Rock mix with vocals. help

[iarebrandon]

first things first... i know about the auto-tune. we will be re tracking vocals next week. as far as mastering all i have done is brought up the volume. any tips on mastering would really be helpful. other than that how could i improve this mix? this is going to be the template for my bands new EP.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27111094/The End.mp3

also if anyones interested I'm considering putting stems up for all of our songs.

 

[Skinny Viking]

needs more bass low end

its clean and all but seriously lacks some bass thump and you definitely have room

its most noticeable when the actual music kicks in ... it just sounds weak right after the intro

 

[iarebrandon]

alright. so should i just raise some low end on the bass guitar? should i adjust my guitar amp to have more low end? right now i have the guitar hi pass at 125. is that bad?

or should i just throw an eq on the master and raise the low end like that?

 

[Skinny Viking]

bring down your hi pass to like 100 to start (on the guitars)

you want to use the actual bass guitar to fill in your low end so check where you may have it hi passed at and try bringing that down to start .. I would suggest around 50hz and try giving it a little bump somewhere between 60-80hz depending where the main thump of your kick is sitting (don't have it in the same spot)

ideally you want to fix this in the individual elements of your mix, not the mastering

your kick drum could use more bottom as well but start with the guitars & bass and see where you're at 1st

 

[Pre Studio Productions]

Yeah the low end is pretty empty. And also, during the chorus, your left panned vocal is louder than your right panned vocal.

 

[TwoGOneSee]

bring down your hi pass to like 100 to start (on the guitars)

Not questioning your judgement, just wondering is HP'ing guitars around 100 the general consensus? When hi passing guitars, what are you looking to exclude? I usually try and get rid of a "HOOM" kind of sound (usually heard on the tail of palm mutes), but find that I usually have to set the HP to about 200... Which seems ludicrously high in comparison to your suggestion...

I would suggest around 50hz and try giving it a little bump somewhere between 60-80hz depending where the main thump of your kick is sitting (don't have it in the same spot)

I assume you mean low pass on the sub bass track. Again, I usually LP this around 200 (to pickup where the guitars left off), but now you got me questioning my whole strategy! HELP MY WORLD IS CRUMBLING

 

[Skinny Viking]

^

not a general consensus .. just a starting point. Where to HP the guitars can depend on so many factors ... how many rhythm tracks, tuning, arrangement, cab / head used, how it was mic'd , etc ...

also depends on the style but for the most part, its not a bad starting point. You want some meat on the guitars but not too much actual low end ... that is the bass' job

yes, 200 IS too high, if that's where you're HPing your main, heavy rhythm guitars, something has either been done wrong in tracking or your listening environment is FU'd

as for the bass question .. I have no idea if he's running two or more bass tracks. I'm going with the assumption that he's using one, therefore I mean HP on the bass (or low cut, however you wish to call it). I would allow everything Higher than 50hz to Pass the filter, cutting away everything below it (to start with) and then find a spot where the kick thump isn't eating too much and give it a small bump (2db to start, medium to wider Q) and just see how it all sounds. It may take several more adjustments but these are only meant to be a starting point in guiding him (and you I guess?) into bringing in more bottom end meat without clouding anything up

 

[TwoGOneSee]

^
haha yeah, i'm just trying to bite off some knowledge where I can, man thanks for the tips... One question, if you *did* have split bass tracks, would you still HP the sub bass around the same area? again, understanding that we are talking completely theoretically here.

 

[iarebrandon]

im actually using 2 bass tracks but the second is just a duplicate with some distortion. and its really quiet. the original didnt even have a hi pass on the bass. still deosnt have a low pass. but heres an updated mix.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27111094/The End (Version 3).mp3

 

[Skinny Viking]

better

you still have room to thicken it up ... try bringing up the bump in the bass 1 db at a time and add a little thump to your kick drum

 

[TwoGOneSee]

Have you tried compressing the shit out of the un-distorted track? you'd be surprised how much you can pump the bass up when you do that. Usually though, you'd low-pass this track too so its just the lowest end of the bass. But clearly, i'm still refining my process, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[iarebrandon]

boosted the kick. boosted the bass low end some. compressed the bass a little harder.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27111094/The End (Version 4).mp3

 

[Skinny Viking]

now isn't that a bit nicer?

kick could still be a little bigger ... not louder. More thump. Maybe notch out just a little bit of the click too .... check between 4-6khz where its at and drop like 3db, narrow Q

you still have room for the bass if you want to boost that low bump you gave it a little bit more ... just maybe take a little out around 200 if it starts sounding a little cloudy or muddy

thats all a matter of taste though and what you're trying to achieve

 

[iarebrandon]

thanks for the help. all of you.

i feel like its a little muffled now. but maybe thats because i've been listening to the song the old way for the past week...

 

[Skinny Viking]

doesn't sound muffled here but like I said, you can always pull a little out of the 200 area to see if that clears it up for you

it could very well be that you're also just accustomed to your initial version. Give yourself a day or two and don't forget to check on other speakers

 

[fuimjb]

Sounds way better now. I like a lot of low end especially in this genre of music. I think the guitars could be a little louder and maybe a bit brighter since you have filled out the low end