I'd really appreciate some mix feedback on this tune so far. No musical critiques necessary, trust me, I know all too well. How's the sound?

http://www.givemeyourlunchmoney.com/users/jim/rizen/

Much obliged!

Hi rewt_
I'll take a listen tonight after work.

Hey Rewt,

Sounds pretty good. I cant put a finger on it, but it seems like there isnt enough happening in the 4-9khz range. Its almost giving the mix a very mono sound. Sorry Im being vague. I still think the kick needs more "click" to it. Just my 2 cents.

I put up another mix, guitars a little brighter, OHs a little louder and compressed. I'm not sure if the guitars are too bright. Man, do I need monitors bad.

I don't listen to the style alot but, maybe there should be louder bass guitar.
I also think the drums are a bit dry and small sounding but maybe they are supposed to.
Other than that it sounds good to me.

BTW, how long do you have to work out to play a kick drum like that?

Hi rewt,
Sorry for the delay...Here are some detailed comments on mix 1. Hope they are of some value...

Version 1

Generally speaking, I think the mix is pretty good. All the attitude you want in this kind of song!

Did you track all the instruments live? If so, you did a nice job with the drums! The guitars and vocals all seem to have their own spectral range (though kick is a bit too present) so they don't compete too much for sonic space.

On the downside, the top-end seems a bit veiled, and the instruments so seem to lack some definition and "size." Generally, sounds a bit flat and lacks the excitement you want in this genre.

I initially thought there might have been too much compression or limiting, but when I looked at the waveform of the mix there was no discernable clipping (yea for not limiting the shit out of it!). But if you did use channel compression, that might have contributed to dulled the top and flattening out a lot of the transient attack.

I wonder what kind of processing you used on the guitars. They almost dissapear when you collapse to mono. Some guitar processing does funky stuff with phase (maybe its that).

Dan Lewis

Thanks for your replies, guys. I'm going to work on this tune some more today with your comments in mind. They're a HUGE help.

ole: the drummer is 20 years old and has been playing for about 3 years. Speed sure isn't everything, but those are some fast feet for someone so new to an instrument.

Great job on the tracking, my highest compliments.

Second version sounds much more powerful. Only problem I hear is when each guitar plays alone, they sound tiny and isolated compared to when they play together. Perhaps you can automate some level and pan stuff to bring those very short solo licks in from the sides a hair and raise the volume for just those phrases.

Other thing is bass seems to need some edge and a hair more bottom. I've worked with a couple of metalcore bands, and a little bit of distortion on the bass seemed to help give it a touch more presence in the tracks.

Mind you, I'm nitpicking here. Your mix sounds really good. Two thumbs up!

You can hear some of the metalcore stuff I did with the band Empire here:

http://www.hxcmp3.com/bands/13261/index.php

Steve,

Whoa, good catch! I meant to do just what you suggested on the guitars when they have the little setup riffs and I would have totally missed that if you didn't say anything.

I added a subtle bit of low end on the bass in a later mix that I haven't posted, and I'll see what I can do in the edge dept. Distortion thing is a good suggestion, I wouldn't have thought to try it, but I think Im'a give it a go tonight. I can think of a few bass sounds on heavy discs that are all about distortion (like Machine Head's The More Things Change).

Awesome suggestions, thanks. I'm going to check out your Empire tracks after work.

Jim