two new songs i recorded

[kylosius]

go to www.nowhereradio.com/emopunker and let me know what you think of the songs life during wartime and teenage dyke. i already know some of the mistakes i made while mixing these songs, but if anyone can help me out with finding others and fixing, feedback is appreciated. i recorded these with cool edit pro 2.0 and used my 4 track as a mixer. also if anyone likes the songs, they can feel free to add drums to either or, but its not like i'm asking (or am i? j/k)

 

[DonF]

I listened to "Life During Wartime". The main problems I hear are the timing, and the vocal pitch.

It sounds like you recorded the guitar and vocal separately, but couldn't quite hear the beat when recording the vocal. I'd suggest getting yourself a cheapo drum machine and laying down a drumbeat to use as a reference when recording the other parts. The drumbeat doesn't have to appear in your final mix (indeed it would probably be very inappropriate for this style of music), but would help you to tie the other elements together better.

The vocal pitch is especially bad at 1:12 and again at 1:25 (the end of the tune). Again, it sounds like you couldn't hear the guitar part adequately in your headphones as you recorded the vocal.

Hope this helps.

 

[lynx]

I listened to "Life During Wartime"

Man...not my style I admit, but dude the singer is off-key here in almost every line. Needs some major fine tuning or a new singer.

 

[kylosius]

enough on vocals, i wanna know about mixing since i think these are my best mixes even though i know the vocals suck since they were done in only one take.

 

[DonF]

The balance between the guitar and vocal seems OK to me. The guitar tone is aggressive and obnoxious, as is the vocal sound. I assume this is appropriate for this style of music. So, as far as it goes, I think the mix is fine.

Unfortunately, the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. You've got to get the guitar and vocal to work better together before the "mix" will sound as though music actually happened. Right now it sounds like a guitar player and a vocalist who are not communicating well with each other.

I don't think this is just an issue of musical style. I can't stand Nirvana, but I can still admire their basic musicianship when I hear one of their recordings.

Is there a reason why the vocal can't be redone? Are you trying to preserve the freshness and energy of the first take? Is the vocalist dead or incarcerated? I'd encourage you to redo the vocal and get it right. Make your tracks work together well, and you will go a long way toward getting a good mix.

All of this is just my opinion, of course.