Fallout Boy / Taking Back Sunday / The Academy Is

[luctellier]

Hey,

Just finished mixing the first 2 songs out of 3 that I've produced, recorded, mixed and mastered for a very talented (IMHO) young local band. All the members are 18 years old. The singer has only 8 months of singing experience. The band was influenced by bands such as Fallout Boy, Taking Back Sunday, The Academy Is. I would appreciate to have feedback on the mixes.

CLICK HERE

Thanks!
LT

[Audio Hombre]

sounds great, per usual, luc. i'd like to hear a bit more low-mid content in the guitars myself, but that's just a personal thing.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by Audio Hombre

sounds great, per usual, luc. i'd like to hear a bit more low-mid content in the guitars myself, but that's just a personal thing.

Thanks man! I think the kick might be a little bit too clicky also, what do you think? I did scooped a little bit of 500hz in the rythm guitars and when I tried to bring it back, I always thought it sounded better with the scoop...maybe because I got used to it! I usually don't need to EQ guitars but I was sick (had a cold) when we have set the guitar tone and I can't believe how much a cold affect hearing. I needed to reference with other songs a lot more than what I use to.

[guy0012]

Sounds awsome, i love all the stuff you do, its really great stuff!!! a few suggestions (dont feel the need to actually to take these seriously, because you obviously you know what you're doing)
-dont boost too much uppermids on the kick. the lowermids sound a little muddy on the kick too. kick sounds a little loud too.
-sounds like theres too much compression/limiting in mastering, i can hear it working too much. i know thats a pretty personal taste topic, but i think laying back a little on it would really give the song more dynamics, and add to the feel.

but overall excellent mix! def a huge fan of your work.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by guy0012

Sounds awsome, i love all the stuff you do, its really great stuff!!! a few suggestions (dont feel the need to actually to take these seriously, because you obviously you know what you're doing)
-dont boost too much uppermids on the kick. the lowermids sound a little muddy on the kick too. kick sounds a little loud too.
-sounds like theres too much compression/limiting in mastering, i can hear it working too much. i know thats a pretty personal taste topic, but i think laying back a little on it would really give the song more dynamics, and add to the feel.

but overall excellent mix! def a huge fan of your work.

Man... thank you so much it means a lot!! Seriously..

These are not the final version so I'll fix it what's wrong (kick, mastering).

I've uploaded the 2nd song! Waiting for your comments!

CLICK HERE

Thanks!

[guy0012]

that snare sounds sooo sweet. bass guitar has such a nice tone to it too.

sorry to get off topic, but is there any way you could up a high quality version of fall again's "throw your bottles"? such great performance especially for there age, and engineering from what i can tell(myspace player... )

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by guy0012

that snare sounds sooo sweet. bass guitar has such a nice tone to it too.

sorry to get off topic, but is there any way you could up a high quality version of fall again's "throw your bottles"? such great performance especially for there age, and engineering from what i can tell(myspace player... )

Thanks man! The snare is a DW All Maple mic'd top and bottom. I added a tiny bit of samples I made from my Ludwig LM402 only for consistency and ring.

Regarding Fall Again (Throw Your Bottles), actually, I don't like the mix... I could email you the MP3 in high quality, just send me a PM.

[guy0012]

Originally Posted by luctellier

Regarding Fall Again (Throw Your Bottles), actually, I don't like the mix... I could email you the MP3 in high quality, just send me a PM.

well who does like their old mixes. Until you've mastered the art, there is always so much room for improvement. just gaining another 6 months - 1 year of experience can drastically improve/change your production and engineering.

[equallyscrewed]

you should release a compilation of your work... id buy it. Cant see the bands refusing to let you use their stuff either, great publicity!

xcx

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by equallyscrewed

you should release a compilation of your work... id buy it. Cant see the bands refusing to let you use their stuff either, great publicity!

xcx

haha!

[ScottyD]

Seriously man... every time I listen to your mixes I feel like walking down into my basement and either burning my gear, or practicing to get better. Hopefully I don't ever burn it. Your production style is well polished.

-ScottyD

[luctellier]

Thanks Scott!

I posted the 3rd song and updated the player. So now all the final mixes are online!

CLICK HERE

LT

[norman_nomad]

Originally Posted by luctellier

Thanks Scott!

I posted the 3rd song and updated the player. So now all the final mixes are online!

CLICK HERE

LT

Sounds great dude!

The only things I'd want to hear is more OH... it's flesh out the high end and pull the kit together so it sounds a little less triggered... I know there's a trade off in terms of how tight everything will sound .... but that's just my preference... I noticed this the most in the chorus..

I do love your kick and snare sounds... awesome. Did you play drums on this?

How do you generally approach kick and snare eq/compression?

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by norman_nomad

Sounds great dude!

The only things I'd want to hear is more OH... it's flesh out the high end and pull the kit together so it sounds a little less triggered... I know there's a trade off in terms of how tight everything will sound .... but that's just my preference... I noticed this the most in the chorus..

I do love your kick and snare sounds... awesome. Did you play drums on this?

How do you generally approach kick and snare eq/compression?

