Original Death Metal - first mix

[1111belphegor]

Hi all,

Would like your views on this song that I wrote and recorded this week-end.
How would you improve the mix?

Will return the favor of course!

http://soundcloud.com/1111belphegor/first-creator-by-suffer-the-consequence

 

[1111belphegor]

Not much help around here…
However, I thought the guitars were muffled and the low end a bit crowded, so I made a remix. Feedback, anyone?

http://soundcloud.com/1111belphegor/first-creator

 

[inertia]

2nd mix is much better....it's a little clean to be old school but it sounds good. The snare is a bit quiet though.

 

[1111belphegor]

inertia: Thank you very much for taking the time listening and commenting!
And I agree that the snare disappears a bit, will have to see what I can do about that (add some higher frequencies to the snare, or carve out some 200 Hz from the guitars?) Tips would be appreciated, I am not very good at this…!

 

[inertia]

You can try boosting the snare a bit with the eq and carve out the same frequency in your other instruments to see if you can make space for it. I rarely have to eq my snare though and often it's a case of just turning it up in volume unless it's gonna go into the red, of course. You can also experiment with some multiband EQ on the mix. Set up 3 different frequencies and set the ratio for each band at around 1.2, 1.3, 1.2 and apply boosts or cuts to taste.

 

[prabblerabble]

I feel that the vocals are slightly too loud in the mix, I like the guitar on the second version. I would also add a little more low end boost on the kick to give it a slightly punchier feel.

 

[1111belphegor]

@inertia: thanks man, will fiddle around a bit and try.

@prabblerabble: Thanks for commenting! Yeah, vocals could probably be pushed back a bit, to better merge with the mix. Will try to augment the low end of the kick (around 60Hz?) - I find it really difficult to keep it under control when it gets into the fast tremolo/double-kick parts.

Very grateful for your advice. I want to get this thing rocking!

 

[inertia]

Don't be afraid to use volume automation when necessary. There's no rules saying you can't raise and lower volumes at certain segments of a song. Often I group sections of instruments or sometimes even drum groups. That way you can automate several things at the same time.

 

[1111belphegor]

Ok, so here is perhaps my final attempt.
I increased the 50-60 Hz range of the kick (with some +2db I believe). Added a tad of compression to the snare.
Vocals were taken back slightly to sit better in the mix.

http://www.dropbox.com/s/6h7rlj6ktncs50t/First%20Creator.mp3

I feel quite happy with the result! Thanks guys!