There is something wrong with my mix

[drakewire]

Ive got tunnel vision here...

Something is making this mix sound like crap... Can someone please listen and help me out...

Is it the drums, guitars, vocals... I am not sure...

The Song is called Sell out...

http://drakewire.gratis-server.de/everywhereelse.html

Its in SWF format at 192Khz compression.. Since the song hasnt been released.

[CommunityMart]

I hate to ask you of this, but can you convert the file into a different format? I would love to listen to your song, and see If I can help.

I think the most popular formats are .wav and .mp3

Check out the first link here or look at the result I reproduced.

Swf to Mp3 Converter / Swftools.com
"Swf to Mp3 Converter can extract all sound elements from Flash movies..."
www.swftools.com/tools-details.php?tool=5663329627

[drakewire]

But the file size was too large its 6 megs
let me try something

[John Suitcase]

Hard to say, I think the overall mix is too dry, drums are too far in front, I don't love the hihat pattern.

Just sounds very small overall.

Not too bad a song, tough!

[drakewire]

what do you recommend?

[drakewire]

It sound good to me... Thats the problem.. I dont see the thin part... Its a mix thats maximized.. Mastering adds fat.. But there is something with the drums that you are right.. I dont think there out front enough... Does anyone have some Tannoys they can run this through, or even better some shitty NS10's to isolate the problem

[John Suitcase]

Well, I didn't mean 'small' in the sense of being quiet. It doesn't have any roominess, nothing to imply the weight and size of a loudish band. It sounds like direct guitars, drum machine and a vocal recorded in a very dry small space.

Try experimenting with some overall reverb, or maybe a slap delay like 30 ms or so.

What are you hearing? You say you like the ix, but there's something wrong with it. Who's saying there's something wrong? And what are they saying?

[nandoanalog]

Guitars sound bad. Drums sound bad. Vocals sound bad. Bass doesnt even sound. Not to mention that everything sounds out of tune.

My advice: get some real musicians. With real musicians you need nothing but a good stero set of microphones.

My 0.02$

[gianuz]

Hi...

IMO, there's some editing to do (tuning and timing of guitars and vocals, etc).

Bass is undefined. It's there but it cannot be heard.

Drums are overcompressed, I feel like the snare is too loud, small, and with long ditstracting decay (especially in the verses).

Guitars are muddy. Lead guitar could have been recorded in a different way to start with.

Lead Vocal is not very tight and often out of tune. It appears very loud in the mix and is very dry. If there's some background vocals in chorus, I'd turn them up.

The Master is overcompressed. Everything sounds very small.

The arrangement is also a bit flat. Giving some variations to drums and guitars to differentiate verses and chorus a bit more, could be a good thing.

Hope This Helps

Gianni

[drakewire]

I think I figured something out

[dim light]

I think this is great! thumbsup

[Unclenny]

Dim's right.....it is great. Could be greater still with some more depth....sounds a bit two dimensional.
Try to get some of the instruments to sit back a little....maybe play with bringing some bussed delays up behind the tracks or use some different layers of verb.

[drakewire]

Hey Thanks for the kind replies... I got these JBL Monitors with that room correction technology, but I see what you mean about the instruments sitting on top... I was kinda thinking, would Mastering Fix the eq issues? Say smooth it out?

[emkay]

you're getting closer, maybe just get the singer to sing a little more in tune and less on the beat and find a more melodic and interesting musical concept. Maybe get the guitar to play an interesting and inventive part to accompany the singer when he finds an interesting melody that he's singing in tune.Then, I guarantee it will all come together when performed with dynamics ,taste and feeling. Once you have all of that in place and you capture the performance , well, then I think you'll really have something!
I like the tempo and the title.....oh and thanks for pointing out that these tracks aren't for commercial release, I wasn't sure....I think that's a very wise decision.....good luck....keep at it!!

[John Suitcase]

Originally Posted by drakewire

I record the drums with the V Drums plugged direct... No drum machines as some one implied earlier....

V Drums are a drum machine. OK, so the performance isn't sequenced, but the sounds are canned, that's what I was talking about. I thought the hihat pattern just sounded a little out of place.

