Guess i'll jump on the bandwagon

[Where She Wept]

http://www.myspace.com/skinbound

10 song cd, drums in 8hr's, guitars in 4, bass in 4, keys and backup vox in 4hrs. lead vocals i can't remember, the singer kept redoing them cuz he didn't like his voice(sigh).

Drums are all Andy's samples, edited to hell (bad idea to track 10 songs in 1 day). the bass player was stoned and played like shit so he's buried in the mix. The guitars sounded like shit so i eq'd the hell out of them. the only pleasant part was recording the backup vox and keys, the dude just came in nailed it all first take.

I've listen to it so many times i can't tell if it sounds good or bad.

 

[stringy_]

Doesn't sound too bad. Immediate impression is that the bass needs to be more compressed. Finger player was he? Attack is all over the place. Stoned? Lol!

I'd say use a multiband and squash everything under 250Hz to get it under control. I'd also re-EQ it slightly, it's a little forward in the bass region, I'd say a little bit too much action at 150Hz.

Then the guitars are a bit buried in some parts...

Good job!

 

[Where She Wept]

Do you mean squash it all in the final mix or just in the bass tracks?

 

[KeithRT99]

doesn't sound too bad, but the playing is horrible. Is the bass player playing the wrong notes?

 

[stringy_]

Do you mean squash it all in the final mix or just in the bass tracks?

Well, the BEST thing to be would be to re-record with a decent bassist. Hehe...

Compress the shit out of JUST the bass tracks to try and get at least some control over his attack. The compressor is going to have to be riding the track the entire time, not just limiting peaks. Use a heavy ratio. He's all over the place and it's upsetting the rest of the mix. Then calm down some of the 120-150Hz area, we want to keep some thump in that region, but the bass is too...uh, pointy. It's sticking out like a sore thumb. Get the kicks up just a touch louder and try to get the kicks and bass working together a bit better. It takes awhile and a ton of experimenting, but you can't really build a decent mix without a good foundation (kicks/bass). Consequently, because the bass guitar is SO over-powering, it's making the kicks sound thin...we need that perfect balance between the two. Let the bass take care of the junk around 150Hz, and let the kicks take care of everything below that.

Drain the mids on the bass a bit also. Scooped bass tones are better in metal, it opens up a hole for the guitars to slide into, so that the two instruments aren't fighting for the same frequencies. That'll also help the guitars stand out a bit more, without having to touch the faders.

As for what Keith said, I don't think the bassist is playing the wrong notes...I think in some sections he's slightly behind the guitars though.

 

[Where She Wept]

doesn't sound too bad, but the playing is horrible. Is the bass player playing the wrong notes?

Actually i tracked guitars first, and the bassist was playing different notes so the guitarist corrected him, then the singer blamed the guitarist. (i love bands). the bassist was always overplaying things. he was doing open string hammer-ons constantly. and on almost everysong i had to punch in the last note to let it ring out cuz he would keep keep playing fast runs, even when the band stopped.

I spent so many hours editing and mixing. i was cutting out whole parts of songs because the drummer would overdo a fill into the next measure. (fun doing that with no click) a friend told me the cd sounds better than they do live.

Thanks for the advice. the 123-150 hz are gives me hell, and the dude refuses to play with a pick and he's inconsistent as hell. Thankfully its over and the band is promoting the hell out of themselves.

peace

 

[Black neon bob]

Cool stuff man... the singer is great!

Good job as well, in such a short timeframe with stoned bass players and all, it's a job well done...

 

[Where She Wept]

Cool stuff man... the singer is great!

Good job as well, in such a short timeframe with stoned bass players and all, it's a job well done...

Thanks