MoonBassAlpha Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) I think I've got the cymbals a bit loud and maybe the snare too quiet, what do you guys think? Sorry it's a bit long, and a little proggy Damn, cant get the link to Dropbox working. I'll try Soundcloud tomorrow, too late tonight! I'm not really trusting my ears or my monitors at the moment. Comments welcomed Cheers MBA Edited March 30, 2014 by MoonBassAlpha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1396139088' post='2410415']...Comments welcomed...[/quote] Good morning, MBA... [i]Disclaimer: I'm well-known for the clothness of my ears...[/i] Excellent, from all points of view..! Composition, arrangement, execution, production... Not much to throw out there. I've listened to many an album much, much worse than this (no names, but some are quite famous..!). For your specific query, and understanding that a) - I'm primarily a drummer and - my ears are not best in cymbal frequencies, I'd say that's a pretty good mix in general. I'd bring up the toms a touch, his little fills have little impact (which is a shame, imo...) and I'd beef up the kick a spot, too. The biggest thing, though, to me, is the phonic seperation of the drums in general from the rest. They are too dry, especially as there's quite a fair amount of treatment on the guitars and voices. The drums seem to being played in a different room. No big problem, and as much a choice of production as anything else; the piece certainly stands 'as is' perfectly well. I'm not sure how much this is going to help you, except maybe to assure you that there's not that much wrong with your ears or your gear if you're pleased with what you've captured there. There's definitely no glaring error in the mix. Hope this helps; thanks for sharing. I enjoyed listening (several times...). Well done, all of you (I'm assuming, perhaps wrongly, that this is not a 100% solo performance...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbass Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 It might be useful to say what you're trying to get out of the mix, eg: is there any particular band or recording you'd like it to sound like? Also knowing what DAW you're working with would be good so people don't suggest the impossible! I'd say it's got a good volume balance at the moment. Panning is a bit narrow for my tastes, especially the backing vocals. The drums are sounding quite dated as they're completely dry and not had (any?) processing applied yet? Having said that it's got a certain charm at this point that it's easy to muck up with fiddling! Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I'm no expert but I do agree with the comment regarding the toms and kick drum; they seem too quiet... the whole mix seems to be a little light in the bass and lower mids but that might be your intention (to give it a bright 'airiness', folky kind of sound). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks for your comments gents, it really is appreciated. To answer some points raised: I'm using a Zoom MRS 1688 (?) all-in-one jobbie, there IS some reverb on the snare and overheads, but I agree, it still sounds a bit dry. Only got the toms in the overheads, so it's hard to get them up without the (paiste) cymbals dominating. I think I went a bit too close on the Ride this time. I have done another mix, but now got the snare and backing vocals up too high, so I won't post that one yet! I also brought up the bass, and that does sound better. As the bassist, I'm reluctant to make the bass too upfront in the mix as it will sound "like it's been mixed by the bassist" if you know what I mean... Since I've got tinnitus, I'm finding my ears get fatigued more easily now, especially on distorted guitars and cymbals, have any of you chaps found this too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 The "lightness" of the bass end in my mixes was exactly one of the reasons I popped the mix up - I think my monitors are too upfront in the bass, leaving the mixes bass light. I guess it could be the room, it is almost cubic, only damped on 1 wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I listened on headphones which do have a fairly decent response for bass so yeah you might be overcompensating for what you think is a bass heavy sound from your monitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Sorry, I too forgot to mention that I listened through headphones. Not high-end, but that I 'know' and trust. I don't have any decent monitors right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Well, I've done some tweaks, some suggested here (thanks chaps!) and by my guitarist, and I'm a lot happier now, and so is he: [attachment=159213:Everything In The Picture 1-4-14.mp3] Thanks again for your opinions, it has really helped me on this one. I love this place! Cheers MBA Edited April 2, 2014 by MoonBassAlpha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbass Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I think your new mix is much improved. The wider panning, more reverb on snare, louder bass all work well. For me, I would now try to make the kick a little less boxy and work on the lead vocal, which to me sounds a bit brittle. Hard to pin down, but I think the vocals are a bit heavy in the high mids, and lack some 'air' in the very high end. I'm not sure what mix bus/mastering features the Zoom 1608 has, but I would be putting a little eq and compression over the mix to bring it together now (but that's personal taste). Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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