Need your opinions, new production/mix/master

[Tym_ex]

Hey,

Sometime ago I recorded/produced/mixed/mastered 2 tracks for dutch band Sengaia. I did this together with a friend who also studies music production at the same school where I study.

It was a real rush job and we mixed and mastered the songs in 1 day. The plan was to do a more extensive mix/master job later on. As we're planning on doing this soon I'd be happy to hear all your suggestions, tips, tricks, advice or whatever you want to say about it!

Some notes:
-Drums are completely acoustic, no triggers used.

-Guitars are quad tracked. Handmade Ernst preamp, VHT poweramp and Koch cab. 2 SM-57s on and off axis.

-The band wanted us to produce their songs in a way that it sounded organic, with lots of definition but at the same time it had to be brutal as hell.

Here are the 2 tracks:
http://student-kmt.hku.nl/~tymon/proj4site/mp3/Ghost Shark - 19-06-06 (master).mp3
http://student-kmt.hku.nl/~tymon/proj4site/mp3/The Narcissus Plague - 19-06-07 (master).mp3

Thnx!!

 

[Seizure.]

i like it! but hell i like everything with roy... that guy is siicccckkkk......

 

[~BURNY~]

Sounds good. Maybe the cymbals are a tad bright for my taste.
Other than that, no complaint.

 

[Tym_ex]

Thnx! I need more opinions guys!

 

[\m/FRNK\m/]

wow nice!! You got that organic feel definately, makes it very aggressive!

Me likes bigtime \m/

 

[Rekisum]

Ooookay!? This is really good!! The guítarsound is a bit... ehhh... like it's recorded in a tube... don't know how to eksplain it better...

But... it's damn cool... and damn... the vocal is a killer... brutal!

 

[Seizure.]

that the same thing jurjan from greyline told me when he heard it... like the guitars were recorded in a tube.. doesn't bother me realy but hey.. hope this helps!

 

[Atheist]

Hi Tymon. Long time no see - I'm Element on cynicalsphere.
How's Exivious going?

I love the mix, but it's like I'm listening to low kbps mp3 even though it's 192 - maybe due to something you did in mastering. Over compressed maybe?

 

[Tym_ex]

Thnx for the replies!

The guitar "tube" like sound is probably due to minimal phase problems between the 2 SM-57s. I actually like that but I can understand the remarks here. I can probably fix it by using 1 mic more instead of the 2 equally loud. Thnx for the tip, I'll definitely take a look at this again.

Atheist, hey there! Exivious is still going, not at a very rapid pace but still going nevertheless. One of the guitar players of Sengaia is actually our second guitar player these days

About the compression, it is very compressed in the mastering stages. If it was my call I'd turn it down a little but this is what the band wanted. It had to blow off the skin from your face when listening

I'm still not entirely happy with the snare. That was one of the biggest challenges, to make it a functional snare in this style of music but to keep its acoustic qualities intact. It can still have some more punch and attack, but I'm afraid it will begin to sound unnatural when I process it more. Basically there's some compression, EQing and BBE sonic maximizer going on there. Any tips to get that finishing touch in there without triggering? It has to be possible!

 

[Mulder]

Thnx for the replies!

The guitar "tube" like sound is probably due to minimal phase problems between the 2 SM-57s. I actually like that but I can understand the remarks here. I can probably fix it by using 1 mic more instead of the 2 equally loud.

Maybe this plug can help? (its free)

I'm still not entirely happy with the snare. That was one of the biggest challenges, to make it a functional snare in this style of music but to keep its acoustic qualities intact. It can still have some more punch and attack, but I'm afraid it will begin to sound unnatural when I process it more. Basically there's some compression, EQing and BBE sonic maximizer going on there. Any tips to get that finishing touch in there without triggering? It has to be possible!

Maybe the Kick is a tad too loud/bright, it jumps in front of the snare. Tune the kick'tick' down to 2-3K, try if it helps if you eq the snare a bit brighter at 5k (hold the BBE). Longer attack on the snarecompressor? Some short, convoluted (compressed) roomverb can also fatten stuff without sounding unnatural..