Unfinished metal needs advice on mix

[Vulconizer]

It's cool man. You do good stuff and this is the best place for people to really open up and maybe give you some extra ideas that you might not get in the normal bash section.

[Lab24Seven]

O.K. here's my stutter-free version. Not as tight as it could be, but I'm just looking for some mix advice for the most part. thanks all.

[Vulconizer]

I still swear it sounds like it's playing on a warped record. What did you encode it at, Lab?

Or, is it supposed to warble and have all sorts of scattered clipping with the cymbals sounding like they are tuned down?

If that's how it's supposed to sound, then cool. We can work with that. I've done stuff like that myself on purpose, I just want to make sure.

[lolzgreg]

Originally Posted by Vulconizer

I still swear it sounds like it's playing on a warped record. What did you encode it at, Lab?

Or, is it supposed to warble and have all sorts of scattered clipping with the cymbals sounding like they are tuned down?

Its actually not supposed to warble and sound like a mess. I downloaded the file attachment and imported it into cubase and it sounds quite good. I thought I heard some digital clipping, so I investigated. It was going over by .5 db on the master bus now and then. (Lab24Seven, heed this)

Alright Lab24Seven, now for my real advice:

Your panning work is very effective. I love the hard panned guitar in the right ear with the ambience. It really does a lot for the track. I would hard pan the rhythm guitar left and right as well. It would make the track sound much bigger. I would take a TAD of bottom out of your snare and add some high-mids (5k). The kick cuts through nicely, but you could actually get away with cutting a bit of 400-500hz in the entire drum bus. (What did you use for drums anyway?). This needs vocals and maybe a short distraction from the riff with just like an eerie synth playing a held out chord with some really quiet singing over it. Then a big re-intro lick and back into the main riff. The tones are very effective for the song.

-Greg

[Lab24Seven]

Hey lolgreg, thanks for the reply. I'll definitely put those changes in and see what I can get. As for the mp3 playback, I can't quite figure out what's going on. It's just a standard 320kbps mp3. When I play it back on the player on this site it sounds normal on my end. Geez, I hope all the stuff I post doesn't sound like that to other people.

btw, the drums are just stock Tama kit .wav files. I just come up with basic drum patterns with them. I'm sure I could get some good rolls and fills if I took the time to sequence them all. All in all, I do like the sound I'm getting from this $4 wav pack, though.

[Vulconizer]

Lab, was the mp3 done at 48k? If so, that could be the culprit. Try 44.1k. This player doesn't do the 48k thing well at all.

*If that's not the problem then you got me*

[Lab24Seven]

Originally Posted by Vulconizer

Lab, was the mp3 done at 48k? If so, that could be the culprit. Try 44.1k. This player doesn't do the 48k thing well at all.

*If that's not the problem then you got me*

Good call, Vulconizer. I had just thought of that, right before you posted. lol

Try it now...

[Lab24Seven]

Unfortunately, this mp3 probably works, but it sounds horrible. I'm going to have to convert to 44.1 back at the beginning. Thanks for the help.

[Vulconizer]

Bam! NOW I can hear what's meant to be. lol

I've got some stuff I need to do this afternoon, but I'll be back to give it a good listen.

[Lab24Seven]

O.K. finally... then I can let this thread die. lol

Here's a new version with all the suggestions lolgreg made. It definitely sounds cleaner with the tweaks. Thanks guys.