Is this rock mix up to par?

[pikachu69]

Hello,
I am new around here and have finally grown the balls to post a track for you all to tell me what I have done wrong lol as this is the first time anyone other than my mates have heard my mixes.
Although it is not metal, I have employed alot of what I have learnt from this site in the mix. (I have been reading this forum for over a year now, its amazing!) The rest of the album is heavier than this track, more old school Megadeth crossed with Greenday.
This was only ever supposed to be a demo, as it was recorded/mixed in any room I could find with minimal gear.
My main concerns are balance and bottom end smoothness but if you hear anything at all please let me know.
I Think the vocal could come up a bit?
Real guitar amps used and maybe a 50/50 blend of samples on the kick, snare and toms.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10584477/Away.mp3
Cheers.

 

[pikachu69]

Any one? I would really love your guys input on this.
Cheers.

 

[Scott Horner]

I think it sounds good man. I do think the vocals could come just a tiny bit and the performances could be a bit tighter but it also gives the track more of a live feel which isn't bad either and works with this style pretty well. Mix wise however, I think you've done a very good job.

 

[pikachu69]

Scottrosia,
It is for the most part live, all parts being one takes and no overdubs/drop ins. The band very much wanted a live feel more than anything else but Im not sure if it should be tighter still?
Thanks for your comments, I really do appreciate your time.
Cheers.

 

[ahjteam]

the arrangement and musicianship, and possibly editing too, playing sounds really stiff and sterile.

 

[pikachu69]

Thanks for your input but I would prefer if we could stick to commenting on the mix rather than dissing my mates and their playing skills. We are not trying to win a Grammy award or nothing so I don't see the point in you bringing it up as I asked for comments on the mix only.
If you have any honest opinions on the parts of the song I can control I would love to hear them, however.
Please remember I mentioned this is a demo and not a master piece.

Anyone else have any advice for me, I really need it.

Cheers.

 

[ahjteam]

tl;dr: bass is too loud, drums sound lifeless, vocals could use some more delay and reverb





I'm not dissing, I was just pointing out that the problems are way earlier in the creative process than mixing, and since I understood from the op you recorded them, it WAS under control to get them better. the overall product would sound way better if the song was played better. Otherwise it's just polishing you know what.

Especially the drummer sounds like he is constantly afraid of fucking up, so he tries to play "tighter", leading to really stiff and lifeless playing. The end of the song is maybe the only part where it sounds good. In your clip the drums sound like they are either programmed, sample replaced and/or edited to hell and back and there was no ghost notes at all, and it is killing all the groove and nuances which makes drums more interesting. And your drum mix sounds really dry, like there was no room mics at all.

Eventho this clip is a bit heavier, but if you listen to it and compare this clip to this where first one is processed and latter clip is with no plugins or what so ever. I played the drums on that clip and there are even some fuck ups as I had never heard the song before as RIF made it up like 2 hours earlier. I am maybe the second worst musician in the world, but at least I tried to make my playing sound like it was not super forced or played with a drum machine. In my mix I recorded like really minimal setup of 5 mics; kick, snare, two toms and mono room mic, and then I added some reverb in the box. No sample replacement at all and minimal editing.

But rule of thumb for that kind of music is that if you use samples, you don't replace and make the sample overpower the main part of the sound like you did, but augument the original track with the sample so that it gets just a bit more solid, but still has the nuances to it.

 

[pikachu69]

Don't get me wrong I do understand what you mean and can hear it and I did not meant to offend I apologize, I got a little too defensive, but if you are dealing with a less than average drummer and thats the best he can do, then thats the best he can do, I could have asked him to play it 100 more times and it would have sounded the same.

I have done NO editing at all to any drum parts and unfortunately, no ghost notes were harmed in the making of this track, he just didn't play any! It does lead to a programmed feel I know.
I used 1 room mic but as it was just a room in a house it was not a room worth capturing to be honest, although it is in the mix. This whole thing was recorded in a lounge and mixed in a bedroom.
I know I am making excuses and your advise is spot on, I just long for the day I get to record pro musicians so I may get a chance to be truly creative.

The bass and vocal ideas back up thoughts of my own so I was pleased to read that, thanks.
Cheers.

 

[ahjteam]

I used 1 room mic but as it was just a room in a house it was not a room worth capturing to be honest, although it is in the mix.

If it's only barely there, then make a duplicate of it, mute the original, and remove all the plugins from the new duplicate. add a compressor, quickest attack and quickest release your compressor has, ratio 10:1 and set the threshold to minimum, basically so that it makes the compressor totally annihilate the track and makes sounds like shit. Then add enough makeup gain and listen how it sounds in the mix. Should have a nice amount of grit to it. if you use Cubase, the datube also helps if you put it after the compressor

 

[pikachu69]

Ok I will give that a try, sounds interesting. I have been too afraid to smash a room mic as it does sound bad lol. Thanks for the great advice.

Does anyone else have any opinions, I would love to hear them before I update the mix.

Cheers.

 

[vaiman]

Sounds great.
Simple as that to be honest.
Put it to bed and move on to the other tracks. Looking forward to future mixes