Thread: Would like some input!

... no reviews! Help me out guys, and gals. I need honest input in order to begin bringing my skills up to the next level! I'm not afraid of honest criticism. In fact, that's what I need...otherwise all I can do is play this stuff for my friends, who then say "sounds great", and can't elaborate in any usefull way.

Drumist69: Basically your recording is right, you, been a musician will always tend to balance a mix. However sometimes you will find out that no matter how much time you spend mixing, things will mount on top of each other making your recording loose focus.
By focus I mean the clarity for us listeners to discern who "has the ball" in a musical piece.Is it the voice? ,the drums, the guitars?.Do they compete or they complement each other?.
As i hear it, I would start by either lowering the hihat and cymbals or to assign them a limited range of frequencies, i would remove some power around 6.3 or 5 k that will make them less brittle and will leave more room for everything else. I would cut some sibilance on the voice track and increase around the clarity area (2.5 to 5k)
The guitars are fine but they are wider than the lead voice which tends to diverse the focus. I would make room for the voice by substracting a little middle bass on the guitars and giving it to the lead voice. presence of the guitars depends upon what freq you `ve choosen for clarity in the lead voice.It should not be the same frequency. Say you have choosen 3k for voice, choose then 4 or 5k for guitars, maybe the other way around but the important thing is not to emphasize the same range in different instruments.
Read this link and it will give you some light on this subject.
http://www.alexandermagazine.com/rec...05tip02-4a.asp
The composition is very very good and you are very close to a fine mix but the "devil is hiding in the details". Best regards to you. Sincerely. Javier

I went back through my mixes, keeping in mind your input and the article you linked to. I noticed alot of what I was doing was crowding the vocals with the guitars, then having to boost too much highs on the voice to make it cut through. The drums were tough, because they were tracked with only one mic, so there was no ability to play with each element of the drum sound. I was able to help bring down some of the brittle edge on the cymbals, I think. Anyway, I just got done re-mixing the songs, and I wanted to say thanks for the input. I really think I've cleaned things up a good bit! ANDY

Hi!

I agree hi hat bothers a bit, too brilliant and high, maybe.
Don't worry to take voice to the front!, i must get into your brain!.
Also the bass. Where is it? I know its difficult, it's the worse for me, but I think when U make the bass sound, U have half of the work done!.
I like song, though my complaints, but I'm sure that's what your friends say to U!
SeeU

aaps, now U can listen to my mix (wich I also consider it has low bass now), a bit lower ;)

PLease listen and tell me what you think. I've got this to where I love it through my monitors, love it in the car, love it on the stereo, even sounds good on my daughter's $30 boom box. The tips on EQ really helped me to open up the mix and get a good sound-space started. Check out "Everything fades" at this link...
http://www.soundclick.com/idesofjuly
I want to hear what the big boys say about my lo-fi home brewed crap!!! Chime in here!

drumist69:
I think you have now a much better drum sound, the brittleness is gone and it sounds integrated with the bass and the lead voice. I think the guitars are a bit too loud for my taste but I could be wrong. It is a matter of personal taste. For balance is as personal as a toothbrush. Best regards. Javier