My first project engineering from start to finish

EthanM · 13th March 2006, 08:31 PM

So I've lurked around here for a little while, and since I've now got a project which I've engineered entirely from recording to mixdown, it'd be a good time to try to get some constructive criticism. It's two tunes for a demo for my band (playing on the other side of the glass while engineering isn't easy!), and while I'm mostly interested in feedback concerning the recording/mix quality, critique of the material is welcome as well. Mixdown was done in ProTools LE with DigiDesign's built in plugins, and the level is low since it's unmastered.

Thanks a lot everybody.

Ethan

Jay Kahrs · 13th March 2006, 09:00 PM

I'll bite on "Back in Sink"...The music & playing is great! I really dig the horns hook in the first bar of the chorus.

Tones are all there, sounds like you'e got some solid players there which always makes things easier.

Mix wise...it's just not hitting the way it could/should & sort of feels like a rough mix. Maybe that's the vibe you were shooting for, but it IS nice & clean!

The piano is too loud...maybe too wide also but it might be good if it was further back in the mix...4dB or maybe more. Right now it's kinda stomping on everything else including the vocal. I'd also push the drums & bass a LOT more to emphasize the backbeat & groove. I'm hearing a lot of stereo too, but it all sorta seems like "big mono" if that makes any sense. Maybe try spreading things out more...guitars on one side & piano on the other...that kinda thing so the individual parts can 'speak' better.

EthanM · 13th March 2006, 09:23 PM

Thanks for the critique! I must concede that the keys were stereo synth (motif... sounds pretty good imho), and I left the tracks panned hard left and right. Now that you've phrased it so eloquently, I see what you mean about needing to work on the stereo field... hopefully it may help the drums and bass come through stronger as well, without them blowing everything else away, as I had problems with. It's difficult enough translating what my ears hear into comprehensible thoughts, and even harder to translate those vague notions in my head into actual words... pfew! Again, thanks a lot, and I look forward to any other criticism anyone can offer :-)

Ethan

EthanM · 14th March 2006, 05:21 PM

Anyone have any comments on the other tune I posted, House of Wind?

Thanks!

Ethan

flanger001 · 14th March 2006, 07:41 PM

I'll bite on House Of Wind then.

The song is really good and there isn't a thing I can say about the performances. Everything is rock solid and the song stays interesting from the beginning to the end.

Ths mix, however. I think it can be bigger. It's kinda just boxy. There's nothing edgy or really exciting about it, it's just like you set a bunch of mics up and recorded the band live. It sounds okay, it's just that everything could be bigger.

The first place I'd start is with the drums. The kick drum could use a low-mid cut (try like -4 dB at 125 Hz), a low boost (5 dB or more low shelf at 80 Hz), and a boost around the 4-5k area, maybe 4 dB or so. The snare could use a boost at like 6 k to give it some snap, and try using a compressor and gate on it to give it some more punch. Right now it's kinda just sitting there. You can get away with gating the snare pretty hard if you boost the overhead volume a notch. And as for the overheads, just try a little bit of light compression on them, just so they duck a bit when the snare hits. That will give you a veritable assload of pop to it, which is necessary for funky songs like this. Though I would be careful, if you didn't mic the hi-hat it's a little loud and you may have some trouble with it.

Next thing is the bass. What I like to do with bass is compress the crap out of it, give it a disco smile-type eq (lows and highs boosted a lot, mids slightly cut), and then put it way up front in the mix. It makes the bass and drums sound like they're a rhythm section instead of just a couple instruments that happen to be on the same track.

Everything else, just try and think bigger. Be more daring with the eq and effects and levels. Like put the vocals way up and use like a slapback delay or something, I don't know. Just try new things!

Otherwise, good work man. I've listened to this a ton of times, I like it!

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13th March 2006, 09:23 PM	#3
EthanM Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5	Thanks Thanks for the critique! I must concede that the keys were stereo synth (motif... sounds pretty good imho), and I left the tracks panned hard left and right. Now that you've phrased it so eloquently, I see what you mean about needing to work on the stereo field... hopefully it may help the drums and bass come through stronger as well, without them blowing everything else away, as I had problems with. It's difficult enough translating what my ears hear into comprehensible thoughts, and even harder to translate those vague notions in my head into actual words... pfew! Again, thanks a lot, and I look forward to any other criticism anyone can offer :-) Ethan

14th March 2006, 05:21 PM	#4
EthanM Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5	No takers on the other tune? Anyone have any comments on the other tune I posted, House of Wind? Thanks! Ethan

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14th March 2006, 07:41 PM	#5
flanger001 Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 11	I'll bite on House Of Wind then. The song is really good and there isn't a thing I can say about the performances. Everything is rock solid and the song stays interesting from the beginning to the end. Ths mix, however. I think it can be bigger. It's kinda just boxy. There's nothing edgy or really exciting about it, it's just like you set a bunch of mics up and recorded the band live. It sounds okay, it's just that everything could be bigger. The first place I'd start is with the drums. The kick drum could use a low-mid cut (try like -4 dB at 125 Hz), a low boost (5 dB or more low shelf at 80 Hz), and a boost around the 4-5k area, maybe 4 dB or so. The snare could use a boost at like 6 k to give it some snap, and try using a compressor and gate on it to give it some more punch. Right now it's kinda just sitting there. You can get away with gating the snare pretty hard if you boost the overhead volume a notch. And as for the overheads, just try a little bit of light compression on them, just so they duck a bit when the snare hits. That will give you a veritable assload of pop to it, which is necessary for funky songs like this. Though I would be careful, if you didn't mic the hi-hat it's a little loud and you may have some trouble with it. Next thing is the bass. What I like to do with bass is compress the crap out of it, give it a disco smile-type eq (lows and highs boosted a lot, mids slightly cut), and then put it way up front in the mix. It makes the bass and drums sound like they're a rhythm section instead of just a couple instruments that happen to be on the same track. Everything else, just try and think bigger. Be more daring with the eq and effects and levels. Like put the vocals way up and use like a slapback delay or something, I don't know. Just try new things! Otherwise, good work man. I've listened to this a ton of times, I like it!