Is this rock mix good? Or does it SUCK? Tell me the truth!!

Nu Mixer · 17th January 2009

Here's a short snippet of a rock song I am mixing.

Any advice is appreciated!!!

tenchijin2 · 17th January 2009

I thought it sounded good, but the toms don't quite gel to me. That's about the best I can offer!

Nu Mixer · 17th January 2009

Yeah... I didn't record the drums. They sound weird to me, but I did the best I could. (for example no hat mic).

Any advice on how to improve this mix is really appreciated.

Do you folks think this is good enough to add to my mix reel?

Nu Mixer · 17th January 2009

C'mon guys.. what would Michael Brauer or Bob Clearmountain do differently?

Everbeatz · 17th January 2009

Too much boxiness in lowmids - kick maybe . IMHO it needs some extra eqing to remove some freqs in that area. Drums could be a bit more defined - hihats could go up in some moments. Guitars - few db's up also. To be sonically more coherent you should fix the mids area

Overall it's a good mix

hurd300403 · 17th January 2009

i really liked the work you did with the vox.

not a fan of the drums. if you add this to your mix reel whoever hears it isn't going to care whether you recorded the drums yourself or not. they'll just hear badly recorded drums on YOUR mix reel!

so...i wouldn't

Nu Mixer · 18th January 2009

Thanks for all the suggestions. Sounds like I need to work on the drums a lot. I will do that today.

Nu Mixer · 28th January 2009

Here's the revised mix. Am I getting closer? LOL! I had another engineer help me a bit with the drums.

Is it "reel worthy" yet?

FeatheredSerpent · 28th January 2009

I can tell you what I hear is wrong but I can't tell you how to fix it!

Kick is too loud, still sounds boxy, timing is dodgy, needs to be edited.
Snare could do with just a little something to make it stand out more.
Hats are non-existent.
Vocal sounds really lonely in places, could do with some trickery to make it sound fuller. Vocal timing is really sketchy, bit of editing would help there too.

There's some sort of string sound in the background seems a bit lost.
I wouldn't put this on a reel, mainly because the performances are not very good and whether it's fair or not, that will reflect badly on you.

Nu Mixer · 29th January 2009

Thanks for taking the time to listen. I have to say I agree with much of what you mentioned. I'm going to do one last round of revisions, then put this baby to rest.

PapillonIrl · 29th January 2009

The mix is pretty good, but some of the tracking and playing (particularly drums) could be better.

Second revision definitely an improvement.

If you have any room mic to reduce the close-miked sound of the drums I would try it...there is tons of room for drums with more personality here.

Ditto on the guitars, sounds like modeling, needs more personality/room.

Agree about the kick being slightly too loud.

Cheers,

Nathan

lakeshorephatty · 29th January 2009

just compress the drum bus more. You've got room to push the drum elements back with respect to the cymbals and ambiance so do it. Other than that pretty good.

Editing a bit of the drummer could work but this has a raw vibe and it sort of works a little once you take the kick and snare out of focus a little..

Looking for vintage style compression/limiting, attack 0.1ms or faster and release somewhere between 10 and 60ms should really bring the drums to life.

Have fun with it.

Russell

fzit0 · 30th January 2009

the vocal sounds thin
try making it thicker
and the drums sometimes get lost in the mix
but i like the song itself

17th January 2009	#2
tenchijin2 Gear addict Joined: Sep 2006 Location: La Center, WA Posts: 440	I thought it sounded good, but the toms don't quite gel to me. That's about the best I can offer! __________________ Aric Keith for samples of my work, visit www.junglenoisestudio.com/samples.html

17th January 2009	#6
hurd300403 Gear maniac Joined: Feb 2006 Location: Washington DC Posts: 249	i really liked the work you did with the vox. not a fan of the drums. if you add this to your mix reel whoever hears it isn't going to care whether you recorded the drums yourself or not. they'll just hear badly recorded drums on YOUR mix reel! so...i wouldn't __________________ i have more gear than i need, but less than i want.

29th January 2009	#11
PapillonIrl Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2003 Location: Ireland Posts: 626	The mix is pretty good, but some of the tracking and playing (particularly drums) could be better. Second revision definitely an improvement. If you have any room mic to reduce the close-miked sound of the drums I would try it...there is tons of room for drums with more personality here. Ditto on the guitars, sounds like modeling, needs more personality/room. Agree about the kick being slightly too loud. Cheers, Nathan __________________ ''Because your candle burns too bright, well I almost forgot it was twilight' Elliott Smith

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17th January 2009	#3
Nu Mixer Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Thread Starter	Yeah... I didn't record the drums. They sound weird to me, but I did the best I could. (for example no hat mic). Any advice on how to improve this mix is really appreciated. Do you folks think this is good enough to add to my mix reel?

17th January 2009	#5
Everbeatz gears for Live Joined: Apr 2007 Location: NS Posts: 568 2 Reviews written	Too much boxiness in lowmids - kick maybe . IMHO it needs some extra eqing to remove some freqs in that area. Drums could be a bit more defined - hihats could go up in some moments. Guitars - few db's up also. To be sonically more coherent you should fix the mids area Overall it's a good mix

18th January 2009	#7
Nu Mixer Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Thread Starter	Thanks for all the suggestions. Sounds like I need to work on the drums a lot. I will do that today.

28th January 2009	#9
FeatheredSerpent Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,442	I can tell you what I hear is wrong but I can't tell you how to fix it! Kick is too loud, still sounds boxy, timing is dodgy, needs to be edited. Snare could do with just a little something to make it stand out more. Hats are non-existent. Vocal sounds really lonely in places, could do with some trickery to make it sound fuller. Vocal timing is really sketchy, bit of editing would help there too. There's some sort of string sound in the background seems a bit lost. I wouldn't put this on a reel, mainly because the performances are not very good and whether it's fair or not, that will reflect badly on you.

29th January 2009	#12
lakeshorephatty Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,525	just compress the drum bus more. You've got room to push the drum elements back with respect to the cymbals and ambiance so do it. Other than that pretty good. Editing a bit of the drummer could work but this has a raw vibe and it sort of works a little once you take the kick and snare out of focus a little.. Looking for vintage style compression/limiting, attack 0.1ms or faster and release somewhere between 10 and 60ms should really bring the drums to life. Have fun with it. Russell

30th January 2009	#13
fzit0 Gear addict Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 396	the vocal sounds thin try making it thicker and the drums sometimes get lost in the mix but i like the song itself