Another mix quality thread (popular, ain't they?)

[The Atomic Ass]

EDIT: I re-engineered the file, and now Soundclick won't let me upload the new version.

I'll post the updated file when I bump the thread.

[The Atomic Ass]

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Oh yeah.

[TreWatson]

guitars are inaudible and the drums sound... unrealistic.

there be no snare.

but the guitars are buried and the kick sounds very tiny

[the unbearable]

Originally Posted by TreKita

guitars are inaudible and the drums sound... unrealistic.

there be no snare.

but the guitars are buried and the kick sounds very tiny

it's just an intro. the rest of the song could absolutely slay... we don't know yet. (peer pressure) the rest of the song better slay. tre's my bro, i'm sticking my neck out for you. don't let me down..

actually, as just an intro, it sounds good. but i wouldn't do a whole song that way.

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by unbrblncvncfbng

it's just an intro. the rest of the song could absolutely slay... we don't know yet. (peer pressure) the rest of the song better slay. tre's my bro, i'm sticking my neck out for you. don't let me down..

actually, as just an intro, it sounds good. but i wouldn't do a whole song that way.

That is the whole song.

It's the intro to the ALBUM. I'm going for a "THX audio" type of effect here.

Also, no real instruments were used in the production of this piece. Guitar Pro 6 did the playing of ALL INSTRUMENTS out to WAV, which was imported by Reaper and guitars were run through Guitar Rig 3 VST.

I'm forced to mix via headphones, so that's probably contributing.

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by TreKita

guitars are inaudible and the drums sound... unrealistic.

there be no snare.

but the guitars are buried and the kick sounds very tiny

I boosted the power chord and gallop tracks a little in my project file after I posted that, so yeah, they don't sound quite as buried now, here anyway.

I'm not a drummer, so I don't a clue in hell as to where a snare would GO.

What sounds tiny about the kick, though? I use it as my baseline, and it's the loudest instrument in the mix, from a strictly VU standpoint. Too many highs? Not enough highs? Too little bass? I honestly can't tell from here, my headphones have a frequency response starting around 60-70hz.

[The Atomic Ass]

Bump?

[iceythe]

First off, I think the kick is the least of your worries at the moment. You should bring real guitars into the mix , otherwise it'll sound like a fighting scene BGM for a J-RPG from early 90s

Since you're working with waveforms, there is little changes to dynamics you can do other than changing volumes and envelopes.

Example of things you could do:
Lower the bass itself a few dB. Your kick can't stand out with the constant boom from it
Route (parallell) crash / cymbals / hi-hat to an FX track with some reverb to make it less dry
Pan the crashes slightly to each side
Lowering the leads a tad as well
Preferably I'd boost the mid-mid highs of the guitar track

As far as putting snare hits, the meat and potatoes way, depending on your groove preference, you can have it hit on the 3rd bar (out of 4) or 5th bar out of 8. Basically in the middle.

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by iceythe

First off, I think the kick is the least of your worries at the moment. You should bring real guitars into the mix , otherwise it'll sound like a fighting scene BGM for a J-RPG from early 90s

Well, I'd have to learn to play in time first... That's an uphill battle. If I can get to that point before the album is set for release I'll track some real guitars, though.

Originally Posted by iceythe

Since you're working with waveforms, there is little changes to dynamics you can do other than changing volumes and envelopes.

Example of things you could do:
Lower the bass itself a few dB. Your kick can't stand out with the constant boom from it
Route (parallell) crash / cymbals / hi-hat to an FX track with some reverb to make it less dry
Pan the crashes slightly to each side
Lowering the leads a tad as well
Preferably I'd boost the mid-mid highs of the guitar track

All of the crashes are on one track, so I may be in for some work there. I'll add a little 'verb and see where that takes me.

Originally Posted by iceythe

As far as putting snare hits, the meat and potatoes way, depending on your groove preference, you can have it hit on the 3rd bar (out of 4) or 5th bar out of 8. Basically in the middle.

I'll have to try that.