Post hardcore mix – feedback much appreciated

[Rasmus321]

Hi guys, thought I would share my latest mix/song. The bands me and my band are inspired by, both music and production wise are:
Red, of Mice and Men, memphis may fire, i see stars, Breaking benjamin etc..
Would like to hear what you guys think about the mix mostly, but also the song.
Been investing in some new studio equipment, studio monitors and upgraded my computer hardware so i've been trying to improve my mixing skills.

For the drums I use superior drummer, blend the kick and the snare with an andy sneap sample and a free snare i found online.
Some Eq, multiband compression, stillwell- bombadier, parallel comp.

For the bass i use zombass4, some distortion, ClA bass plugin, some eq, multiband compression, parallell comp and also side-chain the kick to the bass.

Guitars are pod farm 2. Doubled left and right 100%. parallell compression, EQ and stereo enhancer etc.

Strings are ewsql, plugins i use- Ozone 5, eq and parallell compression.

The vocals.. is me singing, I cannot sing so the vocals are processed a lot. Do you think it is ok or should I postpone releasing this and trying to find a real singer or hire one to help us out?

Hope you like the new tune, cheers!

 

[Evan Wych Elm]

I really like the track dude! It's my kind of thing. Interesting structure keeps it from being predictable which is cool. Especially like the samples and layers as well as the use of melody and cleans for effect rather than just being there for the sake of a weak chorus every now and then - really like it

As for the production, I really like the overall balance, especially in the choruses with the cleans. I think the sub drops are really effective, great choice for the genre. With the drums, the sound is great but the lack a bit of presence and the in-your-face quality that the genre demands: limiting and/or soft clipping the snare and kick I've found to be very effective in getting them to cut through everything without having to boost unnaturally high frequencies. I like your kick sound - it's fairly gelled with the song and not an 'amateur' type of clicky where the high mids have a 12db boost haha very tasteful as well as the full-bodied snare (although maybe taking out some mid-range information around 500-700Hz would make it 'pop' a bit more).

The bass sounds rightly placed, if not a bit quiet - not too woolly but controlled. It might lack some definition around 1.5Khz (might just be my opinion) but I can't quite tell if it's the distortion or just because you removed the mids because of taste, which is fine As for the side-chaining, in such a fast genre it can often mean the bass gets lost a lot because the kick hits are so often (I think this is why the bass seems quiet, although your level might be fine). The bass in breakdowns would be ducking out a lot, meaning they can lack depth and power. Id try a cut around 70Hz in the bass track and a boost around 100Hz and then just do the opposite on your kick track - a boost at 70Hz and a cut at 100Hz - rather than side-chain compression. But if it's really working in slower sections, then maybe automate the side-chaining

As for the guitars, they seem quiet present although I really like the tone. They seem to have quite a lot of low frequencies that the bass could take care of if boosted and cut out on the guitars - around 100Hz. Really like the varying dynamics and editing of the guitar parts. Your stereo field is great too, and the chorus tone is great for strumming. The guitars are masking a lot of the snares body too - when the snare is on its own its full and punchy until the guitars come in and it lacks presence. What tone did you use for the rhythm guitars if you used Pod Farm? Was it a cali diamond plate with a treadplate cab and condensor mic? The lead guitar was hard to hear when it came in halfway during each chorus so maybe a different tone, some cutting and boosting EQ between the rhythm and lead parts, or panning it in a bit more, and separating it with the stereo field might help. The level could possibly be adjusted and maybe some automation too?

Really love the way you've handled effects and samples, they add to the song rather than take away and sound considered rather than put there for the sake of it.

The clean vocals are really present which is a really cool thing. Nice air and occasionally just a bit too much crispness! I think you're definitely on the right lines for the genre in terms of how the chorus sounds though, you've nailed that. Some of the screams get lost toward the end but the vocals have been processed a lot as you said. A boost of around 2-4kHz (and a corresponding cut on the guitars) might help their presence? A compressor doing about 4db gain reduction with a ratio of 4:1, slow attack and fast release times might smooth out the screaming levels, and then copy that exact same compressor just below that and every word should stand out If you want that very processed vocal sound then you're definitely along the right lines - just watch for that 'metallic' sound in the screams in the first verse. I think that's caused by pitch correction/autotune/melodyne rather than too many reflections when recording or phase issues, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. What have you put on your vocal chain out of interest? As for hiring in a singer; it's your music! What do you like the sound of most? Your own processed vocal or someone else's possibly more raw vocal? Totally up to your taste man.

Cool song and cool mix!

Evan

 

[Rasmus321]

I really like the track dude! It's my kind of thing. Interesting structure keeps it from being predictable which is cool. Especially like the samples and layers as well as the use of melody and cleans for effect rather than just being there for the sake of a weak chorus every now and then - really like it

As for the production, I really like the overall balance, especially in the choruses with the cleans. I think the sub drops are really effective, great choice for the genre. With the drums, the sound is great but the lack a bit of presence and the in-your-face quality that the genre demands: limiting and/or soft clipping the snare and kick I've found to be very effective in getting them to cut through everything without having to boost unnaturally high frequencies. I like your kick sound - it's fairly gelled with the song and not an 'amateur' type of clicky where the high mids have a 12db boost haha very tasteful as well as the full-bodied snare (although maybe taking out some mid-range information around 500-700Hz would make it 'pop' a bit more).

