Ultra newbie, any tips? [shoegaze/indie/alt]

R

RNBWBTTLKD

New member
So I've been in a band a while now and we've done some studio stuff but this is the first I've really tried recording at home by myself, for my side thing. I am not trying to be TOO picky with these since it's just essentially demos, but wouldn't mind making them as presentable as possible. Go easy on me lol

View attachment rashidarough0518.mp3

EDIT:

retracked the guitars, did some slightly less haphazard work on the EQ(actually looked at what frequencies will do what, etc) and adjusted the levels some. Also it turns out, when I was copying effects settings from one track to another, I'd actually been ADDING them, so a track would have like 2 or 3 each of compression,reverb etc :facepalm:

View attachment rashida0522.mp3

View attachment rashida0523.mp3
 
Last edited:
I like the singer's voice. But I think the vocal is too far behind the guitars. And, since I personally like things dry, I did care for the reverb on it. The chorus is begging for harmony vocals. 3-part, doubled or tripled. The lead vocal would be cool if it were doubled. There is a bit of sibalance on the vocal. I caught a pitchy note here and there.

The guitars, especially the one on the right, have too much gain dialed in. It's a really mushy and fuzzy sound.

I thought the bass and kick drum had either too much low end boosted or low mids cut. Especially on the bass - it had that rubber ball sound that indicates an imbalance between low end and low mid.

The drums were mostly kick and snare. I had trouble hearing enough of the cymbals.

I'm being too critical. I liked the song - it was really cool. Nice vibe to it.
 
The drums as a whole had kind of a blanket over the sound - no crispness/high end. Don't know if that's the way it was recorded or it got EQed killing the cymbals. Don't like the reverb used on the vocal, very 'small room' sound. When the song goes quiet to acoustic guitar, the vocal is just lost.
 
If you could bring the drums up, I dont care for the fucking loud guitars. I enjoy it very much. But your drums are too far away in the mix, man!

I acutally like dry vocals, too, but this reminds me of The Smiths or something similar. I personally dont care for the reverb thing.

But, again, turn those drums up...and I'm sure it will be a killer mix and song.
 
Not bad at all...........I didn't really mind the drums sitting back, some of the brass was a little annoying but i'm listening in a far from ideal environment so ?????? Over all I like it !! Good job and great start with minor tweeks It's a HIT !!!
 
It is the 'crispy' distorted guitars that stick out to me the most as something that isn't working for the best of the mix. The guitar tone just isn't quite right yet.

Fix that and the rest will sit better IMO.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, I'll try bringing the vocals a little more up front and dialing back the reverb.

For the guitars, is that something I could EQ out, you think? Retracking would be a bit of a pain at this point, but not impossible.
 
way too much fuzz on the guitars, dial that back. bring the drums forward, particularly the OH's and kick. actually. no. the whole kit. some phrasing issues in the verse i'd work out before finalizing.
the music is written well, and the leads/rhythms are solid too. the whole mix has issues revolving around space and depth. def potential here though
 
RNBWBTTLKD said:
Go easy on me lol
Click to expand...

There is no going easy! We will rake you over the coals, and you will emerge a golden god! :D

Yeah, the fuzzy guits are dominating the mix. I'd turn those down and maybe get some guitars with more definition in.
The vocals are pretty buried in the verses and bridge. They stick out enough in the chorus tho. The reverb probably could come back a bit; it's emphasizing the sibilants and causing some of that "tin can" sound.
The drums are dark; they need some high end.

Good song tho.

Welcome to the forum!
 
RNBWBTTLKD said:
For the guitars, is that something I could EQ out, you think? Retracking would be a bit of a pain at this point, but not impossible.
Click to expand...

Not really something you can fix with eq. You can doctor it up a bit to make it a bit better, but I really think your project deserves a better recording of the guitars. This may involve borrow/rent of a better amp and/or guitar,mic/placement, or whatever it takes to make it right. There is to much good in there to have it wasted by shitty guitar tone.

And I forgot to mention that I like the tune. :)
 
I feel like this is close to being great.
I think the song itself and the arrangement are good, I really liked the part at about 3:20 when it returned after the quiet bridge or whatever. The vocals are really good with some parts here and there that do need to be fixed. The guitar was really the major offender. It kind of ruins it, although I can imagine what it would sound like with less crazy guitar sound, and it sounds great.
 
Good song. It has a lot of potential. I'm going to jump on the guitar-tone-sucks bandwagon and say the guitar tone sucks. Nothing you can do to fix it in post. It sounds like the distortion channel on my old Peavey Bandit - horrible. lol

Retrack it clean with just a tinge of break-up.
Welcome to the site.
 
thanks for the tips, guys.

yeah the guitar is actually through a jmp-1 preamp direct into the focusrite, so that's probably the issue haha.

i normally use a twin reverb and a rat pedal, but for some reason I have not been able to capture the actual sound well, as it sounds great in the room. I was going for a sort of sonic youth(teenage riot, disappearer, etc) sound, and I can get pretty close in the room, but depending on where i put my mic it just sounds boxy or weird or just indefinably "amateur" sounding. Gonna mess around with it more over the weekend i guess.
 
There is THIS thread to help you dial in a great guitar tone. It's long, but lots of clips and dial settings to help you get what you want.
 
I think fixing levels first is a good step, then it'll be easier to evaluate the effects and tones and stuff. Probably drums up, guitars down (maybe half even?)

It's a really cool song, sounds pretty damn good for an "ultra newbie".
 
Oh yeah, nice! I think bringing the vocal forward would be real icing on the cake. A bit less reverb, a bit higher level. But even as is this is a pretty nice mix imo!
 
yeah i upped em a bit more again. i'm probably the hardest on myself about my singing so i think i subconsciously drown it haha.
 
Great, catchy chorus and good song overall.
Your vocal is "chamber pop" (and sounds very much like artificial reverb), yet the guitars aren't. It makes it very disjointed sounding. I'd dry it all up. It's way too much room and reverb for the style. The song, vibe, and melody are cool. Your recording and mix are getting in the way of it.

I don't hear the crazy guitar that people mention. Was it removed from the latest mix? Guitar sounds good and genre appropriate; just not at all in the same reverb space.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top