second real song mix. pop song. please donate your constructive criticism :)

[daszweiten]

hey guys. this is my second real song now im trying.

i was very appreciative of all of the advice i received on my last post [1st song] from vomitHatSteve, adamvelvetu, llarion,onestu3, and kcearl. i tried to take all of the things you guys told me and apply them/keep them in mind when mixing this one.

break me down boys

again:

cubase3
sm57
usb audio interface
laptop

 

[adamvelvetu]

hey man thanks for posting again! i can't remember if you mentioned already, are you just recording the drums with one microphone? i ask because i liked the volume for the snare and the cymbals but i think the drums would sound louder if you can bring up the kick.

i like the panning on the guitars but there is a guitar that is picking individual notes on the left channel and it seems to be in conflict with the vocals (when it switches to the power chords its less obvious). you could probably defeat this by bringing up the vocals in the mix (+2 or 3 db).

i really like how you handled the drop out and brought back in the instruments, they come in evenly. thanks for taking the time to share

 

[VomitHatSteve]

The vocals sound much better on this one. Sounds like one guy with a big voice instead of two guys on opposite sides of the room.

I think the guitars could probably use some reverb. That would help them blend with each other more and fill out the tone.
The guitars would also benefit from more low end. Their tone right now has no oomph.

Some definite improvement here, though. Nice work.

 

[YorkshireTrippe]

the guitars sound very fuzzy and lo-fi, its cool at a glance but I feel by the time the solo guitar comes in with the same thin sound, it starts to go from cool&lofi to amateurish - reverb and EQ some high-mid out?

Also, it might be just me but the crash cymbal is panned right and it seems to draw the whole mix over to the right whenever it comes in. Maybe track something onto the left when the crashes come in to balance it out - or pan the overheads a bit closer together.

other than that its a nice song

 

[daszweiten]

thanks so much guys...im applying all that you've said and its sounding better already.


as for your question adamvelvetu...

they are actually not real drums *hangs head in shame*

i can't play the drums but i didn't want that to stop me from recording my songs and i didn't want to have to wait around and deal w/some other guy so i just took the shortcut.

i hope you don't think less of me. im still going to bring up the kick tho like you said, regardless.

 

[FoulPhil]

Try Ez Drummer it's pretty good.

Also I would use some EQ to cut some of the lows and mids out of the vocals and raise the highs. Just experiment, don't get too crazy, just find the right level that cleans up the vocals and puts them right in front of the song.

It's pretty good how it is, but it can be a little brighter.