Mix I did for my band (POD, SD 2.2, Slate)

[Kryaxysa]

Hey guys, my band decided to demo out a song before we go to an actual studio to record. I used my brand new Carvin DC727 that I bought here about a month ago for all the guitar parts (NGD - Carvin + Spalt content).

The vocals... well they aren't great. But I'd like to get critique of the mix as a whole and let me know what I can do to improve it. Thanks.

Still Searching Mix 1 by john-vorhies on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[Kryaxysa]

Well since I didn't get any feedback on that mix... here's an update.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23873874/Stillsearchingmix2.mp3

I'd really like some feedback on this mix, I know there's a lot I can improve I just don't know what right now. I think the bass is probably a little heavy in this mix, my monitors are definitely a little bass-deficient.

[Ryan-ZenGtr-]

Hi Kryaxysa,

I like the sounds of everything, but the timing is really loose. Maybe that would be the first thing to work on if you wanted to improve it for practicing for the studio.

I presume you would be using a click in that situation, or having the drummer play to a click and group performance guide track then multi tracking / replacing instruments over the drums without a click.

The mix translates well on my hi-fi setup.

With regards to the arrangement you could probably get more mileage from the section around 2 minutes, it seems the most melodic and chorus like. It's a good, memorable hook and is a breath of fresh air after the many bleak/desolate/angry riffs.

Do you record to a click track or have an opinion on the use of clicks?

For example; the loose feel is the intended style.

Sounds good, nice work and thanks for letting us all listen. Good luck with everything!

[Larcher]

the guitars sound good but the drums needs work in my opinion. But yeah. The guitars aren't "mathematically" on tempo. It's very very noticeable.

[niffnoff]

not really sure on this one, the timing is too noticeable for me to care on anything else right now..

[Kryaxysa]

Yea to be honest, the timing is very off. Since we're just doing it as a demo, I didn't really take the time to really set it to a click. In the next mix I will probably re-record all of it to a click.

[Ryan-ZenGtr-]

I always play to a click when I'm anywhere near my DAW (either practicing/jamming to a track recorded with one or song writing, tracking etc. with my own click).

If I find an old idea from my archive which I like, if it was recorded to a click it's really easy to whip it in to shape and use for another song or develop it further. If there is no click, it's much more time consuming to put things right.

If your DAW has a click you don't like or doesn't have a built in metronome at all you might like to stretch a loop to provide a click. It can also be easier to edit this click for different time signatures than to use a DAW's features for this, in some circumstances. Bongos, cow bells, and softer sounds can work well, with a louder hit on the 1st downbeat of the bar for emphasis. You can also EQ and add reverb to click samples to make them withstandable if you use this approach.

My drummer often asks for different click sounds for each different song to make sure the tracks are correct when he cues them up for playback.

As I said before, the tones on your recording sound good. Get this click thing nailed and your good to go!

Be lucky!

[Velixo]

Yeah, like the others said, get the timing right, it's hard to judge a mix when the timing is off. For example, right now I'm wondering if the guitar should have more treble to fit the mix, or if the need for more treble will be fixed if the timing is right. Other than that, the vocals sound a bit lame, like he's trying to sound like a badass xD But that might work for ome folks, I dunno xD

[niffnoff]

Originally Posted by Ryan-ZenGtr-

I always play to a click when I'm anywhere near my DAW (either practicing/jamming to a track recorded with one or song writing, tracking etc. with my own click).

This x infinite.