AWesome, thanks bubba and makako… I want that negative feedback, cause I need it. Now… if bubba wants to expound on what he said, that’d be awesome… if someone else agrees, AND, has some way of helping me FIX it… that would be great too. I know it’s not mixed perfectly… so… does anyone wanna help that really knows what they’re doing?
_LT
Well, let’s start with the vocals. What did you record them with? I am just wondering if the source material is brittle (you used a SP C1 or something like that) or maybe you tried to create space for the vocals and EQd too much off?
As for the guitars, maybe a tiny tiny bit of EQ boost anywhere from 2500 to 5500 Hz may help. It may make the harsness worse, so be careful. The need some more sizzle IMO. But then chop out some of the low mids in the guitar. This is the space the vox should occupy and the vox are harsh up where the guitars shoul dsizzle a bit is kind of what I am thinking.
As for the bass, are you high passing things to leave room for the bass? HAve you EQd the kick and bass so they aren’t fighting for the same space?
As for depth of field, play with some echos, especially multitaps. They can do wonders to add space without mud. Also, maybe a nice big reverb. Put an EQ in front of it to chop off all the lows and mix to taste.
The drums just need to be tweaked. I think they sound okay. Maybe a tad phoney, but not too bad IMO. I think they are just buried in the mix is all.
i hope this gets you started. Like I said, I love the tune, the mix just needs some help.
Okay, here are the things I’ve done so far:
Let’s see how it sounds to you guys. There were only 5 things I could possibly EQ differently:
1. Vocals
2. Psuedo-Guitar Effect
3. Kick Drum
4. Bass
5. Electric Guitar
I started by doing what you suggested bubba. I cut the guitar’s lows off completely and lowered the mid by about 4db. I raised them at about 2900 by 3db. Next I cut the vocals in that 3000k range by 1.2db and raised them in the 500 - 700 range by about 3db. I lowered them at the 100hz range by about 3db too.
I have a hard time with different things fighting for space… that’s a huge problem of mine. I’m not sure how to eq what and where and how…
Next I tried using a simple multitap on the psuedo-guitar, which… to be honest, comprises about 50% of the sound space, at least… it’s not just that ONE effect, but a whole set of strings and different sounds… it adds all the fullness to the mix. I used a delay of 14ms on the left side and 18ms on the right side, and it sounds a little more full. Let me know what you guys think, this is not by any means a final cut, and who knows, I may just end up sending ALL my wave files to someone else so they can mix it for me.
I used 256 at my bitrate so you could hear a little better what I did.
-Brian
Brian Powell - The Landing _ Demo 2 .mp3
The first thing that hits me in both mixes is that weird vocal effect that lasts through the first chorus. I think it sounds horrible. Is that some kind of stereo widening plug you’re using or what?
At the beginning of the second verse, the quality of the vocal track increases 800%, but it’s still lacking in the 500Hz - 1K area. Try boosting there.
The cymbals are starting to annoy me. In some parts they’re kinda harsh. Maybe cutting the highs a little (or just lowering the volume) would help.
I don’t really like these drums too much at all. I think the toms sound really corny. You’d never hear drums like this on the radio. You really should redo them with better samples (or a real drummer!!!).
The ending feels naked. How about repeating a phrase over and over, like at the end of All Apologies by Nirvana? Maybe with lots of harmonies/overdubs? Just a thought.
Yeah, the vocals are a bit weird liek they are off to one side. If that is what you want, keep it, but it is not front and center.
The drums I can live with. The ride does wear on me a bit after a while.
As for the ending, I dunno, I kinda dig the just stopping deal. Lots of folks are doing that now. It’s kinda hip.
I’ll have to give a closer listen on better speakers at home to really comment.
Quote (Bubbagump @ May 09 2005,10:59) |
As for the ending, I dunno, I kinda dig the just stopping deal. Lots of folks are doing that now. It's kinda hip. |
Just to clarify...
I don't mind the abrupt stop - it's the sixteen measures preceding.
as far as panning goes, the vocals ARE right in the center. I used Izotope Ozone for all my mastering and stuff, so on the master channel I do have some widening going on that effects every track. I really don’t think the vocals sound good at all… but no one really complained about them so I left it alone. Now that I have people agreeing with me, what should I do to fix them? I tried different EQ settings, but everything just made it sound worse.
Brian
Jason - I’ll try cutting it down to 8 and see how it sounds.
Hrm, could you just post the vocals with no EQ or processing of any sort outside of the mix? Just the bare track? I am not sure what you have to work with. Also, how did you track the vocals and with what?
Quote (Bubbagump @ May 09 2005,16:14) |
Hrm, could you just post the vocals with no EQ or processing of any sort outside of the mix? Just the bare track? |
I think he’s afraid to post the bare track because…
…if you listen closely…
…you can hear the real LordTerrin threatening Adam Duritz with a gun…
…forcing him to sing.
Seriously Brian, come back sometime!