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Hey, I just finished this mix I produced of my band and I was looking for some general feedback. Please, let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
[MEDIA=soundcloud]brian-tepps/the-lab-useless[/MEDIA]
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RemyRAD Mon, 04/21/2014 - 16:51

Well here goes... I like the way it started. Yeah... Bad Ass. Sounded good. Then the drums came in. That sounded even better! That low growling guitar/synth was cool and I was getting down... yeah! Whoops. What? OMG no? Then some kind of synthesizer lead Thingy, starts buzzing and it ruins the whole thing.. I cringed. That's when I would've hit the button on my radio for another station. I mean it's like 1974 all over again sound. No thank you.

The lead vocal comes in with that cool overdrive. Not bad... not bad at all. Sits, pretty much where I think it should. But that quivering,, 1970s lead synthesizer line, is killing me. Please... please dear God... kill it cruelly. Kill that thing! Replace it with something more viable. Something that sounds exciting. Not some like bad TV rerun?

The vocals sound good. I'll hand ya that much. But when those tom-tom rolls come in...? Ya know? Those really nondescript muddy rumblings things? In the background? Like, when the rest of the band quiets down? No. No and no. They must spring forth. It's Spring already! Make the tom-tom's prove, that the little animals are all having a good time of it. Right now it sounds like they ran into some doggy stuff? And you don't want cute little tom-toms to be full of doggy stuff do ya? I didn't think so? Ya got me worried there for a moment.

Overall the bass drum I like throughout the whole, whole. It was always there. Nice and Punchy. But rather Soft Punchy. If it's real? Try inverting phase? It'll then hit ya in the chest like CPR. Right now it's bass drum, for jazz. This isn't jazz is it? Follow?

Now you're probably wondering, do I like it? Yeah... I did. The vocals grab my interest most. Not the lyrics just the sound. Nice high-energy song. Make the bass drum lose a few pounds and build up its chest muscles by flipping phase. If it's a sample? Try another? This ain't the one.

Now before ya go to bed... promise me... you'll get rid of that really irritating, 1970s, lead line, synthesizer thingy... please? That's a good boy... Goo Boy!

Here's your Milk Bone
Mx. Remy Ann David

anonymous Thu, 04/24/2014 - 07:38

Ok, here's what I think...

I like the Farfisa-sounding organ/synth patch you are using. It adds another texture, and an unexpected one, and is cool in a retro kind of way. Sometimes, when you mix instruments with such dramatic textural differences, you can end up with a cool vibe because of the differences.

I like the spacing and placement that you have on the guitars.

What mics were you using on the drums? The hi hat sounds phasey to me. Did you have a direct mic on the hat? Did you use a stereo or a mono overhead mic(s)? If so, what was the array ? (X-Y, Spaced, Mono, etc)
If you were direct miking the hi hat, it's too harsh and it has some phase issues...consider dumping that mic/track and using the overhead(s) to grab it instead.

I think that the bass guitar needs a little added low end, maybe around 200hz or so to kind of fill and round things out a bit. Also, and this is a common trait, the bass guitar isn't really doing anything performance-wise to distinguish itself from the guitars. It sounds to me as if, for the most part, the bass is pretty much just doing what the guitars are doing, only an octave down. If you had your bass player work with some counter-melodic riffs, or maybe a walking type of groove, it would help the bass to stand out more.

The toms could use some ambiance. They sound pretty dead. If you tracked an overhead mic pair, or even a mono mic, consider adding more of that mic/track into the drum mix. And, if you have a decent sounding reverb plug, add a slight amount of room reverb to the toms; somewhere in the neighborhood of 700ms or so. Damping and EQ'ing of the reverb is a personal taste thing, but I would suggest that if you have a reverb plug that allows for damping or frequency control of the reverb sound, that you roll off the low end response of the reverb, I'd say around 250 hz or so as your corner frequency... especially on toms on a song such as this that is fast and tight... you don't want a low frequency reproduction on the reverb itself, it will only muddy things up.

I lost my attraction to intentionally distorted vocals a long time ago, and I consider it dated and passe' now, so I'm not the guy to comment on that part of the mix.

The overall mix is a bit mid/hi mid-rangey sounding. It needs some body, some "weight". Look to your lower frequencies (in small amounts, nothing huge) to round things out.

All in all, a fairly decent job.

Summary:
Check your hi hat track for phase problems, consider cutting the mid to hi mid range by a few db - my best guess is the area around 900hz to 2k or so
Work on the toms, adding some space.
Consider adding a bass part that will allow it to distinguish itself in the mix
If you are going to keep the bass track you have now, it needs warmed up
Look to the Master EQ and see if you can "round" out the sound of the whole mix

IMHO of course.

d/

:)