rock/pop/emo mix, work in progress,feedback?

[LongWave]

Hi,

my name's ro, im 20, i have a small project studio in wales in the uk.
been reading gearslutz for ages, been extreemly helpfull!

anyway, ive been working with this band this week. they're kinda like the used meets somethign a bit more indie i guess.

please check out my work in progress mp3. ANY feedback is most gratefull, tips on improving it, etc. it's still just a rough mix, we only finished vocals today

please dont flame me for squashing the hell out of it. that's how i want it! (i mix with some things on the mix bus).

cheers

[rainsinvelvet]

I thought it sounds nice. My first thoughts:
Guitars sound a bit thin to me, maybe add a bit more in the lower mids..?..
IS the Kick / snare sound replaced? It sure sounds like it.. While not that different then alot of stuff out there, I noticed it on the Kick during the breakdown the most..
All in all I thought it sounds pretty damn good for a rough mix. Keep it up.
ERic

[kraftrourke]

over all it sounds dope. i wish there was a little bit more low end "roar" or something. or maybe the pointiness of the guitars and drum stuff need to be glued together more? basically its already too bright to make me want to crank it up...
i do like the character of the guitars, just wish it was a little more ballsy/meaty.

the kick drum half-note triplet thing at 2:14 sounds weird to me.

is this in PT? what you got on the mix bus? do you have the phoenix plug? (works wonders on the 2bus i think)

adam

[LongWave]

hi,

thanks for the replies!
no, nothing is soundreplaced, i have a little sampled mixed in a bit with the kick, but nothign replaced.

i did have a comment from brad blackwood that i just needed to tame the highs a little which ill play with tomorrow.

kraftrouke, no, not in PT. i used nuendo 2. i tracked through a mackie 32:8 (using trident pre's..eq'd the drums on the way in with the mackie a bit).

on the mix bus, i used the voxengo tape bus, a uad LA2A, a REN EQ6 and an L2.

cheers for the feedback! keep it coming!

[jerdude]

i think the mix sounds really good. i like mostly the width and space that everything has... at least in the first 45 seconds.... i only listened that far.

i think the mix has a finished... "professional" sound.

Overall.... everything is to bright.... except for maybe the lead vocals there is no meat.... the balance of everything is great.... but it all needs meat.

i wonder what you are monitoring on? maybe your not hearing accurately.... and then when others put it in their systems it translates as to bright... even though on your system it sounds right. do you compare what you are working on to other commercially released records?

if you could get some meat back.... you would have a finished track that stands up to anything.

[LongWave]

hi,

cheers for listening.

ill have a look on the 2buss. maybe i can remedy the top end there?

im monitoring on yamaha msp10's. the big ones.

ill look at the top end today.
thanks!

[Jax]

Originally Posted by LongWave

on the mix bus, i used the voxengo tape bus, a uad LA2A, a REN EQ6 and an L2.

cheers for the feedback! keep it coming!

Don't know if you tried using the REQ6 after the L2 and compressors, but I find that it sounds a tad smoother to avoid compressing/limiting any EQ boosts, at least on the mixbus. Especially with digital eq, and especially with REQ.

[nlc201]

Kudos on a great mix! A few suggestions since you asked......

1. The bass is too loud. It doesen't seem to sit in the mix but rather stands out in front of everything. Even the vocal! It sounds good though so I'd just turn it down. If you lose it too much, maybe compress it a bit more and add some more upper midrange/amp tone.

2. Where's the midrange? It sounds a bit scooped. Lotsa high end going on as other people have mentioned. You know it's funny. It sounds almost exactly what most similar types of rock mixes sound like when you use "consumer" stereo EQs on a smiley face setting (lows and highs up, mids down). People are gonna do that anyway unfortunately so I think it would be a bad idea to have it go out so scooped, otherwise there won't be anything left! Listen to a simlar type of mix done by an Alge brother. It's a bit hyped sure but it has a ton of midrange punch to it as well. The high end is nice and present but not so jacked up sounding. The guitars all live more in the midrange area and the snare has more meat and impact. I think that everything competing with each other in the high end makes the vocal a little hidden as well. Sort out the midrange, lose some top, and you'll have it.

3. The kick drum sample doesen't seem to always be right on top of the real kick drum and it sounds like a "flam".


All in all though, an excellent starting place. I can easily imagine hearing that on the radio (for whatever the hell that's worth!). Oh, and I like the fact that it's compressed to hell......

[LongWave]

thanks for the feedback.

do you have any suggestions as to what freq range i should start adding a bit more to?

[kraftrourke]

maybe try putting some released tracks of similar bands on adjacent tracks. A/B/C to see what the difference in freq content there is. its a cool way to see where you're at.
-adam

[LongWave]

thanks kraftrouke

[kraftrourke]

aint no thang,

sometimes when i do that it gives me a boost to finish a mix... a vote of confidence if im dead on with a real album. or sometimes im WAY the F off and it helps to bring me to reality...

[bclayton]

Hey Ro,

thanks for letting us give you some feedback...
(man, you are brave!) wink!

this is my first listen to this recording.
now i am on my second listen as i type this out.
please take this initial reaction as just one persons opinion.
i think it is ready.
give it to the client and send it to mastering.
it is a good recording.
all sounds are good.
all music is subjective.
recording is capturing the sound of the musicians.
you did it! and it is pretty damn good.
some may say, add +3db of 4k here,
too much reverb, etc...
well, nothing sticks out to poke me in the ear.
it's all subjective... you can work on it for a year.
you are not gonna make the lyrics or performance or style any better than the product you captured.
this is a good recording / mix and i would send it out just like it is.
the band is good and the recording is good.
just my zero cents worth of an answer.

