Finally, i've got monitor speakers

Thijsemans · 14th April 2007, 10:56 PM

Hi there,

I've got my first set of monitor speakers today (Tascam VL-X5) and i just "finished" my first mix on it.

How do you think it sounds? Please give comments, i also like to get bad comments so i can learn something.

Thanks,

Mathijs

jdjustice · 18th April 2007, 04:12 PM

hi Mathijs.
it sounds pretty good!
a punk/emo version of 'Maniac'... interesting!

here's my criticism:
the guitars sound really boxy; did you just plug them straight into the interface?
there is not enough 'punch' or definition to the drums and they sound a bit dead at times.
the vocal is a good performance, but i would like to hear a cohesiveness among the tracks, maybe try a bit more stereo buss compression to achieve this?

overall, a very good mix for someone who is just learning their new monitors!
congratulations on their purchase and i enjoyed listening to this!
keep it up and re-post more stuff for us!

cheers.
~j.d.

Gear Tramp · 18th April 2007, 04:18 PM

Cool ****ing song, any way you slice it.

I always loved the cover by Evergreen Terrace. They were clever enough to name their covers' album Writer's Block. Cool covers of Stars by Hum, too.

This belongs on Punk Goes 80's.

woomanmoomin · 19th April 2007, 04:08 AM

I agree with a lot of what jdjustice says. The drums don't sound convincing to me. The kick is dead, the snare in particular has a familiar dull ploppy sound, and (especially in the choruses) the cymbals sound a bit thin or trashy.

There's a little bit too much high-end sizzle for me overall or something, but I only have ears for analogue and in any case, I've heard much worse.

The bass tone is also quite punchy (perhaps DI'd without a speaker simulator or something), but a lot of the time, I just don't hear it. On the other hand, there's some kind of indistinct bassy grunt (distorted bass?) running through the choruses that I don't really like.

Sometimes the guitars do sound boxy to me, and scooped in the mids. I would probably cut some of the lows there (giving the bass more room) and open up the higher end of the guitar stuff.

The stereo spread doesn't seem very broad to me.

Personally I find that when there's a lot of guitar effects, I don't like it, because I can't really hear what's going on. It makes mixing a lot more difficult for one thing... but that only means you've done well, because this mix isn't at all bad or offensive. It's just a dense rock mix, and they're not very easy to manage!!

Definitely a good result if this is your first mix with monitors.

Thijsemans · 19th April 2007, 11:43 AM

Hi There,

Thank you for all the comments and advise.

About the boxy guitars; They are recorded with microphones but very bad ones. (Warfdale cheap dynamics and a JTS sm58 clones who only let through the high tones). In the mix the warfdale is on the right and the JTS on the left make the guitar sound a bit more wide. But it isn't really working. Maybe someone had a tip?

Bass: The bass that you hear is DI. I have got more tracks of the bass with the warfdale, JTS and a cheap bassdrum mic. So i can try to mix them with it. And about the distored bass, i can't find it in the mix, i have listened to the bass track only but i don't hear it. Maybe it's the guitar effects who sometimes comes into the track.

Drums; The drums sounds indeed a little dull. The reason is that i have recorded them with very cheap Gatt drum mic's and they sounded really bad. So i used drumagog to replace the snare and bassdrum. But i don't have good samples for it. I have tried to use EQ to make them more interesting but it didn't work, maybe you have got some tips also?

guitar effects: When the guiter effects come in it's really a bit overcrowded to my opinion, i am trying at the moment to get it a bit transparent.

If you have any tips and also new comments please post them so i can work further with the mix. And when i have a update i let you know!

Thanks,

Mathijs

Thijsemans · 24th April 2007, 10:39 AM

Hi there,

I have finished the mix of maniac. Please let me know if you like it or not. And offcourse what should change in your opinion.

I'm also busy mixing another number of the same band. Please give me comments. It helped me very much with the other number.

Thanks in advance!