I think your mixes are getting better, keep tweaking it. Maybe take a break and listen to some other CDs for a little while to reset your ears. Sometimes that helps with perspective issues, reminds you a little of just how much reverb there really is, even on tracks the sound 'dry' on first listen.

Good work so far!

[drakewire]

I like the drums the way they are... But thank you... I think its the guitar... although I should have seperated the recording... Cuz now I have the bass and snare on one buss...
Any suggestions on getting it to form, or do I have to re-record it...

[drakewire]

So people wont keep repeating the same advice... I want it to be simple.... Musicially....
I thought this was a recording forum... About recording, not songwriting... I thought engineers and songwriters have different places in the universe...

[Bo Jorgen]

Originally Posted by drakewire

So people wont keep repeating the same advice... I want it to be simple.... Musicially....
I thought this was a recording forum... About recording, not songwriting... I thought engineers and songwriters have different places in the universe...

It didn't take long before you had to straighten us out, did it?

[Pericles]

Originally Posted by drakewire

I took your guys advice.. Figured the problem was in the bottom end so I brought up the snare a bit and bass drum, aligned it a split second after the bass. Also, thought you guys might be right on the guitars, so I tweaked them, and added that the LM slap at 30 seconds... Obviously these vocals are not done... They are stratch Ill tune em in a bit...
But second try... What do you think.... Am I headed in the right direction here... I have a pretty crappy set up, Doing my best to mix on the JBL's I got talked into... I use the Saffire Pro 26 I/O.. ~ I mostly do these tracks for demo tracks not commercial releases...
I record the drums with the V Drums plugged direct... No drum machines as some one implied earlier....

Is that lead guitar line supposed to be out of tune?

[treymonfauntre]

you need to pay attention to what people are saying. the drums are horrible and tiring. theres so much compression that the guitar has no room to breath. i think if you lower every fader on every track and take any kind of limiter/compressor off you will be a lot happier.

[drakewire]

Finally finished it...
Thank you for all the advice...
Some of it I followed, except on the drums, this is an age old debate the NY or LA drum method... I actually dig the drums and its my song... ~ LOL... But Thanks guys, it helped get some creative insight... I finally got the song to form...
I have to remove the other links...
If you want to hear the finished version only in SWF...
But thank you to everyone who responded I do appreciate it...

[bobwarren]

The snare chopped my dogs head off!

[drakewire]

If all you can offer is negative remarks perhaps you should find a new career as a recording engineer. Because and this is not intended on starting a flare war... But a lot of the stuff that I hear on some of the sites from here, the so called "self-adorned" experts, using there very very expensive equipment, sounds like a train wreck, but I don't reply, not because I think it sounds like a 70's recording... But rather that I don't care to send emails, post non constructive advice.
Gear Slutz.com is a forum that is about recording technique... If I wanted a song review, I would of gone to Garageband.com. We work with what we work with...
Some of the users have responded with constructive advice, which I absolutely took...
However, the negative asshole wannabe A&R guys, who have nothing to say but to bash. Wow... Jaded are we? Or still pissed off at Rupert Neve for selling out and starting his own modules...
The fact is, the recording business is changing... I could give a damn about labels, getting signed, or the business of music...
Go ahead bash it. Must suck to be you.....
Peace ~

[emkay]

about the mix, how did you expect anybody with "ears" not to critique a song and performance that was and is the source of your problems!! If you are the engineer, you REALLY have your work cut out for you, because the truth is--you don't have much to work with there!! If you are the writer and/or performer , then the truth is, you have a way to go as a writer and performer before you even begin to worry about recording techniques! That's not a slam,it's only a simple observation predicated on the fact that you are obviously in the "developmental" stages as an, artist, writer or performer or engineer/producer. No big deal! We all have to begin somewhere !! Right?.. It takes alot of hard work,persistance, confidence and an "iron cast" stomach and "steely will" to get through the "biz" trench wars! If you're going to solicit comments and then get "attitudy" and defensive because you don't like the feedback, I would recommend that you play your next "attempts" for your MOM---you'll probably get the kind of positive "warm and fuzzy" support and feedback that YOU want and that only a MOM can give--- as for your ------------
"I could give a damn about labels, getting signed, or the business of music... " comment , I don't think you have to be too concerned. The chances of you getting signed or being "involved" in the music business right now, are about as remote as you getting a decent mix on this track--------If you're going to ask for feedback at GS, believe me you'll get it!! If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Come back when you can take it!!............ peace......and good luck

