So where do I go from here?

[schismatic]

Here's the mix..... (vocals still to go)........what's wrong with it?

I feel like I've worked on this for ages, but I need opinions from other peoples' minds and ears.

 

[lolzgreg]

I would try to get the bass to carry a bit more weight.

The snare is pretty upfront and bright, but the toms are pretty far away.

The guitars have a ton of high mid focus and are popping out of the mix a bit too much. I think you'll run into an issue when the vocals get in there.

 

[Jaosix]

The guitars sound really weak in my opinion, and the bass is really sticking out a lot and not blending with the guitars too well. The snare is perfect. I can't hear the kick most of the time though so i'd say turn that up a bit or side-chain compress it with bass or eq a bit more low end from the bass. Saying all that though, it might just be the bass is too loud

 

[iceman666]

The guitars sound really weak in my opinion, and the bass is really sticking out a lot and not blending with the guitars too well. The snare is perfect. I can't hear the kick most of the time though so i'd say turn that up a bit or side-chain compress it with bass or eq a bit more low end from the bass. Saying all that though, it might just be the bass is too loud

Gonna have to agree with him on this one!

 

[schismatic]

Many many thanks for feedback from you all. I think that there are some things that are straightforward to fix, others where I need guidance.

I can easily bring the toms up a bit and get the kick to stick out more, that's no issue.

I agree that the guitars are likely to clash with vocals at the moment so I will try to cut a bit around 2-4kHz to tame those high mids.

I can also drop the bass slightly so that its less dominant.

The two issues that I currently have are:

Guitar thin-ness. What do you suggest? Currently there are two guitars double-tracked, one panned fully wide, the other at 75%. I could potentially do a third track for each guitar and mix it in a bit lower but centrally (or at least not as wide) - would this help thicken it up? What do you suggest?

The other issue I have is the 'clack' from the bass. I pick up on it too much when I listen back through phone and headphones. It's a mid-range frequency from my ear alone, but I can't pinpoint where it is exactly and I'm not really sure whether some EQ is the right approach. Suggestions with that one would also be welcomed.

I will post a newer mix with these points hopefully addressed over the next few days.

Thanks for helping me learn, I can really only progress when you guys take the time to comment and make suggestions, I get so much more from it than reading alone, so it's very much appreciated!!

 

[WalhallaM]

Guitars sound like there is only one impulse and little gain I suggest,try more impulses 2 or 3 and try to side chain guitars.

 

[Fealow]

im listening through a pair of DT990 pro's so should be able to offer you some relatively sound advice.

First of all are you using a high pass filter on the guitars? if so ease up on it quite a bit, your loosing a lot of useful low end in them. I like what you've done with the panning of the guitars, although I would bring the left guitar in a bit for the sake of mono compatibility and possible phase issues. Left 85% R 70% perhaps.

The bass could do with a low pass filter, try bringing it down to about 1khz-2khz, this should soften the click on the bass. by getting rid of unnecessary high end you have more headroom on the bass so squash it down with some compression so the low end is tighter and more balanced. This should help it blend more with the guitars low end (if you are using a high pass filter on them).

I think the kick has the right amount of thump and snap, but a bit too much body so try cutting around 300-400hz with a wide bandwidth, maybe 3dB-9dB. this will tighten up the low end and allow the snap to cut through more.

The main thing you need to do is low pass the bass so it sits at the bottom of the mix and ease up on the high pass filter on the rhythm guitars if you are using one. If not then I would advise rerecording them with more low end rather than boosting with EQ. And remember if you are cutting frequencies with EQ make sure you use some gain makeup. basically increasing the EQ's output level so its as loud as it was before you made the cuts.

As said by others, the snare sounds great and the cymbals seem to be about right, you may have to bring them up a little on the faders after you make the above changes though.

Hope that helps.

 

[Jaosix]

When I first started out and my guitars sounded really weak, I ran them through cabinet simulators and use impulse responses and worked like that. This was when I was using POD Farm though and I for some reason couldn't get a very solid tone with my gx. I switched to micing real amps with a condenser mic around the cap area and everything seemed to fall into place.

 

[schismatic]

Ok, so here's an updated mix......let me know what you think! I've tried to take on board your comments from the last mix posted......personally I think it sounds better, but as always, it's subjective and you may feel different!