Opinion On my Mixes

[Zengine]

Hello All.

I just recently uploaded a couple song to mp3.com and would love some opinions on the mixes. Conscription and Worlds Away especially. All this was done with the Digi 001 and i have Mackie monitors.

I find mixing really difficult. I have tried to pull as much info as possible off these boards, i thnk i am getting better.....probably not! haha

Any Slam, Thrash, Compliment is welcome =0P
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/359/..._to_match.html

cheers

[IOP Drummer]

If gene hoglan played drums on this this would be Devin townshendish. Cool songs, sounds but the drums have to go. Ideas are cool but sounds aren't that good and programming is kinda fake.

[Joseph Anderson]

Hey ude


bring up he vocals

otherwise good mix

[img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Zengine]

Cool thanks for the feedback.

yeah the drums are all samples so they sound lame. I have no idea how to get a "live" drum sound with samples. it sounds too processed i guess

up the vox eh? hmm i have had that said before.... i can never get the vocals to sit right in the mix. I think its the hardest thing , cause that is what everyone listens too..

cheers thanx for the advice!!!

[Nine Spine]

Hey Zengine, I haven't had time to listen to the song yet but if you don't mind I might be able to offer a little hint on setting vox balances.

Try monitoring at a pretty low volume level when mixing vocals (like conversation level or lower). The tendency is to put them too low when your listening at higher volume levels.

Most of my monitoring/mixing is done at a very low level. I'll crank it to check bass levels and do things like listen from the other room with the door halfway shut just to check things out (you'd be suprised).

My vocal levels started to sit better when I started doing this, it might be worth a try.

Good Luck [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Chompers]

Use an eq on the master fader and take out some of those low-mids.
You can get good fake-real drums sounds by doing a little more programming. You just need to create more patterns with subtle variations.

[davidp158]

Hard for me to be objective because I don't really enjoy this kind of music, but here's a few thoughts:

Drums, as others have said, are an issue. Too much tap on the kick, no real "note" definition. The overall drum kit doesn't sound like a kit, so you might solo these tracks and put a room 'verb on it to make it more cohesive sounding.

The low end is always hard to suss out, but I think the guitar(S) are masking the bass and drums. Try rolling off, or shelving off some lows on the guitars around 150. Solo the guitars and bass and make them distinct, then put them back in the mix.

The vocals could be hotter in the mix.The vocal style and detunded guitar riffs have been done to death. The arrangement of these parts will always result in low end mush. Why not rearrange the guitars and take some of the density out of the music to make the vocals heard? I think the tunes are strong enough, but you might consider doing something more original with the guitars and let the vocals be the focus of the songs.

You have some great ambient things happening, by the way. Some of the tracks have overly long intros, and if these tunes are compiled as a CD they might not encourage repeated listenings.

Again, please take these comments as coming from someone who doesn't listen to this genre, with no offense intended. Musical tastes aside, getting a good mix is always dependent on the arrangement of the music. If you seek clarity in the mix, study at the arrangement as well as the recording. To make something sound big, include something that sounds small. Standard stuff for just about any kind of music.

Good work,
Dave Patterson
Knobville

[ZA]

I second the comment about the guitars & bass masking the drums. Solo the drums and play around with compression & eq until you get a good thump from the kick and snap from the snare. Then add the bass and make sure you can still hear the kick. If not, use EQ to cut a "hole" out of the bass. Same w/ guitars, listening as the kick and snare get masked.
Good luck.
--ZA

[kcarter]

Did I correctly hear a switch to mono for about 5 seconds just before the one minute mark on "World's Away?" It really got my attention, then it was gone. Interesting effect!