Help me mixing ITB

[DRC]

Originally Posted by Mike Tholen

I mixed this song ITB and I'm looking for some feedback...I don't usually mix guitar rock ITB.

Gimme your thoughts please.

Not my thing musically but I think you have the instruments balanced pretty well. Id bring the Lead and Harmony Vox up a bit though. Did you use your Helios console to track this?

[Mike Tholen]

No Helios, I'm tracking and mixing at the band's studio.
therefore it's ITB.

[DRC]

Originally Posted by Mike Tholen

No Helios, I'm tracking and mixing at the band's studio.
therefore it's ITB.

Any chance you'd bring back the tracks and use the console? Id love to hear those Helios EQ's in action.

[Mike Tholen]

I might bring them to my place but right now I'm just using their place.

It sure could use some real processing as I've only got plugs on it now.

[DRC]

Originally Posted by Mike Tholen

I might bring them to my place but right now I'm just using their place.

It sure could use some real processing as I've only got plugs on it now.

Well good luck with it.

[dim light]

I think the OH, Hhat don't glue with the rest of the music - it's like the rest of the music is pretty dark and the hihat is on top of everything else. I'm not in love with the snare it could be a little brighter. The compression on the drums sound is too dirty I don't like what it does with the cymbals (maybe it's the mp3).

It sounds ok - but I think you could do a better mix - Well I'm not that impressed by the mix - it sounds like a pre-mix before the real mix but without any excitement. The toms sounds weird.

Sorry bro - my 2 cents.

[DRC]

Originally Posted by dim light

I think the OH, Hhat don't glue with the rest of the music - it's like the rest of the music is pretty dark and the hihat is on top of everything else. I'm not in love with the snare it could be a little brighter. The compression on the drums sound is too dirty I don't like what it does with the cymbals (maybe it's the mp3).

It sounds ok - but I think you could do a better mix - Well I'm not that impressed by the mix - it sounds like a pre-mix before the real mix but without any excitement. The toms sounds weird.

Sorry bro - my 2 cents.

It could be that skins are old. It could be a sh*tty sounding room. Im not a fan of the guitar sounds at all, but that could be the sound the player is after. Like I said i think its balanced with the exception of the vocals. Maybe the Helios can work a bit of magic?

[dim light]

Yeah - I guess if his used to mix outside the box - then it's hard to switch to ITB. I never figure out the midrange when mixing ITB. But I've heard great rock mixes, mixed in the box. I'm a console guy - or I like to be one soon - still learning :=)

[Plec]

Well.. good effort, but not my cup of tea. I agree with dim light on most points.

It lacks punch, bottom end or groove in the kick. Snare sounds distorted and "pushed" to the limit in not a good way. Basically the overheads do not gel with the rest of the kit. It lacks the groove.. too static sounding for my taste. The toms sound like there are samples on them which are not in time.. anywho.. the inital attack sounds a bit funny, and they too like the kick are lacking some low-end groove.

Guitar sound is ok but could be better, doens't really give you a nice stereo image so they tend to sound a bit weak. Bass sound could be more separated i.e add something more to the guitars. I feel they don't complement each other very well.

Vocals are not very well produced (for my taste). They sound too lo-fi and rough, kind a like very cheap A/D converters and cheap preamps and a bit too rough against the guitars. The lead is really very low in the mix.. it's hard to tell what the poor guy is trying to say inbetween breaths. So I think you could raise it by 2-3db or something.

So, sorry dude.. I couldn't enjoy it that much. Then again I feel it's a bad song, boring arrangment. It's always headed somewhere without getting there and without building anything. It's all over after 30sek in my opinion, but that's just me.

Don't be too hard on yourself though, it's a good effort of course but that song and the band aren't that good (not much to hang in the juuulegrane as we say in sweden) and that usually makes up the majority of the sound.. so don't beat yourself up about it.

[slick0]

If possible, I would suggest a retrack.. The band isn't as tight as they probably can be. It sounds like the drummer is trying real hard to stay with a click (which may be too slow for what s/he's feeling), and the guitarist is trying real hard to stay with the drummer. They can tune up a bit, too.

[djui5]

Mike,
Those drowning vocals are kinda killing the mood of the song, no offense.

My only mix recommendation is to do something with the guitars in the verses, like a chorus or something. Don't change it too much, but add some fx that you don't hear, etc.

Also, the guitars in the bridge(?) are really muddy. The toms need to come up during the breakdown.

Also, the choruses need some kinda center.

Overall this sounds pretty f'n good for an ITB rock mix. What did you track it through? The high end is really soft for an ITB mix. Did you use Phoenix or anything?

[Bdiggy]

I tend to agree with Randy especially on the vox vibe but it's not a total wash IMO.
Keep workin it!

thumbsup

Bdiggy

[Mike Tholen]

Thanks to everyone, your comments have helped me out...

I've made some adjustments to the mix here.

Take another listen please.

[djui5]

[ABGen]

the singer totally reminds me of someone - i can't place it now but it will come to me - what is the name of the band?

[myownsayingso]

Originally Posted by ABGen

the singer totally reminds me of someone - i can't place it now but it will come to me - what is the name of the band?

every nu-metal/radio rock band out there.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by ABGen

the singer totally reminds me of someone - i can't place it now but it will come to me - what is the name of the band?

Hinder probably.

[AnAverageJoe]

The Drummer's timing is off a bit, and at certain points the guitar is too... Vox and BG vox are fine... FF to 3min 11 secs, bring up the bass and give it a little more presence... Not Bad for ITB, Good Job man

[lordnielson]

Originally Posted by ABGen

the singer totally reminds me of someone - i can't place it now but it will come to me - what is the name of the band?

Lane Staley. Harmonies and arrangement is very Alice in Chains

[Mike Tholen]

Help me out some more ya'll and tell me more things that I can do to make it better...

[rudalicious]

Seems like the cymbals are a bit lost... some harder compression maybe?

The bass also seems to be a bit lost at some points and then a decent level at others.

Maybe a litle more low-end in the guitars during the verses. The chugs seem a bit thin.

Thats what one listen told me. It could be partly my home system though. Good luck

[CasadeBomba]

Hey....I like the mix.


I would suggest to set up a stereo bus for the Toms only.


Throw a good compressor on it and some eq and it should beef up your toms in a jiffy.


Also, I would edit the drum tracks with either BD or manually. That will make the track that much more solid.


I think it is a good over all mix......what software are you using?


Ric

[jeremynothman]

to me the toms don't have any real definition, sounds liek they are tuned lower than they should be, liek the skins are real loose

vox need to be louder, snare could be a little brighter, and the cymbals a little less so (or at the least the hats)

overall not too bad. main thing to me is that the vocals are too soft to understand what he's singing half the time

[Bo Jorgen]

Good song. And loud!

Personally, I'd want louder vocals, at least 3 db.

The vocal harmonies sound very good, too.