mixing advice needed - clips

[jjpistols]

I've cross posted this thread, but I'm just trying to take advantage of all these free opinions and advice

 

My band has begun mixing our full length, and for the first time I find myself heavily involved in this stage.

 

I need basic advice as to whether I'm moving in the right direction.

 

I'm not looking for "that rocks" ass kissing or "you suck" comments, I can get that on garageband.com - just looking for advice on levels, overall sound, etc.

 

Thanks for your help in advance

 

OK - you can say it rocks or it sucks if you want to, but it doesn't help much It rocks is better, though

 

on to the songs

[Bluesguitar]

I listened to Mess With Me and here's my opinions. Take note that these were listened too late at night and at low levels as not to piss off my roommates.

 

The low end (kick and bass guitar) were low for my tastes. And I thought the vocals were a little to high in the mix.

[chump5150]

I agree with the above post re Mess with Me. For my taste, the vocals are not just a little too high, they're way out of whack and too up front.

 

I also listened to Prisoner and Minimum Wage. Prisoner seems to have the same problem with the lack of low end, but the vocals seem to sit well enough in the mix that you have. I think the instrumental tracks need a bit more body and punch on both Prisoner and MWM.

 

Minimum Wage, on the other hand, is a pretty good mix. It's easily the best song, regardless of the mix. One thing I would tweak is the backing vocals at the end of the song. I would bring those up a little in the mix, so you get an "approaching mob" kind of feel when they start chanting "minimum wage!" Right now, I don't feel any "anger" from those backing vocals -- they just feel more like they're there as harmony, if that makes any sense.

 

One last thing... I listened to short sections of all the songs a second time with the volume turned up high. My sub-woofer kicks in, and the low end problems on MWM and Prisoner disappear, but the vocals on MWM... ouch! they need to be dialed back. And Minimum Wage sounds even better than before. Dude, you should try to get airplay with MW. That song sells itself.

 

Anyway. If you put your songs on tape (tape, not CD) and play them in a crappy walkman, you may find out some things about your mix that you won't find out if you listen to them at high volume on a good sound system. If you can produce a mix that sounds good on both a crappy tape player and a state-of-the-art sound system, you're well on your way.

[jjpistols]

Thank you, y'all, for taking the time to check 'em out and write. I'm back to the mixing board.

 

Anyone else?

 

[Boodwah]

OK, I agree 100% about the bass and kick drum. Did you record the bass direct? I don't know the capabilities of your setup, but if you can get some greasy bass going on like with an Ampeg SVT pushed into overdrive it would really bring "Prisoner" to the front.

You all sound like you are wanting to capture your live sound dry with no BS and you all have the talent to pull it off because, well, you did it already. But keep in mind that all venues have some reverb, crosstalk, cancellation, and delay going on due to the whole time vs distance and reflectivity issues. It won't sound overprocessed if you put a little plate reverb or hall reverb on the vocals to drop them back in the mix. See what a BBE Sonic Maximizer might do for them also. On the first tune, you might try bouncing the guitar to another track and adding it in the mix. It's a pretty neat trick that makes the guitars sound bigger, not just louder. It thickens things out a bit due to the ever so slight delay introduced by the bouncing process. Also, work on your snare a bit, it sounds kind of weak. If re-recording it is out of the question try putting an expander on it as well as a very slight reverb. On "Minimum Wage" you guys smoke big time. Make that the first song on your demo.

[jjpistols]

Cool - thanks Boodwah