The bass sounds rightly placed, if not a bit quiet - not too woolly but controlled. It might lack some definition around 1.5Khz (might just be my opinion) but I can't quite tell if it's the distortion or just because you removed the mids because of taste, which is fine As for the side-chaining, in such a fast genre it can often mean the bass gets lost a lot because the kick hits are so often (I think this is why the bass seems quiet, although your level might be fine). The bass in breakdowns would be ducking out a lot, meaning they can lack depth and power. Id try a cut around 70Hz in the bass track and a boost around 100Hz and then just do the opposite on your kick track - a boost at 70Hz and a cut at 100Hz - rather than side-chain compression. But if it's really working in slower sections, then maybe automate the side-chaining

As for the guitars, they seem quiet present although I really like the tone. They seem to have quite a lot of low frequencies that the bass could take care of if boosted and cut out on the guitars - around 100Hz. Really like the varying dynamics and editing of the guitar parts. Your stereo field is great too, and the chorus tone is great for strumming. The guitars are masking a lot of the snares body too - when the snare is on its own its full and punchy until the guitars come in and it lacks presence. What tone did you use for the rhythm guitars if you used Pod Farm? Was it a cali diamond plate with a treadplate cab and condensor mic? The lead guitar was hard to hear when it came in halfway during each chorus so maybe a different tone, some cutting and boosting EQ between the rhythm and lead parts, or panning it in a bit more, and separating it with the stereo field might help. The level could possibly be adjusted and maybe some automation too?

Really love the way you've handled effects and samples, they add to the song rather than take away and sound considered rather than put there for the sake of it.

The clean vocals are really present which is a really cool thing. Nice air and occasionally just a bit too much crispness! I think you're definitely on the right lines for the genre in terms of how the chorus sounds though, you've nailed that. Some of the screams get lost toward the end but the vocals have been processed a lot as you said. A boost of around 2-4kHz (and a corresponding cut on the guitars) might help their presence? A compressor doing about 4db gain reduction with a ratio of 4:1, slow attack and fast release times might smooth out the screaming levels, and then copy that exact same compressor just below that and every word should stand out If you want that very processed vocal sound then you're definitely along the right lines - just watch for that 'metallic' sound in the screams in the first verse. I think that's caused by pitch correction/autotune/melodyne rather than too many reflections when recording or phase issues, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. What have you put on your vocal chain out of interest? As for hiring in a singer; it's your music! What do you like the sound of most? Your own processed vocal or someone else's possibly more raw vocal? Totally up to your taste man.

Cool song and cool mix!

Evan

Wow, thanks man! Awesome feedback, going to look into all of this tomorrow

My vocal fx chain- hp filter, Cla-76 compressor with 4ms attack, cla vocal plugin, and an API eq boosting som high mids and highs. Havent really put much thought in this since I havent mixed vocals before, so pretty much just been trying out different stuff. The feedback is great though, will try that out. and will try to get rid of that metallic sound, really harsh for my ears when listening to it.

Guitars are the Mississipi criminal from the metal addon with a treadplate and 57 mic some eq and compression.

Wasn't really satisfied with the tone though, was a bit to bright for my taste when listening back to it.. Been mixing a lot today and ended up trying out the emmisary amp from ignite amps together with some great impulses. Think I got a much fuller tone now, hope you like it! This is not my song though, downloaded stems for an Erra song. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48392485/Pulse%20test3.wav

 

[Evan Wych Elm]

No probs man - you can see where that presence is coming from in the vocals if you've got the CLA before a boosting EQ. It can add a lot of brightness without really cutting through the mix. Like I said, I love your guitar tone for thick strumming and I'm going to try it out on a mix now! But yeah if you find it a bit too bright, a Low pass at around 10-12Khx really helps (most cabs frequency response only goes up to 8Khz ish). Really like that tone in the Erra song man! Whats your chain for this one? The lead is still slightly lost but I love the tone

 

[Rasmus321]

No probs man - you can see where that presence is coming from in the vocals if you've got the CLA before a boosting EQ. It can add a lot of brightness without really cutting through the mix. Like I said, I love your guitar tone for thick strumming and I'm going to try it out on a mix now! But yeah if you find it a bit too bright, a Low pass at around 10-12Khx really helps (most cabs frequency response only goes up to 8Khz ish). Really like that tone in the Erra song man! Whats your chain for this one? The lead is still slightly lost but I love the tone

Yeah think i'm going to go with the Erra-tone instead.. its just tse 808 - emmisary - and the tropicana impulse from this guy The best impulses since s-preshigh... And they're free !
no post processing what so ever Think it might need some eq to let the snare and the lead guitar through a bit more though