Criticism would be much appreciated

[johnnyboy4]

Hi, my names john I'm 21 I've been reading threads until 5am every night since i found the site . My band just got signed to capitol records for a developement deal, im responsible for demoing songs before we present them. I have to mix itb due to many reasons. dfhs, toneport and some waves plugins. I would love some tips and criticism on how to get things sounding better. no vox yet on this but you get the idea. http://www.phase9band.com/mp3s/betterphase9.mp3

[flail19]

Originally Posted by johnnyboy4

I would love some tips and criticism on how to get things sounding better. no vox yet on this but you get the idea. http://www.phase9band.com/mp3s/betterphase9.mp3

Where's the bass??? I mean I know it's there somewhere...........

[johnnyboy4]

thanks for the response. is it a volume thing or a tone problem.. or both e. i have the most trouble with the bass, either its to loud and has an annoying wuffy sound or in this case its to low. if you dont mind, let me know if its a problem in this too.

http://www.phase9band.com/mp3s/heal.mp3

[keithfreund]

sounds presentable to me. bass (the bass guitar, that is) definitely needs to come up. it seems to come in at 0:25 and leave again. the overall mix seems a bit dull- but that may not be so bad if this is just a demo. id add a little more high end to the snare, (and im talking 5-10k) as well as to the guitars. guitars sound a little thin, yet muddy at the same time- sounds like a phase problem although it probably isn't. some of this will be fixed (masked) when the bass is raised.

the bass level is fine in "heal", but again, everything is a bit dull. try listening to another cd in protools (or whatever) through the same speakers and go back and forth. the difference should be pretty apparent.

the toms and kick have plenty of high end (triggered?)

[flail19]

Originally Posted by johnnyboy4

thanks for the response. is it a volume thing or a tone problem.. or both e. i have the most trouble with the bass, either its to loud and has an annoying wuffy sound or in this case its to low. if you dont mind, let me know if its a problem in this too.

http://www.phase9band.com/mp3s/heal.mp3

I try not to get too technical on these things. I mean am I suppose to listen to it as an engineer/producer, as a critical listening consumer or from a business standpoint? Technically all of what keithfreund is saying is true IMO. From a practical standpoint, try to make some space for the bass by notching out other frequencies in the other instruments. I mean to say it may not be a volume thing. sometimes when you just "turn up the fader" it creates other problems. There are others here that are better at putting this stuff into words.....you came to the right place...good luck and keep on truckin'!

[johnnyboy4]

yes they are demos but this has become a huge passion for me so i definatly wanna work on getting great mixes. I have a show tonight so i wont get to try any suggestions for a little. I'll post another mix as soon as i do.

one problem i've been getting when i try to make things a little brighter is that hair dryer effect on guitars, i cant stand that!. yes the toms and kickdrum are triggered. (drumkit from hell superior). Anyone live in the ny area??

[lucey]

We tend to mix what's easy to hear (high mids) and skip over what's hard to hear (real mids) and ignore what's impossible to hear in poor room/monitor set ups (the low mids/low end)

I'd suggest you treat your room before buying any more gear with some good bass traps (Real Traps for example). Then train yourself on the mids that are easy to ignore ... 300-1k by upping an eq and scrolling around.

The shrill guitar thing is the result of a scoop in the mix, because you're only playing with the higher mids ... ignoring the real mids and not being able to hear the lower mids, low end.

[stagefright13]

I like it sounds cool. Kinda midrangey overall. But I like it. I can hear the bass.