Universal - Marching Season original

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MarchingSeason

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Hi,

My band is called Marching Season. It's actually me on guitars/bass/drum programming and a vocalist/pianist, but we've been writing together for over a year, recording on our PCs in reaper. This song is one of our earliest songs, called 'Universal.' I can't really decide what I don't like about the mix, just that I don't really like it. If anyone has any tips on getting a more polished sound out of it, please let me know.

Thanks for listening.

View attachment Universal - Edit.mp3

Hopefully the attachment worked :p
 
if it was me I'd be more careful with the bass guitar and make the compressor release settings longer, drums are also a little dry, they could have a bit more energy otherwise I like the song and think it has potential to be great
 
Snare is one area I think needs to get some of the snap reduced. Guitar melody (the base arpeggio) should do come up and then back down between the vocals (some volume variance, like at 0:48). Vocals could be notched down in a few spots (ex. 1:01), but that is more of an opinion.

Good tune. I think you just have a few spots here and there and the mix will start really taking shape.
 
I am not very experienced with mixing but I’ll tell you my opinion anyway!
In the beginning I’d bring down the guitar, because I think the kick and bass should be the stars there.
Vocals—absolutely beautiful voice, and great performance. I think that you should tune the vocals though. There were quite a few places where it was very out of tune. If you tuned it I feel like it would be nearly flawless.
 
The drum samples sound like a set made for speed metal. Really transient heavy, no sustain.
 
Why have you called your band "Marching Season"? It's often a flashpoint of the Northern Irish troubles, being as it is an excuse for religious sectarian flag-waving and incitement.
 
Btyre2013: I think the bass has been my least favorite sound in this song since the beginning. Being primarily a guitarist, I struggle with getting good bass tone on all my recordings. It always sounds lacking in the low end. I did as you suggested and increased the release settings. It seems to be helping.

DM60: I agree about the snare, it sounds out of place. I'm experimenting with adjusting the EQ to move the peak frequency a little lower. Also, I just recently began trying sidechain compression, which seems like a good fit for reducing the guitar volume during the vocal parts. I'll give it a try.

Jessica: Thanks! I'm sure the vocalist would appreciate your compliments on his singing. I will try out your advice on the intro.

Schwarzenyeager: You are correct about the drum samples: EZ Drummer Drumkit from Hell. I also have a mix where I used the Pop/Rock kit, which I usually prefer for most of our songs.

Bubba: More than anything else, we chose the name because we wanted a relatively short and easy name that sounded cool. I honestly haven't looked into the name much, other than to confirm that there wasn't another band with the same name. Do you find the name to be offensive or in poor taste? We don't have a very global outlook on things here in the north American Midwest.
 
The snare's sound is particularly noticeable as too trebly in the part before the vocals come in. The bass doesn't have much tone - I'd work on getting some decent tone out of it before slapping the compressor on it.
 
Yup, I'd focus any future efforts on the snare and bass tones. Those were the only two things that didn't quite measure up imo. Snare could be a little looser and more organic sounding for this I think? Bass just sounds kind of choked like it needs to breath a little more to me.

Loved the guitar parts and the panning on that. Good vocal performance. Very loud and clear mix with a nice amount of space left open.
 
Get new drum samples - they're the weakest point.
The name is inflammatory - but don't run for the asbestos blanket as that is similarly dangerous.
Some more lyrics'd help too.
 
Agree with the comments about the drums. Some resounding wood kit sounds would probably fit the song better.
The mix, for lack of a better word, sounds barren. The song is outstanding. It's like a beautiful forest in the winter. Time to put some leaves on the trees and make it lush. Maybe adding a straight chord distortion guitar or a pad or a synth or some strings. Dunno, but there needs to be something extra, some leaves.
Maybe not all that helpful, but it's what I hear.
 
I'm going to try the ezdrummer blue kit and see if that helps the drums. I spent some time working on the bass track this week. I'm at work now, but I will try to post an update later tonight. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm glad to hear that people like the song. This is the first work I've done that I've shared with anyone else, and it's very nice to have it received so well.
 
Yeah, that snare is so snappy it almost hurts to listen. Completely distracting. The bass seemed smeared all over the spectrum with no distinct focus. Love the guitars and vocals, though.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I tidied this thread up a bit to keep it on track.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I am not looking to be a cause of controversy. I just want to make music.

I took some advice given on this thread and have worked out a new mix. The 2nd verse and middle section are in two separate towns or I would post the whole song. Moving to my soundcloud for all future audio postings.

Universal
 
Second mix is clean and crisp! Nice fixes. Drums have opened up as well. Good on ya!
 
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