Mixing some metalcore EP. I really need your ears on this one. Real drums and stuff..

[Erik Monsonis]

Hi!! I need advice on the overall sound of this mix as I'm already too biased out of doing several test mixes.

How's the balance, good, not so, terrible?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/425433/No Frequency/Truth.mp3

The drums are quantized to hell and back, then replaced with slate and S2.0 (toms), guitars and bass slip edited as well. Vocals are more or less raw, with a bit of compression and some delay. Clean vocals are melodyned as fuck though.

Guitars are sims, as always, bass is POD Farm and that's pretty much it.

The bomb whistle is made with reasynth, just a sine wave chorused with loads of reverb pitched down. The bomb itself is a freeware sample.

Cheers!

 

[Internity]

sounds realy great in my opinion
the thing which bothers me that the clank of the bass isn't glueing well with the guitars.. and it pop out in not so beautiful way

which ampsims / cab impulse if I can ask ?
and the snare is too papery / high end .. need more beef / body

 

[ApeScaleConflict]

This kind of style could use less "djent" sound and more that muffledrive style that The Acacia Strain 3750 has. Yeah sure it makes it a bit muddier but i think it's a bit too clear. haha did i just complain about that... I think the clank on the bass is a good thing but i'd like more dist on that too. Overall is very solid as always and sit's in the stream of metalcore very confidently. Just a few thoughts there ^^

-Ape

 

[AEL89]

I can't stand the music but the mix is on the right track. I pretty much agree with the previous posts.

Guitars... need more muffley chunk.

Snare... I'd aim for more crack rather than snap. Get rid of the high shelf boost and less 4k boost. Aim to boost around 1-1.5k and use a shit load of parallel compression on the snare (try boosting loads of mids before the compressor then rolling off above 10k after it).

Solid overall, I'm sure you'll nail it down.

 

[Backe]

Guitars sound thin and drums too "in your face". Give the guitars some more meaty mids. The drum sounds are killer though! What toms did you use and what processing on them?

 

[Erik Monsonis]

Thanks for the advice!

How's the low end? To me it sounds MASSIVE, but maybe I'm overdoing it (mixing on headphones sucks...) anyways, I'm aiming for a bass heavy sound.

Cheers!

 

[Mago]

The kick is cool (pretty much the way I really like it), but it doesn't fit the mix/style too much somehow...too splatty and it get's drowned at times. maybe I'm just used to different kind of kicks in that kind of metalcore bands.
but maybe just boosting some highs/highmids would help to get rid of that (imo of course)
+1 on the thin snare
Bass is really nice, but I'd like to hear it more clanking through the mix. That one part before breakdown sounds massive.
And the guitars are very weak compared to it, but that's fault of the player(s) I think...or maybe thin strings/PUs, something like that...just doesnt sound very tight.
So I'd give more focus on the bass, it seems to be a more solid.
low end is fine over here.
there's also a bit much compression going on overall

 

[metalmonster34]

i love the clean vox. kick ass mix

 

[Morgan C]

Not much to say that hasn't been said, but I have to say. The break at 2:35 is incredible, with the bass dragging out while everything else stops. I'd try to bring that out a bit more. Sounds like a huge weapon being dragged across a giant wooden ship.

 

[rbkonline1]

The bass sounds HUGE....what are the post processing that you did in it?

 

[stchris]

just my oppinion but especially when I listen to it at lower volumes the main vocals stick out sometimes. Maybe the background shouts can be more background but that really depends on the vibe your going for. I like the "dive" bomb maybe the guitars sound too bright during the breakdown.
Again depending on what your going for the ride might need some more eq-ing. Guitars have been mentioned so I'm not going to.

Still I think it's a really cool mix and all the things I said may be artistic decisions or it might just be my ears

I don't claim to be a pro mixer though so take this with a lot of salt

 

[Erik Monsonis]

Better now?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/425433/No Frequency/Truth - mix final.mp3

 

[stchris]

I think it sounds a lot better. It sounds pretty killer already. But we're going for excellence here right two things I might consider trying: I think you might have gone overboard with pushing the group shouts back. Might just be too much reverb. The main shout vocals might just need a bit of automation. In parts they still sound slightly outside the mix. But don't get me wrong. You did an excellent job already (in my humble opinion) This is just nitpicking really.

Good luck. I'm actually really starting to like the song itself now

 

[gabriel g.]

Everything sounds good but the guitars are way too scooped!!! The clank of the bass also feels somehow wrong?!?!
This would realy benifit from some ts+5150/mesa os sounds. Maybe reamp the guitars, they need more meat IMHO

The mix has a bit of a unearth-the oncoming storm vibe esp. the kick

before the dive bomb there is some editing error, dont know what it is but something sounds not cutted right?

 

[Erik Monsonis]

Its really weird, because there are no active tracks in that moment that could make a glitch, also in the DAW it doesn't appear, only when I render...

 

[stchris]

I really don't mind the bass to me it adds to the song and is unique. I have to agree on the glitch though. Maybe you have just a small snippet of audio maybe on a vocal track? Probably a track panned right :d I get those sometimes. I was thinking about the guitars as well but I think they might overpower the song if you do much more to them. But their scooped alright

A very good mix though.
Congrats

 

[espartaco]

Its really weird, because there are no active tracks in that moment that could make a glitch, also in the DAW it doesn't appear, only when I render...

its probably g clip or something in the mastering chain. i occasionally have the same problem whenever the song gets really quieter whit g clip and ozone limiter too.

 

[Erik Monsonis]

That's some fucking awesome advice Espartaco, thanks!! I'll check it out!

 

[Mattayus]

Really well balanced mix as always man, I think the guitars suit the style really well actually. They might not be the typical thing to do with this style of music, but they have that springy "boing" to them that accents the low notes really well.

 

[eternally_gutted]

which ampsims / cab impulse if I can ask ?

+1.

it sounds really good. +1 to Mago too, the guitars don´t sound very tight, maybe cause the guitar players.