Thanks! I didn't play drums on this. It's not my band. The drummer recorded all of his parts. I did change a lot of the drum parts. Mostly reducing the amount of drum fills because there was too much going on. There's still some drum parts that I would have played different but we always have to respect the Artist's decision. Good news by the way, I'll be recording this band's debut album in 2009.

Regarding kick and snare processing, I try not to tweak them in solo. I make most of my EQ and compression decisions while listening to the song with all the elements. It's easy to tweak a kick or snare in solo during minutes and then bring up the other elements and notice that it doesn't work at all in the context. I also try to tune the snare to the key of the song so that the ring and decay blend better in the song. I scoop the mids out of the kick and add some 50hz and some high mid using Waves SSL E-Channel. I really like Waves Renaissance Bass on kick and toms also.

Most of the time, I will use the UAD 1176LN to compress the kick and snare. I was using the Waves SSL E-Channel compressor before but now I always use the 1176. I don't really like how the compressor react on the E-Channel. I'm sure the dynamic section of the real thing reacts totally different but I never had the chance to mix on a real board.

I have drums to record tomorrow for my new project with the singer of my former band and I rented for the weekend a 1176AE, a Distressor and a SPL Transient Designer. I never had the chance to really experiment with real outboard as I mix all ITB but this weekend I'm going to play with these toys! I'll post a video and some sound clips.

LT

[norman_nomad]

Originally Posted by luctellier

I have a song to record on drums for my new project with the singer of my former band and I rented for the weekend a 1176AE, a Distressor and a SPL Transient Designer. I never had the chance to really experiment with real outboard as I mix all ITB but this weekend I'm going to play with these toys! I'll post a video and some sound clips.

LT

Sweet! That'll be fun.

[drumrec.com]

Originally Posted by luctellier

Hey,

Just finished mixing the first 2 songs out of 3 that I've produced, recorded, mixed and mastered for a very talented (IMHO) young local band. All the members are 18 years old. The singer has only 8 months of singing experience. The band was influenced by bands such as Fallout Boy, Taking Back Sunday, The Academy Is. I would appreciate to have feedback on the mixes.

CLICK HERE

Thanks!
LT

Hi Luc!!

Must say that it is really good ITB mix

Maybe I should do as a previous speaker said, to mix in a little more overhead / ambience (on this song), blending them in with sample replacement a little bit more. But the risk of being OT, I am more curious about how you've made your mix (not very helpful here, haha).

First, I wonder if you even have left some of the original sounds of close mic of Snare / bd?. Is it "steven slate" sample you have used or are their own made? What is your preamp / mic to the drums? Last but not least, I wonder how the song chain looks inkl.vocalmicrophone.

Sorry Luc, but once gearslutz always gearslutz* laughs *. you need not answer all the questions I asked and I imagine that I am a little bit OT!!
But if u have time left it would be nice 2 here how you've done the mix, because I diggade your mix significantly.

Keep up the good work Luc

Best Regard

Hansson/drumrec

[lpkyer]

Originally Posted by luctellier

I have drums to record tomorrow for my new project with the singer of my former band and I rented for the weekend a 1176AE, a Distressor and a SPL Transient Designer. I never had the chance to really experiment with real outboard as I mix all ITB but this weekend I'm going to play with these toys! I'll post a video and some sound clips.

LT

Awesome...where did you rent your stuff? I hope you'll like the distressor better than I did

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by drumrec.com

Must say that it is really good ITB mix
Maybe I should do as a previous speaker said, to mix in a little more overhead / ambience (on this song), blending them in with sample replacement a little bit more. But the risk of being OT, I am more curious about how you've made your mix (not very helpful here, haha).

I agree with your comments and I've put new versions of all the songs with the OH louder. The cymbals were not present enough. Now I think they are just fine.

Originally Posted by drumrec.com

First, I wonder if you even have left some of the original sounds of close mic of Snare / bd?. Is it "steven slate" sample you have used or are their own made? What is your preamp / mic to the drums? Last but not least, I wonder how the song chain looks inkl.vocalmicrophone.

It depends of the songs but kick was replaced in one song ("No Slit") and was blended in the two others. The snare on "No Slit" was augmented with custom sample for ring and consistency and the other songs were mostly using the top snare track with a little bit of sample for consistency. Kick was a Beta 52 inside (I always use that mic for kick) and SM57 on top and bottom. But I bought an Audix i5 last week and I'll be using it on the future. You can hear one of my comparison test between the 57 and i5 in the shootout section. Preamps used were SPL TrackOne and Midas Venice 240 console. We used a AKG C414 with SPL TrackOne preamp for vocals.

Thanks!
LT

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by lpkyer

Awesome...where did you rent your stuff? I hope you'll like the distressor better than I did

1176AE at Steve's Music, SPL Transient Designer and Distressor at Karisma!

