please DESTROY this mix

[brianinogang]

Hey guys i experimented on some mastering stuff. just a noob when it comes to this. (Danny be my guiding light pleeeeeez!!!). This is my first try and did it with a song called "stop the coldness" also posted on the rock/metal forum a few notches below this one (just incase you had time to notice it)hehe. All of the playing here are natural. no virtual musical instruments used. My band did this way back and we're still including this in our first album release this month coz we just loved the damn song and wanted it to be perfect in a sense.. Im on vocals and guitar in this one. anyway what i did was i exported the master mix to wav and then opened it on another daw which i think is also good for manipulating audio (cooledit pro2) i did some compression and eqing there. compression in a sense that i just added a little gain and thats it. I know im not the right person for mastering my own mix but there isnt anybody who's gonna do this for me so I be need the ears and the thoughts of you guys before we finally come to the moment of submitting this. I really really need this so help me out guys. Tell me what the hell is wrong with this. technical or non technical thought would greatly help. thanks bro's!!!!

Sincerely,

Brian

[burnyourflags]

well i ran it through my spec analizer dude everything looks pretty good man.there was a couple spots right in the beginning that were popping up in the low 40 .other than that nice job.ill give another listen later.i got a little ear fatigue right now.thats why i was watching too.

[Husky Band]

I would like the drums up in the mix. Just not forward enough for me.

[fHumble fHingaz]

Hey Brian, this is a cool tune that has an epic feel to it. The playing & vocals sound generally very good, although it seems to me there's the odd timing glitch with the drums (a noticeable one at about 1:23) - that kind of takes the shine off it for me. As far as the mix goes: the rhythm guitars are swamping the mix a bit too much, & their tone is a tad "hairy" for my taste - they have a kind of ragged edge to them that gives them a bit of a "home recorded" sound. (Of course I realize they probably were, but we're aiming for a big pro sound, aren't we?) The vocals are good, but they need to be more up front - I'm losing phrases here & there during the track, so that tells me you need to pay more attention to compression/limiting on the vocals. A very good thing I've found is to first of all level out any larger dynamic jumps in the vocals by automating them carefully before you do any compressing. Then, when compressing, use more than just one compressor on the vocal track. I like to put a "soft limiter" (LA-2A or 1176 clone) type compressor first in the chain. This simulates the way most pro engineers actually track the vocals through one of these famous pieces of gear on the way to tape. This combined with the automation will really level things out. Then it's simply a matter of putting another gentler compressor on that won't mess with the tone too much - to bring up the softer parts, even things out a little more and add a touch of "silkiness" to the vocal sound. Adding a bit of a tube or tape-sim plugin to the vocals also helps to generate a little bit of drive & character to the sound, as well as get the vocals to cut through the mix well. With the overall mix, I can hear a little bit of "pumping" going on, which is fine if that is what you are after, but sometimes you can get things to sound a bit more natural by either adjusting the playing around with the compressor controls, adjusting attack & release, using the program dependent setting or even easing back on the ratio or threshold controls. Sometimes, using the sidechain on the compressor so it won't react to the headroom-hogging bottom end sounds can help to stop pumping as well. Overall, you've got a great tune here - it just needs some more "spit & polish".

[Vanan]

Between 1:20-1:23 there seems to be pitch issues with the vocals doing the harmony.

Great pointers F! That's a great tip on making vocals sound more polished and pro-quality.

[chas_w]

I hear a lot of clipping. Other than that souned okay.

[brianinogang]

Originally Posted by fHumble fHingaz

Hey Brian, this is a cool tune that has an epic feel to it. The playing & vocals sound generally very good, although it seems to me there's the odd timing glitch with the drums (a noticeable one at about 1:23) - that kind of takes the shine off it for me.

Hey thanks for that man. This song really means a lot to me and I thank you for the appreciation. Well the drums couldnt get tighter as it is coz its the last recording session that we did with this song. I couldnt use a vsti for drums coz it would take away the contribution of the drummer... i guess i'll just have to carry the weight for that..

Originally Posted by fHumble fHingaz

As far as the mix goes: the rhythm guitars are swamping the mix a bit too much, & their tone is a tad "hairy" for my taste - they have a kind of ragged edge to them that gives them a bit of a "home recorded" sound. (Of course I realize they probably were, but we're aiming for a big pro sound, aren't we?)

