deathly mix critique

[Deathell]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5651176/vitalrerain12.wav/vitalrerain12.wav

Hi guys, please critique my mix. I'm just wondering what I could do to improve my mix. I'm currently using Reaper for DAW.
For guitars, I've used Peavey Revalver MKIII and Lepou's Le456.
Greener -> Revalver VST Host (Le456) -> 3Q (HPF & LPF) -> Convolution (Vintage 4x12). I also used Andy's C4 settings for guitars.

For drums, I used Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0's original kit. Would like to get SDX Metal Foundry expansion though because I really don't like the sound I'm getting from this kit. Especially the snares. Overall for the drums I did some pre/post eq with API-560, applied API-2500 compressor and a SSLChannel strip for every single drum piece.

Do you think some subtle sidechaining would make it sound better? I mean for instance, leveling the snares and kicks out with each other..etc so they would cut through?

 

[OrdinanceGuitar]

I wouldn't worry about Metal Foundry just yet. It seems like you have a good set of plugins to work with. I would try using the 14" Rogers Wood snare. Boost around 220 for the umph if necessary. I use Superior 2.0 as well and I can't stand the kick. I always resample the kick with Drumagog. Also try taking out any bleed from each drum to give yourself a little more control. Change your outs in the Superior mixer so you can mix each drum individually inside Reaper.

You probably did all of that so far but I figured I'd type it out just in case. So after that's all taken care of, I work on the toms. Try using the Chris Lord Alge Preset CLA Tom. Just turn off the the compression though. Then add an SSL Comp to it and compress the hell out of it. Do that to each Tom and they should sound pretty good. For cymbals use a high pass filter and a DeEsser if you have one (I've heard good things about the DeEsser). I usually throw everything in a group track afterwards and then throw a c4 on the whole kit. Try using the Multi-Electro Mastering. I use to use those presets all of the time and now i've learned from them and made my own.

I know that sounds like a shitload of compression, but give it a shot. I've noticed that I tend to like over-compressed superior drums. After you get the drum sound worked out you might have an easier time working on guitars. Let me know if some of those tips work for you. You've inspired me to post a mix and get some help now

 

[Deathell]

I wouldn't worry about Metal Foundry just yet. It seems like you have a good set of plugins to work with. I would try using the 14" Rogers Wood snare. Boost around 220 for the umph if necessary. I use Superior 2.0 as well and I can't stand the kick. I always resample the kick with Drumagog. Also try taking out any bleed from each drum to give yourself a little more control. Change your outs in the Superior mixer so you can mix each drum individually inside Reaper.

You probably did all of that so far but I figured I'd type it out just in case. So after that's all taken care of, I work on the toms. Try using the Chris Lord Alge Preset CLA Tom. Just turn off the the compression though. Then add an SSL Comp to it and compress the hell out of it. Do that to each Tom and they should sound pretty good. For cymbals use a high pass filter and a DeEsser if you have one (I've heard good things about the DeEsser). I usually throw everything in a group track afterwards and then throw a c4 on the whole kit. Try using the Multi-Electro Mastering. I use to use those presets all of the time and now i've learned from them and made my own.

I know that sounds like a shitload of compression, but give it a shot. I've noticed that I tend to like over-compressed superior drums. After you get the drum sound worked out you might have an easier time working on guitars. Let me know if some of those tips work for you. You've inspired me to post a mix and get some help now

Thanx alot for giving me some tips right there OrdinanceGuitar. I thought nobody would ever reply to my thread. Seems you know more about taking stuff out and replacing it with other samples than me, I still have no clue how to do it at this moment. Now I have to try the Drumagog, I've also downloaded some kick samples a couple of folks here have been posting. I'll have to play around with that a bit. I'm also taking some time to go down each track individually now and re-checking with superior 2.0's interntal mixer. I think this is where the problem might be? Because I have a couple of effects on them already.. Gate + Comp + Eq on snare top and EQ+Comp on the overheads and room. I set them sort of subtle though, I'm not so sure if it has a huge affect on the whole kit.

So.. should I take them all out and start from scratch with other plugins instead? Also do you really use any of those effects in the internal mixer? Maybe I'm not doing something right here. I seem to have everything else in the drumkit sounding pretty thin, except for the kick which I do have a shitload of compression.. it was like triple compressed. One coming from the internal mixer, another from the plugin, and I have another on the master bus (C4). On top of that I find it quite hard working with the snare and these toms, especially. Couldn't get anything satisfying. So what you heard there for the snare was the 10" GMS boosted on the lows and mids, with the highs back downed a bit.

I do have a DeEsser and all of these plugins I'm using are all from Waves Mercury bundle. I dig some Chris Lord Alge Presets when all else failed. The SSL Channel strip is pretty good and I usually start from certain presets there. Please do post your mix, I would like to see how you could get this kit to sound better

 

[OrdinanceGuitar]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5709821/tone test 5.mp3

That's the mix that I posted. It's Superior 2.0 with Ampitube 2 amp modeling. I don't use any effects inside of Superior. And sometimes you don't need all three of the snare mics. I only used the 1st one on the mixer. Are you using the NY AVATAR kit?

 

[Deathell]

Yeah I'm using NY Avatar kit.
Hey OG, for some reason I can't seem to get a hold of you mix. Everytime I tried clicking on your link its locked out, displays a chain locked box and says I don't belong there even though I logged in and still nothing happen, I'm still new with this dropbox thing and all.

 

[OrdinanceGuitar]

the link should be updated now

 

[Deathell]

Really nice mix you got there, you've managed to get some warmth. My mix just sounds sterile compared to yours. I like how u got the clicks with the kicks and theres just a decent amount of bottom end on them. What is your plugin fx chain like? Also, do you have anything on the master bus?

 

[Deathell]

It used to be worse than this when I was still using Waves L2, really sucked the warmth and life out of my mix and rendered it sterile
I'm using just the L316 on master bus now.

 

[OrdinanceGuitar]

I just threw a c4 and an L2 on the master. I used the c4 for raising the volume, and l2 for limiting. I overuse the c4