Modern Rawk...first Equionox,384, Portico, RMS rock mix

[pigpen]

So this is my first modern rock tune mixed with my new gear....certainly a new sound for me. Any ideas/critiques?

This is not set in stone either so....off you go

[Captain_Howdy]

The first few bars sounds EXACTLY like that song on "Rockstar" where Mark Wahlberg is in the vocal booth at the studio trying out for the band. The song he sang for his audition or whatever...


anyhow...the vocal performance itself is shaky. I like where you were going with the guitars tone wise...it just needs to be thickened up a bit. But that bright, Marshall- esque tone is cool for this type of stuff. Also the vocals are a little hot in spots. Other than that..sounds good so far!

[Captain_Howdy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evL2sPk8eeY

matter of fact I found it.. haha. Not quite the same notes..but REALLY similar.

[pigpen]

Ha ha...you guys have no idea how funny that is to me....I run around the studio all the time screaming as high pitched as I can "Stand up and Shout!!!!"

These guys will hate to hear the comparison, which of course makes it all the more fun!

FWIW, not a Marshall at all, it was my old dual rectifier that I love dearly....



Anymore mix critiques?

[Captain_Howdy]

Originally Posted by pigpen

Ha ha...you guys have no idea how funny that is to me....I run around the studio all the time screaming as high pitched as I can "Stand up and Shout!!!!"

These guys will hate to hear the comparison, which of course makes it all the more fun!

FWIW, not a Marshall at all, it was my old dual rectifier that I love dearly....



Anymore mix critiques?

haha seriously...show em that video on youtube.

[pigpen]

OK, since I want some ideas, I'll start....
Does it feel a bit choked? i am still working out my compressions technique and am a bit unsure of it. I may just be reading too much into since it is new for me.

Or it could be verb....Too much verb on the drums?
I am really starting to question what I am hearing off my Mackies in my room. This mix sounds soooo much better in my car and at home, hell even on my ipod...damn it!

[krid]

Do you have a limiter, a "pre mastering" on your mix ?

It sounds a bit too compressed to me.

I would try to work more on the bass, it could sit better in the mix.

I would try to put a bit more fx on the vox.

[pigpen]

Yea I have the Massey limiter at the end. I am going to pull it off and repost sometime soon.

Thanks for the input....I have been living with this record for 3 weeks now and am kind of in overkill mode so I was glad to get to mix a few and then step away and work on some other stuff for awhile, fresh ears I hope.

[krid]

Yes pull off the limiter and repost it.

What do you have on the stereo master bus : SSL 384 or Portico or RMS ?

[pigpen]

384 on master
RMS on Kicks and Bass
Portico on rest of the kit
Fatso on gtrs

None hitting very hard at all, no more than 4db at anytime. SSL hovering between 2-4 at max.

[Dave Derr]

Can we take complete responsibility for the sound of those guitars? Friggin great sound. They sound a little like Hiwatts? It initially reminded me of Collective Souls first album... a nice raw rippin guitar!

If I had to critique the mix, I would say that you could have compressed the vocals a lot more and pulled them back in the mix 3 dB or so... ala modern mixes. They poke out just a little too far in quite a few places, and I think the compression and overall lower level would have been a nice slight-of-hand trick. Perhaps riding a delay on some chorus or key lines on the vocal track would have added some dynamics and polish.

The bass could possibly be pumped up a little more, maybe pushing the mids a touch (700 - 2K) to get some KANK out of it. You can always roll off above 3K to get rid of clack and pick noise. I listened on little speakers and cant say anything about the subs on the overall mix.

If you did a TV mix without vocals to your DAW, you can always re-smash and re-mix the vocals pretty easily because the rest of the balances are pretty danged good. This is one of the reasons in todays world, you really have to do a "TV mix", at least, and preferably some stem mixes. Perhaps as mentioned, a slightly different Buss compression might be appropriate, but Ive certainly heard worse. The other day I heard Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos and that Buss compression is really out there... pumping and spitting unnaturally. And yet, the album sold a million copies... so who knows!??

GOOD JOB!

[pigpen]

Thanks for the tips. I head back in on this on Monday with some fresh ears and ideas from you guys.
I am going to definitely fix the compression issues and back off a bit. The vocals will get tuned where needed and I now own Echo Boy so I will go back and play with the effects vocally as well.

And for you Mr Derr....I usually use my Fatso on my OH's with fantastic results, but this time I needed a little love on the guitars and gave it a shot (I normailly do not use compression on guitars at all except on solos or acoustics) and was pretty damned wowed! Might need a second one now!!!!

I actually mixed a few others of theirs and actually like one of the others alot better, but this is more than likely their single so this is where help was needed.....thanks again guys

[pigpen]

Remix...still have not tuned the vocals, but I dig this WAY more!

[krid]

Do you still have the Massey limiter on this remix ?

It still feels a bit chocked, specially the drums.

[pigpen]

no massey

[NowandThen]

The vox sound really stiff to me. Kinda distracting from the rest of the mix. Guitars and drums sound great. Bit more mids in the bass, mabe another bass track reamped through a little guitar amp to mix with original track or tracks.
Great job!
-Chris-

[pigpen]

Another mix to come sometime soon....
Now and Then....How do you mean stiff? On the new mix there's some mroe movement with a little Echo Boy action. Do you mean movement wise or just the take itself?
Bass has been excessively f'd with at this point.

[NowandThen]

I think the stiffness comes from the actual take itself. Some singers Stiffen up when they are in front of a mic. some times it helps to give them a guitar so there body moves as it would if they were actually playing.
Hope this helps!
-Chris-

[pigpen]

So I gotta pull the plug at some point and I think this is it for this tune...thanks for all the replies. I like this mix a good bit, as good as I am going to get it anyway...I am going to post a tune that I actually really dig real soon.

So what you guys think?

[pigpen]

This is more primal and more indicative of the band. Singer was literally crying through the take. That boy is full of emotion. He may need some counselling...perfect front man!

It is a unglorified tune and I think I captured that in the mix....just thought I'd go ahead and point out that clean it ain't.

Let me know