You're definitely right about getting picky with the guitar tone. We are going for a pro sound and thats exactly what i wanted to have, an honest bash. Im also having thoughts on the tone about that. when you say "hairy", what does that mean? explaining further would help a ton. and the "ragged edge", are you particular of its phase state or a particular frequency that comes up when played? coz im also hearing a lot of stuff but just thought that it was me coz i was the mixer..

Originally Posted by fHumble fHingaz

The vocals are good, but they need to be more up front - I'm losing phrases here & there during the track, so that tells me you need to pay more attention to compression/limiting on the vocals. A very good thing I've found is to first of all level out any larger dynamic jumps in the vocals by automating them carefully before you do any compressing. Then, when compressing, use more than just one compressor on the vocal track. I like to put a "soft limiter" (LA-2A or 1176 clone) type compressor first in the chain. This simulates the way most pro engineers actually track the vocals through one of these famous pieces of gear on the way to tape. This combined with the automation will really level things out. Then it's simply a matter of putting another gentler compressor on that won't mess with the tone too much - to bring up the softer parts, even things out a little more and add a touch of "silkiness" to the vocal sound. Adding a bit of a tube or tape-sim plugin to the vocals also helps to generate a little bit of drive & character to the sound, as well as get the vocals to cut through the mix well.

When you said automation, what did that mean?(sorry just wanted to know every terminology that i could get..) Anyway, when the vocals were still fresh, i manually balanced the peaks with the average range of the whole track using cool edit pro2 and compressed after that before putting in the mix but only did compression once. I didnt even had a clue of multiple compression done with it. If you put it in a sceintifical point of view, thats a very good method. I didnt think of that before and I'm definitely gonna do it now. Im a total noob when it comes to vocal tracking and compressing.

Originally Posted by fHumble fHingaz

With the overall mix, I can hear a little bit of "pumping" going on, which is fine if that is what you are after, but sometimes you can get things to sound a bit more natural by either adjusting the playing around with the compressor controls, adjusting attack & release, using the program dependent setting or even easing back on the ratio or threshold controls. Sometimes, using the sidechain on the compressor so it won't react to the headroom-hogging bottom end sounds can help to stop pumping as well. Overall, you've got a great tune here - it just needs some more "spit & polish".

Thanks a lot man. The pumping came from the compression of the master mix. I'd definitely lower it down. I havent tried side chaining the master mix though... will do on the next mix. Those are brilliant ideas you got there and im glad Im here in this forum than anywhere else. thanks man. I hope you'll still be on the lookout for the next master mix. will release it later this day. thanks man.

Originally Posted by husky band

I would like the drums up in the mix. Just not forward enough for me.

Will do bro. thank you

Originally Posted by vanan

Between 1:20-1:23 there seems to be pitch issues with the vocals doing the harmony.
Great pointers F! That's a great tip on making vocals sound more polished and pro-quality.

Fhumble rocks!!! I'll try fixin that too. thanks man.

Originally Posted by chas w

I hear a lot of clipping. Other than that souned okay.

I will lower the master volume on this one and try side chaining to remove the clips. thanks for that bro


GUYS,

Thanks for the comments I hope you'd still be on the lookout when I release the next mix. thanks for all the input and im sure all credits would go to you when it gets released. thanks guys!!! meanwhile, im going back to the drawing board. I'll keep you guys posted and If anybody out there has something to share, please do. I owe this one to all of you.

[Vanan]

Looking forward to the next mix bro!

[brianinogang]

Hi guys,

Here's the next mix. I remixed everything ( again) to eliminate clicks and pops and then I multi compressed the vocals as Fhumble requested. I brought up the drums a bit and tweaked the eq settings for the guitars for it not to sound hairy. Then I generally exported the wave. I tried for it to a have a headroom meaning that it has low volume when first extracted to wave. then, opened another session for mastering on the mastering side, i did a little eqing on the mixdown and did further soft multi compressions. here it is. Once again, im gonna be needin your ears and most importantly, your thoughts on this one. DESTROY IT AGAIN!!! Thanks. Cheers and lets drink to it!!!!

[ashs35]

If I were you dude, I'd put the cool chord change at the end, right into the middle of the song, and have it lead into something different and then bring it back to the chorus again cos thats what probly caught my attention the most (that chord change) but then the song ended also, i'd cut out the 3rd verse part, 2 verses is way enough otherwise it kinda drags on abit, also before the second chorus id try cutting out the pre-chorus after the 2nd verse aswel, that way it might have more impact when it cuts back into the chorus.. just a thought, I do like the opening heavy riff though, very cool, very asilaydyingish nice one!