So far, I LOVE the Distresor on pretty much everything! The 1176AE on vocals is amazing. I compared the UAD 1176LN plugin and the hardware unit on vocals and now I know what I'm missing by mixing totally ITB. The hardware unit kinda de-ess the vocals when used with agressive settings (fast attack, slow release, all-in) and really push the vocal forward in the mix without bringing all the breath and sibillance. I'm going to buy one these soon! Funny, the serial number of the 1176AE is #004! The hardware SPL Transient Designer 'attack' control is also better than the UAD one (obviously) but I hear no difference between both regarding the 'sustain' control.

[guy0012]

Originally Posted by luctellier

I have drums to record tomorrow for my new project with the singer of my former band and I rented for the weekend a 1176AE, a Distressor and a SPL Transient Designer. I never had the chance to really experiment with real outboard as I mix all ITB but this weekend I'm going to play with these toys! I'll post a video and some sound clips.

congrats with that rental. you really do deserve nice outboard.

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by guy0012

congrats with that rental. you really do deserve nice outboard.

I'm having so much fun right now with the Distressor on my DW kick! My girlfriend is waiting for me at the appartement... and I'm playing with my toys!

[lpkyer]

Hey luc is there the british mod on the distressor?

Is the AE version of the 1176 less noisy?

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by lpkyer

Hey luc is there the british mod on the distressor?

Is the AE version of the 1176 less noisy?

Yes I have the British mode on this Distressor and that's what I like about this unit.

Well, I tried the original 1176 a couple of months ago and I prefer the AE version. The 2:1 mode is really useful if you want to track vocal and have the 1176 tone without compressing too much on the way in. The slow mode (10ms) is also a nice feature.

[lpkyer]

Originally Posted by luctellier

Yes I have the British mode on this Distressor and that's what I like about this unit.

Well, I tried the original 1176 a couple of months ago and I prefer the AE version. The 2:1 mode is really useful if you want to track vocal and have the 1176 tone without compressing too much on the way in. The slow mode (10ms) is also a nice feature.

Sounds like I need to give the distressor a chance once again...but with the brit mod this time lol.

[luctellier]

By the way, here's the MySpace link of the band:

Bigger And Better Things

Really cool kids!

LT

[drumrec.com]

Originally Posted by luctellier

. Kick was a Beta 52 inside (I always use that mic for kick) and SM57 on top and bottom. But I bought an Audix i5 last week and I'll be using it on the future. You can hear one of my comparison test between the 57 and i5 in the shootout section.
Thanks!
LT

Thanks Luc you for sharing your knowledge. Always interesting to hear how others make recordings.
Yes, I like the Beta 52 on the kick 2. I bought a second mic 4 my bd, Audix D6.
Have heard so much good about this mic, but I might be one of the few in the crowd who still prefer Beta 52. I thought D6 was too much scooped in frequencies.
Have not tested Audix i5, must borrow it sometime. I run SM57 + Beta 56 on top Snare and I am very pleased with the sound. Audix D1 had become under mic 4 snare. Where I liked the Audix mic best was on toms, but I will give i5an a chance.

Nice with playing arround with Distressorn and 1176 in your studio. Hope your girlfriend will not be too disappointed when you get home late at night after the studio


A tip on a wonderful Compressor on drums and much more is "Audio & Design F760X-RS". I am incredibly happy with it (send with a picture of glory)
Quite wonderful on drums, check on ebay, you can find there.

Best Regards

Hansson

[luctellier]

Originally Posted by drumrec.com

Thanks Luc you for sharing your knowledge. Always interesting to hear how others make recordings.
Yes, I like the Beta 52 on the kick 2. I bought a second mic 4 my bd, Audix D6.
Have heard so much good about this mic, but I might be one of the few in the crowd who still prefer Beta 52. I thought D6 was too much scooped in frequencies.
Have not tested Audix i5, must borrow it sometime. I run SM57 + Beta 56 on top Snare and I am very pleased with the sound. Audix D1 had become under mic 4 snare. Where I liked the Audix mic best was on toms, but I will give i5an a chance.

Nice with playing arround with Distressorn and 1176 in your studio. Hope your girlfriend will not be too disappointed when you get home late at night after the studio


A tip on a wonderful Compressor on drums and much more is "Audio & Design F760X-RS". I am incredibly happy with it (send with a picture of glory)
Quite wonderful on drums, check on ebay, you can find there.

Best Regards

Hansson

The D6 is even more scooped than the Beta 52? Geez, I must buy one! I saw your website and your videos, quite nice setup and you're also a great drummer!

[drumrec.com]

Originally Posted by luctellier

The D6 is even more scooped than the Beta 52? Geez, I must buy one! I saw your website and your videos, quite nice setup and you're also a great drummer!

Thanks Luc, it means a lot to get compliment from such a good drummer / producer as you Luz, so I can only say thanks and ditto.
Saw your video on myspace with sound check, HOA ... u have Chops dude, awsome!!What a wonderful Neve mixing desk... meeee want

I got stuck on this thread because I sit and write the typical "Fallout Boys' songs 4 the moment.
So I am a bit curious how people get their sound within that music genre. So I must thank you Luc, for your humility to share your experience.

Good luck with everything (can not go wrong for you, for it sounds great already).

See u around here on GS

Best Regards

Hansson