PS___and as for your-----"sounds like a train wreck, but I don't reply, not because I think it sounds like a 70's recording...".....comment is concerned......you mean like those terrible Zep,Elton,Eagles,Fleetwood Mac,Stones,Police,Squeeze,Clash,Who,CSNY,Queen,Supertramp,Bowie,Marvin Gaye,Aretha Franklin,Donnie Hathaway,Chick Corea,Herbie Hancock etc. etc. train wrecks??
YEAH!!! I'm so glad those horrible days are over and Gawd Bless "Autotune" and "Grids" and "Looping" and "Quantizing" to keep us "on track" !!!!..........LOL!!

[virtualsounds]

Drakewire Hello. I am George. I will try to speak to you about your errors and help you go to next mixing level.
Well song is loud ,nice, and powerful. Apart from that there are many errors.
First of all the snare is overcompressed and come sto much forward and also leaves a big tail in the sound, this is wrong. It is nice sometimes as an effect but just try to compress it less and if you can change the attack and release of the snare. It will be perfect then.
Lets go to the bass. The bass is muddy and way behind. What you can do is give some boost to med/high frequencies and try to compress it enough to sound fat but not too much (you will lose the pick).
Let's go to guitars. Here there are two problems. The main guitar is way to "metal zone" styled and it doesnt sit well in the mix. Try to pan it to the left at about 20% at least and put a very short reverb. Also pan the other solo guitar more to the right and put also a short reverb and compress it. After that you can equalize some frequencies so they dont all get muddy. Cut some very low frequencies from the guitars (both) and also cut the very low frequencies of the snare.
Finally it is the vocals. Vocals sound nice for this style of music but they need more compressing and air at the same time. Make them more upfront to the mix. Try a ultra small reverb and a low cut (high pass filter at some programs). Also give a boost at 4kh to clear out a little from the whole "distortion" feeling of the mix.
Try all these one by one if you can and then compare the two mixes. In the end we have mastering but that is a whole new chapter.

[drakewire]

"I could give a damn about labels, getting signed, or the business of music... " comment , I don't think you have to be too concerned. The chances of you getting signed or being "involved" in the music business right now, are about as remote as you getting a decent mix on this track--------If you're going to ask for feedback at GS, believe me you'll get it!! If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Come back when you can take it!!............ peace......and good luck

Good Luck I am signed with an independent label (this is the first track I am trying to record myself.... and I do work for a record company... Care to comment more?) i would love to know your name, that way you could get black balled from any AES, NAMM, etc. Conventions.Not to mention, any of my network thinking your an unbelievable ass.. Its still a very small industry and nothing you said was productive... Share some mixes, Id love to hear them...
Or do you work out of your bedroom.

[drakewire]

He is the first to offer advice, not some arrogant half ass reply...
Thank you George!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[treymonfauntre]

Originally Posted by drakewire

If all you can offer is negative remarks perhaps you should find a new career as a recording engineer. Because and this is not intended on starting a flare war... But a lot of the stuff that I hear on some of the sites from here, the so called "self-adorned" experts, using there very very expensive equipment, sounds like a train wreck, but I don't reply, not because I think it sounds like a 70's recording... But rather that I don't care to send emails, post non constructive advice.
Gear Slutz.com is a forum that is about recording technique... If I wanted a song review, I would of gone to Garageband.com. We work with what we work with...
Some of the users have responded with constructive advice, which I absolutely took...
However, the negative asshole wannabe A&R guys, who have nothing to say but to bash. Wow... Jaded are we? Or still pissed off at Rupert Neve for selling out and starting his own modules...
The fact is, the recording business is changing... I could give a damn about labels, getting signed, or the business of music...
Go ahead bash it. Must suck to be you.....
Peace ~

http://www.earlytosuccess.com/succes...zing-yourself/