What do you guys think of this mix? Advice needed

[NeoHippy]

200 views...and nobody can help me?!?!?

common guyz..where are the experienced mtl engineers??

pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssssssseeeeeeeeeee

[ickefes]

The things that I thought of listening to it once was that it is bass shy, each instruments in the mix does not have "its own space" and for the genre (but it is not a rule at all) the roomy sound is inappropriate. Just of opinions.

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by ickefes

The things that I thought of listening to it once was that it is bass shy, each instruments in the mix does not have "its own space" and for the genre (but it is not a rule at all) the roomy sound is inappropriate. Just of opinions.

what do you mean by bass shy? to less bass? i shelfed out about 2 db on the sum from 110 hz...should i undo that?

ok, so i should use less reverb?

i have a reverb on the sum...with mix about 3 or 4%( i used it because it phatened up the sound a little)...maybe i should just get rid of that one...and turn down the all the reverb auxes for some db?!?

ill try that...and upload it again!!

many thanks for your opinion!!!


anyone else???? PLEASEEEE!??!?!!?

[martin7475]

i would...

turn down the hi hat
try re triggering the kick with a sample
work with a transient designer on the snare (try duplicating the snare, compress the shit out of one and and spike the attack up on the other one with a trans designer)
compress the vocals more. try a limiter as well.
wack up some 8k on the vox
try spiking an eq and sweeping the mids for the snare and kick. theres a few bad mid frequencys there.

[Go Nigel Go]

I rather liked it all in all, I can see what the other poster means out some lack of bass. This genre of music is all about simulating being run over by a large granite prison. You have that, except the building is off it's foundation (to overwork a questionable metaphor... ). Also you might want to try shaving a few db off the mids of the guitar(s) in the heavy singing passages and give them to the vocals, they seemed a tad thin in places. I didn't hear any problems with the reverb. As you say, it thickened, but didn't muddy the mix. Pretty minor corrections for the most part. If you are still in contact with the band, ask to borrow a few of their favorite CDs and listen to them on your studio monitors and I think you will quickly see what you are missing. Not bad for someone who hasn't heard much of this style of music.

[NeoHippy]

thanks people!!! good suggestions there! i will try all that and re-up the song then!!

will be finished in a couple of hours!!!

i really appreciate your input guyz!
cheers

[NeoHippy]

so folks... here is what i changed:

vocals:

cranked up at about 8khz+"some more exiter"
harder compression+some ( max 1.5db) limitation

hihat:

turned down 2 db

snare:
equed out some nasty freqs, 2 bands one at about 550 hz and one at 780hz or so
doubled it, then squeezed the hell out of one track (about 15 db GR)
the other track has logics enveloper on with massive gain at the attack 7db or so

kick:
re-triggerd it with an other bass-havier sample from logic

reverb: turned down the drum bus reverb for some dbs
turned down the snare reverb for 1 db
turned down vocal reverb for 1 db or so

bass:
turned bass bus up for 1 db and then..
di signal got more bass in the amp simulator, mic signal didnt change

sum: i got rid of the low-shelf which was at 97 hz -1.5db

i think that was it...maybe some other minor changes!!

i think it really helped the mix....i can see what you ment with "bass-shy" before...

so what do you guys think?? is it better than before??? not too much bass now?

i couldnt upload the file to gearslutz...i dont know why..it uploaded for half an hour and didnt finish...so i uploaded it to zshare...

http://www2.zshare.ma/a3k26j9lhu3t

please download it and give it a listen again!!

thank you all! really, i appreciate your input a lot!!

cheers

[NeoHippy]

pump up the jam!?!?!?!? whats up with the posters from yesterday!!! i need your feedback again

[martin7475]

Yeah that seems a lot tidier. You can make out the drums more now.

[NeoHippy]

thanks martin!!!!! anyone else....????

somebody coming anything to mind i still should alter??

[imixrecords]

Sounds pretty good man! Just focus on mixing IN the genre. You will get mix approvals a lot faster if it sounds like metal (in this case).

If you spent a few hours studying some metal records you'd have a better clue of where to go on this one. When possible, try to get a feel for what genre the producer is going for and then go study some examples to get ideas. Then you can start "mixing" with the first mic choice and placement. I think any of the first three (Kill em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets) Metallica albums are prime examples of what metal should sound like.

[mattjew24]

Kick drum is the biggest thing, it needs a lot more attack...that papery snapping sound. Less overheads/hat..guitars probably should be panned a little wider

Consider blending samples with the kick and snare

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by imixrecords

Sounds pretty good man! Just focus on mixing IN the genre. You will get mix approvals a lot faster if it sounds like metal (in this case).