Mathijs

Thijsemans · 29th April 2007, 12:11 PM

Here are the final mixes of the numbers, the band think they are great.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Maniac.mp3
http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Could%20Have%20Lied.mp3
http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Smoke...he%20Water.mp3
http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Messa...A%20Bottle.mp3

Thanks for all the advice,

Mathijs

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14th April 2007, 10:56 PM	#1
Thijsemans Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Leeuwarden, Netherlands Posts: 39	Finally, i've got monitor speakers Hi there, I've got my first set of monitor speakers today (Tascam VL-X5) and i just "finished" my first mix on it. How do you think it sounds? Please give comments, i also like to get bad comments so i can learn something. Thanks, Mathijs

18th April 2007, 04:12 PM	#2
jdjustice Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 2,261	hi Mathijs. it sounds pretty good! a punk/emo version of 'Maniac'... interesting! here's my criticism: the guitars sound really boxy; did you just plug them straight into the interface? there is not enough 'punch' or definition to the drums and they sound a bit dead at times. the vocal is a good performance, but i would like to hear a cohesiveness among the tracks, maybe try a bit more stereo buss compression to achieve this? overall, a very good mix for someone who is just learning their new monitors! congratulations on their purchase and i enjoyed listening to this! keep it up and re-post more stuff for us! cheers. ~j.d. __________________ jdjustice.net

19th April 2007, 11:43 AM	#5
Thijsemans Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Leeuwarden, Netherlands Posts: 39	Thank you! Hi There, Thank you for all the comments and advise. About the boxy guitars; They are recorded with microphones but very bad ones. (Warfdale cheap dynamics and a JTS sm58 clones who only let through the high tones). In the mix the warfdale is on the right and the JTS on the left make the guitar sound a bit more wide. But it isn't really working. Maybe someone had a tip? Bass: The bass that you hear is DI. I have got more tracks of the bass with the warfdale, JTS and a cheap bassdrum mic. So i can try to mix them with it. And about the distored bass, i can't find it in the mix, i have listened to the bass track only but i don't hear it. Maybe it's the guitar effects who sometimes comes into the track. Drums; The drums sounds indeed a little dull. The reason is that i have recorded them with very cheap Gatt drum mic's and they sounded really bad. So i used drumagog to replace the snare and bassdrum. But i don't have good samples for it. I have tried to use EQ to make them more interesting but it didn't work, maybe you have got some tips also? guitar effects: When the guiter effects come in it's really a bit overcrowded to my opinion, i am trying at the moment to get it a bit transparent. If you have any tips and also new comments please post them so i can work further with the mix. And when i have a update i let you know! Thanks, Mathijs

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18th April 2007, 04:18 PM	#3
Gear Tramp Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 661	Cool ****ing song, any way you slice it. I always loved the cover by Evergreen Terrace. They were clever enough to name their covers' album Writer's Block. Cool covers of Stars by Hum, too. This belongs on Punk Goes 80's.

19th April 2007, 04:08 AM	#4
woomanmoomin Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 1,024	I agree with a lot of what jdjustice says. The drums don't sound convincing to me. The kick is dead, the snare in particular has a familiar dull ploppy sound, and (especially in the choruses) the cymbals sound a bit thin or trashy. There's a little bit too much high-end sizzle for me overall or something, but I only have ears for analogue and in any case, I've heard much worse. The bass tone is also quite punchy (perhaps DI'd without a speaker simulator or something), but a lot of the time, I just don't hear it. On the other hand, there's some kind of indistinct bassy grunt (distorted bass?) running through the choruses that I don't really like. Sometimes the guitars do sound boxy to me, and scooped in the mids. I would probably cut some of the lows there (giving the bass more room) and open up the higher end of the guitar stuff. The stereo spread doesn't seem very broad to me. Personally I find that when there's a lot of guitar effects, I don't like it, because I can't really hear what's going on. It makes mixing a lot more difficult for one thing... but that only means you've done well, because this mix isn't at all bad or offensive. It's just a dense rock mix, and they're not very easy to manage!! Definitely a good result if this is your first mix with monitors.

24th April 2007, 10:39 AM	#6
Thijsemans Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Leeuwarden, Netherlands Posts: 39	Hi there, I have finished the mix of maniac. Please let me know if you like it or not. And offcourse what should change in your opinion. I'm also busy mixing another number of the same band. Please give me comments. It helped me very much with the other number. Thanks in advance! Mathijs

29th April 2007, 12:11 PM	#7
Thijsemans Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Leeuwarden, Netherlands Posts: 39	Here are the final mixes of the numbers, the band think they are great. http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Maniac.mp3 http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Could%20Have%20Lied.mp3 http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Smoke...he%20Water.mp3 http://www.xs4all.nl/~machiela/Messa...A%20Bottle.mp3 Thanks for all the advice, Mathijs