My first Mix... Hourglass Cover

[Kool Dude]

Version 1:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3980536/Hourglass.mp3
Version 2:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3980536/Hourglass%202.mp3
Version 2: (Long)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3980536/Hourglass%202%20-%20Long.mp3

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Hey everyone! So this is my first mix that I'm uploading, it's a cover. Hourglass by Lamb of God.

I'm no were near a professional or nearly as good as any of you on here because you guys know your stuff! I know, very little!

It's not the whole song, just the intro and I wanted to know what you guys thought of it so far and where I should go with it. I'm doing this for practice.

I really didn't do much, I just EQ'd the guitars. The drums I didn't touch, I got them using Soundstage from Sonivox.

I didn't compress anything, I'm still trying to figure out how to use that.

I know that certain instruments are within certain frequecny ranges, but I don't know what frequency ranges to use so I just used...

Highshelf at 5000 Hz and the gain is 6 db and the roll off is 12.

And a low shelf at 63Hz, gain all the way down, and the roll off is 24.

I was just kinda messing around, all I know is the guitar shouldnt be in the bass frequency so I just brought that all the way down.

As for the bass, I didn't EQ that at all... and my Bass isn't really a bass... I sorta played it on my guitar and transposed it down 12 semitones

As for the tone, I used POD Farm.

So where could I go from here to make it sound better?

Also don't mind the ringing you hear, I messed up a few times XD



Any advice/suggestions/help in general is really appreciated!

I should also mention that I'm not using any studio monitors or anything as well =(

 

[MetalRaph]

sounds pretty good mate, the triplets at the start of the riff sound a bit off, try making a bit more of a gap between each of the 3 notes.

otherwise very LoGish!

 

[Kool Dude]

Thanks!

I'll work on those triplets!

But how exactly does the mix sound? I was doing this so I could practice my mixing, and maybe some of you could give me a little input on how I could make it better so I could learn some new techniques. Shold anything be compressed, did I EQ right? Etc... Know what I'm sayin'?

I've noticed that it doesn't sound as loud as what finalized music should be, I'm guessing that has something to do with compression, maybe? I'm going to look into it!

Like I said any help and advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[chesterfieldblues]

I think you must add more punck on the kick, with compression/EQ.

 

[Morgan C]

Guitars sound kinda muffled.
Highpass them at 80-100hz, lowpass around 12khz.

It's not bad for an early recording. There's not many specific tips I can give you, but keep at it. Experiment with compression on the drums (guitars you usually don't want compression, bass you want a ridiculous amount and it doesn't matter THAT much what the settings are) til you learn what each control does.

 

[Kool Dude]

Okay. So, sorry I'm new and I'm trying to google the answer. Is Highpassing and Low passing accomplished using the Equalizer? Or is there some other plug in out there specifically for that stuff?

I looked up the frequecny range for the Drum Kick, I'm using a Drum Kit. I don't have individual tracks for each part of the drum. So, I read the frequency range is somwhere between 60-80Hz, would you all agree?
And how much gain should I add to the EQ'd Drum Kit?

I'm currently looking for a tutorial on how to use compression... ^-^


Okay I took some notes... And I know what the terms mean, Threshold, ratio, all that stuff...
But what should you have the Threshold set at? I have my Bass track set at -6db, do you usually want the theshold set higher? Or at the same level as the track?

Compression doesn't seem all that hard to understand, the site i was on explained it pretty well, but I think some examples would have helped. =P

 

[Morgan C]

Okay. So, sorry I'm new and I'm trying to google the answer. Is Highpassing and Low passing accomplished using the Equalizer? Or is there some other plug in out there specifically for that stuff?

I looked up the frequecny range for the Drum Kick, I'm using a Drum Kit. I don't have individual tracks for each part of the drum. So, I read the frequency range is somwhere between 60-80Hz, would you all agree?
And how much gain should I add to the EQ'd Drum Kit?

I'm currently looking for a tutorial on how to use compression... ^-^


Okay I took some notes... And I know what the terms mean, Threshold, ratio, all that stuff...
But what should you have the Threshold set at? I have my Bass track set at -6db, do you usually want the theshold set higher? Or at the same level as the track?

Compression doesn't seem all that hard to understand, the site i was on explained it pretty well, but I think some examples would have helped. =P

Threshold is the one thing that you can never say how to set it. It is ENTIRELY dependent on the track's input level. So if you see a guide, you can get tips on attack, release, ratio, and gain reduction, never threshold.

The important thing to know is that a compressor really has 2 functions: it can increase attack (drums) and even out volume (bass/vocals). It's ALWAYS got both of these, but depending on how you set it and what the track is like (percussive or sustained) will affect how the compressor affects your track.
For drums, your attack will affect your transient. Anything from 0 attack up to 30 attack can work, depending on what you want to do. Experiment.
Release will affect the ring. Anything from 30ms to about 200 works (depending on the compressor, some compressors have like 1ms release times and a max of about 5ms; others have a much wider range). Again, experiment. Too long a release can mess up your drum fills.
Ratio is kinda hard to explain and much harder to hear. Just play around with it.
Good luck!

 

[Kool Dude]

Okay, so I messed around with it. It's a lot louder, the guitars aren't as muffled... and as for the Bass and Drums, eh, who knows? I added some Compression to them, not sure if the settings are right, and I added some EQ to the Drumkit!

Added version 2 in the first post!

 

[Morgan C]

Sounds MUCH better dude. Just put a bass guitar in there, its sounding good. One thing though, I'd be careful about compressing the kick. It usually doesn't work out very well (unless you put both the attack and release really short so that short bursts of notes can come thru, but then it doesn't really sound good). Keep going with the cover cos its kinda hard to tell from such a short clip, but its sounding good.

 

[Kool Dude]

Thanks!

Unfortunatly, I have no Bass, so I'm stuck with using my guitar and transposing it down so it sounds like one, however it doesn't sound as good as I'd like it to

So should I just take the compressor off the Drumkit then?

I'll record more today, 'cause I'm pretty excited about my mix now!

 

[Kool Dude]

I'm not one to double post, but this is a really active forum and I don't want my thread getting lost beneath others.

I'm not just doing this so it doesn't get lost, I have an update!

I just uploaded version 2... But Longer!

Still not the whole song though.

So enjoy! Please tell me what you think!

Download link is at the top!

 

[Kool Dude]

*Bump*

Isn't there anyone else who would like to comment on my mix?
I'd like all the advice I can get.

 

[cloy26]

there is a lot of stuff going on down low...

 

[Kool Dude]

Any ideas on improvement?