I like it. it rocks.
now start work on the next tune, then the next... :)
make the SONG happen.

best wishes
b clayton

[LongWave]

thanks bclayton!
appreciate your time.

[dreamaudio]

sounds good...trying to hear some real drum under the samples but can't seem to. Should send me that snare sample...

What you track guits with?

mix sounds good...

but listening on comp speakers :p

Is ur name Romesh by chance?

[LongWave]

hi,

yes thats my name:-) pm me if you know me..

the snare isnt a sample! it's just the kick which has a sample under the real kick.
i made copies of the snare and did different comrpession treatments with it, so maybe thats what you're hearing.

guitars were a marshall tsl50 into a 4x12 1960.
i used a 57 and a 421.

tracked this on a mackie 32:8 and some trident pre's.
ro.

[R2OS]

I like the song, not that wild about the very fast hi-hat. But I guess that could be a matter of taste. Like the energy of the song, and I look forward to hearing your next tune...

Two questions, though.
1. Is your poetry any good?
2. Is it better than mine?

or maybe if I have heard the lyrics wrong:
1. Is your poultry any good?
2. Is it better than mine?

[wwittman]

Sounds quite good overall to me.
My only question has to do with how controlled, or tamed, it all sounds.
I don't get much sense of any DANGER in anything.

The drums in particular sound awfully separate and gated up, not like a guy bashing away in a room; which I suppose is an illusion *I'd* rather have.
And the comment about 'roar' is a good one.

If there's a way to make it all a bit noisier and messier, without losing the groove which is good, I'd lean it that way.

They sound very competent, but not EXCITING.

I'm wondering how much middle you scoop OUT, rather than just don't add; if you know what I mean.

Nicely done on the whole though.

[dreamaudio]

Originally Posted by wwittman

Sounds quite good overall to me.
My only question has to do with how controlled, or tamed, it all sounds.
I don't get much sense of any DANGER in anything.

The drums in particular sound awfully separate and gated up, not like a guy bashing away in a room; which I suppose is an illusion *I'd* rather have.
And the comment about 'roar' is a good one.

If there's a way to make it all a bit noisier and messier, without losing the groove which is good, I'd lean it that way.

They sound very competent, but not EXCITING.

I'm wondering how much middle you scoop OUT, rather than just don't add; if you know what I mean.

Nicely done on the whole though.

It's not supposed to be like that...LIFELESS...that's how these bands do it these days....gettin real sick of lifeless performances......even though i am a digital guy..i think it ruins the performances and feel. which is sad...whatever.

[LongWave]

Originally Posted by dreamaudio

It's not supposed to be like that...LIFELESS...that's how these bands do it these days....gettin real sick of lifeless performances......even though i am a digital guy..i think it ruins the performances and feel. which is sad...whatever.

yeah william:-( he's right.
unfortunatly, these are the kind of ways loads of emo/screamo tracks are done with that kind of sound rather than a more natural sound.

thank you so much for the crit so far, it's been awesome

wwittman, i do struggle with the mids, i cant seem to get the smooth but strong mids i hear on records.

thanks very much. this is all reeeally helping me!
ro.

[dreamaudio]

hey longwave i heard you were like 32...not 20...is what i found off certain sites...maybe their info is just way off..weird.

[LongWave]

im 20! haha, wtf! im defintely 20:-) unless ive been reincarnated!

ive sent you a pm, i think you're reffering to this magazine interview with future music...!!

[wwittman]

I do some Emo as well... and not EVERYTHING sounds ike that.

I certainly don't find Jimmy Eat World, or Taking Back Sunday, or Thrice, or Hot Water Music or Thursday, and a bunch of others, to sound lifeless or un-dangerous.
They sound like they were LOUD in the studio... not just like a box made distortion.

Know what I mean?

On a more practical level, I think [personally] that you may be smoothing out the mids TOO much.
Some edge in the mids is part of what gives music an APPARENT loudness.

I think it's much too much of a modern day bad habit , this business of everyone reflexively rolling the midrange out of everything.
Do it on the guitar amp, not on the desk!

[NeoVXR]

hint:
I sent it to my Tv speakers, and it works perfect.

it is not sterile and then nothing, it forms a certain style.

midrange is not big, but its on the safe side, because always a problem in all kinds of crappy Tv sets.

[LongWave]

[quote=wwittman]I certainly don't find Jimmy Eat World, or Taking Back Sunday, or Thrice, or Hot Water Music or Thursday, and a bunch of others, to sound lifeless or un-dangerous.
QUOTE]

granted, but you probably picked some of the better bands .. :-)

[wwittman]

Yes, but which bands do you want your records to sound like? the better ones or the boring ones???

NO form of rock music should sound "safe" or controlled.

[LongWave]

i just used The Used as my kinda idea for it, i didnt have long to track either.

no, of course i dont want my record to sound boring! but, im still finding my feet, i havent been doing this as long as you!

[wwittman]

And I think you're doing great!
Seriously I'd hire you if I were nearby and looking for an engineer for a project.
But I'd also push you to let things breathe and be LOOSE a little.

That's all I was trying to say.
You asked for constructive criticism.
Mine was that I'd not make things SO gated sounding and controlled.

[LongWave]

sorry if that sounded like i was having a go at you! i wasnt! i read back and it sounded a bit wrong.

no , i really appreciate the crit! thats why i put it up:-)
cheers man!

[wwittman]

No prob.
Just wanted to be constructive, not to make you defensive.

cheers,
w2