mingsta Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Hi Guys, We've done a home recording of a couple of short song clips. It pretty much my first time recording bass with a band so would appreciate if you've got any tips for how we could improve the mix. [url="https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-soundclips-for-video"]https://soundcloud.c...clips-for-video[/url] Edit - here's a second cut with the vocals tweaked + 2 extra songs (Sir Duke, Sweet home alabama): https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-video-recording-2nd-cut To me, the vocals sound a bit dry and harsh and the maybe the reverb doesn't sound quite right on a few of the tracks? I'm a bit happier with the instruments, but all suggestions appreciated. Looking to have a few song clips for the purpose of getting more local gigs, its all pretty humble stuff so it doesn't need to be a stellar recording, but just want to do a few quick-wins to get the mix sounding better. Thanks! Ming Edited February 28, 2016 by mingsta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 the general mix feels fine, the tones sound really nice, i love the drum sound, really has a nice pop to it. the vocals probably feel a bit high in the mix to me. sounds a bit like someone singing over the track rather than as part of it if that makes sense. they also seem a bit inconsistent and as you say a bit dry. compression would help them sit better in the mix i think and a bit of verb would really help soften them up and bring them in with the song. a bit of compression over the whole mix would give it a bit more lift. but generally for a demo purpose it's pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingsta Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thanks mate and your main observation makes perfect sense. We all noticed that the vocals sound quite separate from the rest of the band too, so good suggestions there. Our drummer plays an e-kit which the guitarist asked for us to record Kick/ Snare / Everything Else separately on three channels. Not sure what he did after that, but yeah its probably the most pleasing part of the recordings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 On the vocals, try a short delay rather than reverb (or even both). EQing the vocals to fit can take a little patience & a VST multimeter is your friend. It's not so much the vocal is too loud, but needs a bit of finishing. Like Mr Stone says, compression on the final mix as well as limiter & EQ to glue it all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 [quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1456496619' post='2989656']...any tips for how we could improve the mix... [/quote] Good afternoon, Ming... There's not that much to improve; you've (all...) got it down very well indeed. Not as finely polished as a Phil Spector track, maybe, but certainly well played, sung, recorded and mixed. How to give it a touch of 'gloss'..? You don't mention what tools you're using (I use Reaper...), but you may like to have a look at New York Bus compression, and New York Glue, both useful pre-mastering techniques for giving an 'edge' to stuff. I'd reduce the reverb a little on the vocals, as it sounds a bit too 'Italian disco' presently, and maybe go, instead, with a very slight delay, or even a light chorus effect, just to thicken it slightly without sounding like a hallway, along with a spot of compression. It only requires very little treatment at all; just enough to not be completely 'dry'. A dollop of New York Glue over the whole mix would then blend all together somewhat. Congratulations on the choice of numbers; I especially liked the BeeGee's song (nostalgia, once it grips you, eh..?). The Somerville is impressive, too. Good luck with the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingsta Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Thanks for the input guys. And thanks for the encouraging words. I'll pass the suggestions on to the guitarist who's doing the technical stuff. We tweaked the vocals yesterday + added the other two tracks (Sir Duke and Sweet Home Alabama). However, its not the final mix so still some time to make more adjustments. New playlist with the updated tracks: https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-video-recording-2nd-cut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 (edited) Good advice above. I would add to say take some of the low end out of the bass drum, it's really sucking up a lot of space, a real speaker grinder. Some mid on the bass would help it come to the fore a little - the bass drum and bass guitar are really fighting over the same sonic space. I think the guitar could use more high end, maybe take out some mid range, make it a little slinky and move it away from the bass and bass drum and fill that space towards the vocals, it sounds very middle-heavy. Adding high end might get it into the same space as the vocals too, which might help tie the voice and instruments together more. I would look at applying some reverb to everything in varying degrees, it's very dry, getting the cymbals, snare, guitar and vocals through the same reverb space should get it sounding more like one composite piece. Record the guitar with less amp reverb, apply it afterwards in the mix. Just to add, it sounds good, don't get me wrong, but it sounds like everything was EQ'd in in isolation, rather than in the context of the other instruments it shares the mix with. Sometimes something which sounds awful solo'd really works in the context of the mix. Edited February 28, 2016 by Doctor J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 (edited) Yes, this ^^ is what the NY Glue does, to a great extent. It's not so violent as to be really noticeable, but 'glues' all into a coherent sonic space, when applied to the whole mix, rather than individual elements. Edited February 28, 2016 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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