So, where do I start to make this sound, I dunno... heavy.

[Cheesebone]

A song I wrote a while ago, I'm relatively inexperienced when it comes to recording so any input / criticism would be great!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27733683/Blumpkin.mp3

For reference, guitar chain is:

Gibson Les Paul > New strings > Stock pickups > M-Audio Fast-Track Pro > Reaper > TSE808 > TSE X50 > either s-preshigh or Recto V30 depending on the track > some EQing.

It just sounds like shit to me, I want to make it a bit more gainy but I have trouble getting that hissy shit out of the mix, I hear people make tracks with a lot of these plugins that sound enormous though so I wonder where I'm going wrong. Quad tracked (4 separate performances) in case anyone is asking. A bit sloppy in the beginning but the rest of the playing was tight.

Also, the bass is DI'd out of the back of my bass players rig (Carvin head, Sans-Amp DI-out, with an Ibansez Soundgear SR755 for the guitar and newer strings on that too. This is compressed to all hell (like 19:1 and -30db) but I don't necessarily think that the bass is why it sounds so weak.

Thanks in advance, fellas!

 

[A.H.]

You need to copy the public link from Dropbox!

 

[Cheesebone]

Fail.


Ok I posted a new link - lol sorry about that.

 

[NattyJ.]

My main issue with the mix from the get go is the kick is wayyyyy too thin, its out of proportion to the rest of the mix, if it was less clicky, not so much clicky, but ticky maybe? idl, its out of proportion.
In fact the whole kit minus the OH sound kind of wrong, what drums are you using?

What have you done with the bass? It it just the one track?
Try duplicating and running a low pass on one at like 200hz ish and high passing it on the other so you have 2 seperate controls of each part of the bass.
By doing this you can compress the freq differently, and effect them differently. The consensus is to distort the high range so it *gels* with the distorted guitars midrange.
I'm not the master on this as the basses i've used were shit, but look on sneap, theres about 5 REALLY good threads on effecting bass, which will be exactly what you need

If you fix up the accompaniement i think it'll sound killer

 

[Cheesebone]

Awesome input, thanks! I'm using a program called "Acoustica Beatcraft" for the drums, but I'l re-eq the kick for starters and try to take some of the "tick" out of it for sure.
The kick sample is actually one I found from these forums a while ago, called something like "The Greatest Kick Ever" or something like that. The rest of the kit is just samples that came with the program..

The bass track is just one track.. I have an older mix where I DID double the track and I put a really wide chorus over it, but dropped it down a few db's so it wasn't stand-out-obviously in the mix, but I kinda like the way it sounds better without it. (Again, what do I know, I can critique other mixes all day but for some reason I can't figure anything out about my own, haha) I have also dabbled with the distorted 2nd track (and have it on other mixes I've made) where I hp/lp'd the gritty one to try and bond the bass to the guitars more, it worked well!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

This is a good example of how tight playing and good riffs can totally distract me from listening to the mix. Nice job!

Here are a few pointers about the mix:
1) The guitars don't actually sound half bad to me. Yeah, they definitely have that modeled sound going on, but the tone fits the song quite well, actually.
2) The drums don't sound like a drum kit but a collection of samples put together. The kick is super clicky and in-your-face while the snare is drowned in reverb. Listen to some of your favorite albums analytically and pay attention to how the whole drum kit works as a single instrument. Then "rebuild" the kit, and don't be afraid to dig up some low end from the kick!
3) The bass needs some nasty grit in there. Check out Ola's tutorial to get an idea of what double-processing the bass can do for you:

Good luck!

 

[NattyJ.]

^^^ this +1

 

[andrewl913]

try a high pass at around 50-70hz on the kick drum boost it to taste using subtractive EQ.. that should make your bass stand out a little more. mixing is 20% volume 80% eq. Sounds good! love the guitar sound!

 

[Cheesebone]

Very cool, thanks again everyone. So general consensus is that the bass needs hairier balls, and the drums just sound all fucked up, guitars are probably the best thing about it but still need some lovin... Noted! Lol I'll try to see if I can't improve on these and post an update here soon.

It's hard to mix for me too, I'm so used to listening through car speakers and everything, but I have BX8a's that I'm mixing through and the difference between these monitors and "normal" speakers is just ridiculous. Things that sound good in my room sound awful in my car, lol.

Much appreciated!!