....

An obese man with poor hygiene and halitosis preaching the teachings of Plato while bumping you with his belly.

The message is good....the delivery makes me wanna run.

It's just a glob of mud accentuated with a clicky kick drum. I would start with a HP on the guits and see where you stand then.
 
I'm hearing some kind of unpleasant overtone that starts around 54 sec.

This images a woman grinding cloths on a wash board. I'm not getting metal here. It's too linear. It's kind of comical too.

Strangely though, I like it.
 
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