The Hive Cover - Mix/Master 1st attempt

[theNeologist]

Hey all....so I'm just finishing up recording my first project with my new equipment, etc. I'm using Pro Tools M powered with the profire 610 firewire interface, and prior to this was scrounging for even a hint of decent quality. So needless to say I'm very new to mixing and particularly mastering. Really I'm not expecting perfection with my first go around, really just trying to feel it out..and see what the possibilities are.

Since I'm in the mastering stage i was hoping to get feedback on this mix in regards to final touches/polishes that I can get out of Ozone 4. From my own criticism I feel I may have splashed too much reverb on the mid-mid highs and the guitars feel a little too loose. I'd like to bring them together more and tighten/thicken them up. Any suggestions on how to do so....or anything really for the mix. All responses much appreciated.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3422116/The Hive Master.mp3

 

[LosingReality]

Really dont like the drums, they sound very thin. I think if you made changes to the drums the whole mix would sound better.

 

[theNeologist]

This is something I've heard before throughout my mixing process.....the problem is I'm too close to them to really hear them for what they are....after all I've been listening to all the songs on the album I'm recording ungodly amounts of time. So my question would be, does it sound like something that could be fixed with mixing/mastering or is the problem more with the samples themselves? In terms of thinness, would perhaps sending the drums to a parallel compression buss maybe fill them out better?

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

I don't think the drums sound thin at all. I think they sound super FAKE. Your kick is a little quiet, and your snare drum, while a good sample on it's own, needs much more variation in velocity and samples. Right now it sounds about one level above midi drums. I'm also not a fat of what I'm hearing from the overheads really.

Aside from investing in a better drum VST or sample set, a la Steven Slate drums, there isn't anything you can to fix this.

 

[theNeologist]

Fair enough. I'll have to look into that for my next purchase. I'm too far along now to really build the motivation to revamp all the drum tracks to every song I've done...so I'll see what i can do with what i can for the time being...and then start fresh on my next time through. Thanks for ur thoughts man!

 

[theNeologist]

I've made a few changes in response to the drums, hopefully for the better. I have 3 different snare samples, and 1 of the 3 has multiple velocity samples. I turned the multisampled track up and lowered the other two...so hopefully more humanization and character can be heard in the snare. Also brought the kick up...eased the toms down and made some other little tweaks.

I still feel I need some tweaking with the guitars..thicken them up and give them some more balls. Take a listen and let me know your feedback.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3422116/The Hive Master2.mp3

 

[FadeToMuffins864]

It sounds better. I guess I'm just missing that sound of an actual set of drum overhead mics capturing a set, whether its from a VST or an actual session. Without that sound, it will never quite have that "real" feeling.

Despite that, it sounds better. Snare sounds good, kick sounds good. Although the snare sounds kind of shimmery. Did you put a high shelf or something on it? The cymbals sound a little shimmery and lack body. They also sound slightly detached from the rest of the kit. Are they samples? Maybe find some deeper/darker sounding samples.

Other than that, I think the guitars sound good. Are they double or quad tracked? Maybe you could quad track them if they are double and that would fix your thickness problems.

Other than that, this is like my favorite In Flames song so I can't be too hard on you, you are an awesome guy just for covering it

 

[theNeologist]

Haha, well much appreciated man. And don't worry i won't take any criticisms to heart...I've got a lot of good information off this site so I take all advise for the better.

Today i was actually going to target the cymbals....the more I listen the more they sound distracting in the mix....perhaps something darker will settle them in better.So let me give that a shot.

The guitars are quad tracked....so I'm thinking the problem might jsut be that I have them a little to close to other frequencies...I think I might be able to find their own frequency to bring them out a bit..maybe even clear some of the other tracks up?

Either way...I agree...awesome In Flames song....love that solo. Thanks for help bro!