Please listen, advise needed :)

[maxforce]

Hey guys, so i have read these forums and tried to take in as much as i can.
This is my most recent mix and one that i have actually tried to do well at, to the best of my ability any way i only have my own band to practice on, this is my third time recording them.

Equipment used:
-zoom r16
-SE Electronics sE2200a
-stagg drum mic set: (sampled kick and snare) used the mics more as triggers in the end as i couldnt get a good sound out the kick, the snare sounded nasty anyway lol :P i lack the know how to record the kick better.

i dont have the room to record guitars through an amp so all the guitars are running into amplitube 3 or waves GTR.


I dont have any monitors yet so this mix has been done on some tecknika 2.1 computer speakers.


any help will really be appreciated.
http://soundcloud.com/morethanmemoriesofficial/it-was-always-you

[Ves Paul]

First off, I'm no pro. But I thought that the intro being as long as it was, could have used some harmonies or second guitar parts to keep the listener interested. The vocal and guitar mix sounded pretty good level-wise.

I don't know what the original kick sounded like, but I think it may have been better to use the original sounds. Good drum sounds are usually not that hard to achieve when tuned right and mic placement is good. Usually just a 57 type mic on the snare will yield good enough results. If you just have one mic for the kick, try to place it somewhere that gives you some slap as well as a bit of boom and EQ from there. The kick sound lacked low end presence on my system. Couldn't discern the cymbals very well.

The guitar parts and some of the drum parts were not jiving on the one on some of the start, stop parts. (2:25) So more attention to detail while editing would tighten that up. Or make guitar guy punch in or re-record those parts. This would require a producer type role.

OK, I've spoken enough about something that humbles me every day.

Keep rockin'!

[maxforce]

thanks for the info

[stagefright13]

I like the song you did A good job. I would bring up the vocals some tho in the heavier parts. Not on my monitors right now.. Just listening on headphones. Everything sounds A little limited in the crispy region. May wanna boost 10 or 12k some in the mix buss. Like 3db. Look at your Daws spectrum analyser. Not for the intro tho.


John

[maxforce]

I bought some monitors finally so i had a go at mixing this song again through them... (yamaha hs50m's)

what you think? Any better?

Edit: i replaced the old mix with this one on soundcloud, so you wont be able to hear that version

http://soundcloud.com/morethanmemoriesofficial/it-was-always-you

[Jansen]

Hi Max,

Like the song... just re the mixdown. The vocal is very strong in the mix, and perhaps could be softened a little

[maxforce]

hey cheera for the input. by softend do u?
just mean quieter?

[NYCruiser]

Cool song! OK, here's my opinion:

The mix isn't "believable" yet. In other words, where the track is just acoustic guitar and vox, it shouldn't be as loud as when the entire band kicks in. We all have volume knobs and can turn the soft parts up if we want. Don't get caught up in the "volume war". It takes away the "punch" of when the electric band kicks in.

Get the dynamics of the song right, and the mix will become magically more exciting. If you're new at mixing, try getting the mix right without any compression on your 2 bus. Use trims (or Gain plugins) on each track to LOWER the levels to -12 DBFS or so so that they aren't clipping the 2 bus when you sum them.

Your ear seems good for the tones of the instruments, its the technical dynamic and gain staging stuff you need to look into.

Close your eyes and imagine you are watching a band perform the song, then make it sound believable.

There's lot's of good stuff happing in this song. A little dynamic sensitivity will bring it right out IMHO.

The second mix sounds a little better to me dynamically, but I would keep the intro levels where they are around 10-12 seconds in instead of continuing to fade up, then let the electric part with the drums punch in with the higher levels. Careful not to let that part sound overly compressed.

Similar dynamic in this mix I did some time ago:

[kraku]

Listened and commented in 1.0 promille drunken state. (perfect for intuitive feedback)

-----------

Intro guitar:
- I would have recorded with two mics to get that stereo feel
- I also missed much more lower frequencies for that sound, maybe something like 150+ Hz would be great.

Intro is way too long before the bass kicks in.

Guitar vs. Bass vs. Drums playing isn't tight enough for my taste.

Around 2:40 I was hoping there would be some extra instrument (a synth pad maybe) which would have been added to the mix.

The breakdown part around 3:00 could also benefit from some extra instrument filling the empty frequencies.

[DavieB]

Just go for the power pop thing from the start. Start the thing it @1:42 with Looking at the photos etc, it's better... Don't go half time @2:14 it's boring, keep it full on! Drop the stomp drums @2:54 it's like someone hitting me over the head with a brick. Keep it simple, at the moment it's disjointed.

Start it @1:42, simplify the drums and rhythm section so it trundles along in a power pop style, don't go half time or stomp time, just have drum fills. Re track it. The song arrangement from 1:42 onwards is fine keep it as is...