If you spent a few hours studying some metal records you'd have a better clue of where to go on this one. When possible, try to get a feel for what genre the producer is going for and then go study some examples to get ideas. Then you can start "mixing" with the first mic choice and placement. I think any of the first three (Kill em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets) Metallica albums are prime examples of what metal should sound like.

thanks for your opinion. well the thing is, i probably wont mix metal again. Its just a project for uni which needs to be finished by tomorrow :D

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by mattjew24

Kick drum is the biggest thing, it needs a lot more attack...that papery snapping sound. Less overheads/hat..guitars probably should be panned a little wider

Consider blending samples with the kick and snare

thanks....I thought that too! i am triggering a sample to the kick already. Ill try to shape it in the sampler a little more.

cheers

[NeoHippy]

here the new version:

i widened the guitars a little more!
turned down the overheads and HiHat

i changed the envelope of the sample kick which is triggering additional to the recorded layers, so it has more attack and less release. Then i compressed the kick bus different so it got more punch and transient designed it a little more towards more attack. i think the kick is much "attackier" now and sounds better but still not optimal...i just cant get better sound of the recordings. the kick wasnt good enough recorded due to less time...(the whole song was recorded in a 10 hour session)

what do you all and mattjew think, better now all in all?

heres the download link:

Download Liar3.0.mp3 - zSHARE

thanks a lot!

cheers

[NeoHippy]

well, if noone has anything to say to the last mix...i guess its finished and ill submit it like that!

[TjTminds]

Aggressive music calls for an aggressive mix, There's a lot of mud, sounds a bit distant. Guitars need to be a bit more upfront, but don't lose the bass guitar!! Drums will be an evil in itself but that's the best part with this genre, the snare should slap you in the mouth and the kick should loosen your bowels. These guys typically have 1 volume and love that over compressed drum sound, but it still has to have life, duplicate tracks, and buses will really help here, especially if youre familiar with side chain compression. There's a lot of good pointers up there and there's always a method to the madness, but the biggest thing is use your ears and remember, there's no rules as long as it sounds good

[TjTminds]

And to add it does sound pretty good thus far

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by TjTminds

Aggressive music calls for an aggressive mix, There's a lot of mud, sounds a bit distant. Guitars need to be a bit more upfront, but don't lose the bass guitar!! Drums will be an evil in itself but that's the best part with this genre, the snare should slap you in the mouth and the kick should loosen your bowels. These guys typically have 1 volume and love that over compressed drum sound, but it still has to have life, duplicate tracks, and buses will really help here, especially if youre familiar with side chain compression. There's a lot of good pointers up there and there's always a method to the madness, but the biggest thing is use your ears and remember, there's no rules as long as it sounds good

I've submited the mix to the uni today...so your comment came to late ...
As its not my genre and i did not really have fun mixing it, i wont continue.
but still thanks for your comment.

cheers

[NeoHippy]

Thank you all guys....you helped me A LOT! I am pretty sure my Profs will grad the mix as positiv!!


by the way: if you guys like the song you are welcome to keep or download it!

ITS NOT FOR SALE OR REPRODUCTION-->Copyright by "The Milk Revolution"

(For Remixes or similar things, you need to ask (me) for permission)

cheers

[mattjew24]

Originally Posted by NeoHippy

here the new version:

i widened the guitars a little more!
turned down the overheads and HiHat

i changed the envelope of the sample kick which is triggering additional to the recorded layers, so it has more attack and less release. Then i compressed the kick bus different so it got more punch and transient designed it a little more towards more attack. i think the kick is much "attackier" now and sounds better but still not optimal...i just cant get better sound of the recordings. the kick wasnt good enough recorded due to less time...(the whole song was recorded in a 10 hour session)

what do you all and mattjew think, better now all in all?

heres the download link:

Download Liar3.0.mp3 - zSHARE

thanks a lot!

cheers

Yep It's better but could be improved. It sounds like the band wasn't really tight enough to begin with. Metal is extremely hard!

Props anyway!

[Go Nigel Go]

Sorry to miss out on the fun, but I was out of town for a few days. Your last mix sounded better, vocals were much more present, and had the desired impact.Hope you got an A!

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by mattjew24

Yep It's better but could be improved. It sounds like the band wasn't really tight enough to begin with. Metal is extremely hard!

Props anyway!

thx! yeah ,they werent really tight enough ....as i said it all way recorded(including the instrument/equit build up, the micing and overdubbing) in a 10 hours session..

[NeoHippy]

Originally Posted by Go Nigel Go

Sorry to miss out on the fun, but I was out of town for a few days. Your last mix sounded better, vocals were much more present, and had the desired impact.Hope you got an A!

No problem...you all helped a lot anyway! Thanks!

i dont know my grad by now! but ill post it here as soon as i know it :D

cheers

[Baz]

I'd try and get some low mids in there the next time. Guitars sound like they're all 2-5k, vocals are really thin, and there's just a too much high mid overall and this makes the mix fatiguing to listen to. It sounds way scooped

[NeoHippy]

I got 87% on the mix! thank you all so much!