New Full Song Rec To Be Improve, bass, drums, 3 guitars, vocals to come... Options

[jeanv]

Hi Guys,

a few days ago i posted a rec i did: https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...showtopic=38269 and i have been given many advices (Ivan, Tony Miro etc...) and i decided to apply these advices in a new rec.

This time i haven't recorded yet the vocals, but i prefer before to have your points of view.

here is my take: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7084686/songs/tchi_cum_bah.mp3

i recorded:
- the bass (stereo)
- 3 guitars (one for main riff and left, one for right riff, one distorded on two tracks left and right)
- drums: ezdrummer

No vst for effects, the effects all come from my Fender GDEC 3 amp.
The guitar is a Gibson Les paul Studio.

I put an equalizer and a compressor on the main channel.

Recorded with REAPER 4 alpha.

Please let me know what to improve before vocals recording.

Th original song is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mah68dKeBv4

Thanks in advance guys!

and i checked very well to be sure to never have a track "in the red" as tony miro told me!

EDIT: the chorus is a bit loud, as in the original song, be carefull !

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This post has been edited by jeanv: Mar 13 2011, 10:09 AM

[Saoirse O'Shea]

Sorry for the delay Jean. Anyway I´ve now had a chance to listen to it and it´s not bad, particularly for someone who´s learning how to mix still. A few observations/suggestions IMO:

MP3 format-
some of what follows is related to the mp3 format used. TBH I´d prefer to make any critical assessment based on an uncompressed wave rather than an mp3 with all of its audio issues. The audio here is compromised by the additional 11 1/4 :1 compression from the mp3 encoder and the additional, and poor, internal digital gain from the mp3. Nonetheless:

Levels -

I still think you´re mix level needs attention. The electric guitar is both to forward in the mix and at too high a level. I think the track will run into clipping if you attempt to add vocal or if you attempt any additional processing due to summing. To this end I think you need to lower the individual instrument tracks/stems in ration and also that you need to lower the level of the electric guitar so that it sits better.

Mp3 isn´t helping.

Bass -

I hear the track as having too much bass and sub bass frequencies to the extent that it is booms.

I think the drums lack a bit of punch so I´d look at EQing them carefully in isolation and then with the other instruments to make sure they sit in the mix well. I also think the cymbals tend to sit too far back so need bringing up a bit.

Mid -
Sounds a little muddy to me. I´d look at EQ attenuation in the low mid band particularly round the 150-200 Hz area. I´d also look at attenuation around the 4-600 Hz area. This is particularly the case for the clean guitars. With the distorted guitar i think it lacks a little definition and could do with a little more presence. I´d look to sweeping the EQ to find the main frequency that gives the guitar character and then probably add some gentle EQ gain on the harmonics of this frequency. I´d also look towards some attenuation in the 500-800 Hz area to try and add a little presence. You could also add EQ gain in the 2kHz band area but I think this would result in unwanted distortion.

High frequency -
I think the track lacks a little sparkle and air. Improving the low end and mid will help here. Mp3 format doesn´t help here though.

Compressor-
I hear noticeable pumping on different instruments throughout.

I´d take the compressor off the stereo bus and put it on the individual instruments if required. IMHO compression on the 2 bus is something that is done usually to glue or bring together the different elements of a sing to make it cohesive rather than to control level, or as an audible effect.

TBH you should avoid compressors on the 2 bus unless you have a lot of experience at mixing and/or mastering. Compression is very hard to remove from a track and anything you do on the 2 bus affects the entire stereo track rather than just one instrument/stem. It takes quite a lot of experience to be able to set appropriate the threshold and attack and release times for an entire track and it is often easier to do it on an instrument by instrument, stem by stem, basis. If you really want to leave the comp on the 2 bus I´d suggest that you need to reduce the ratio considerably to something between 1.2:1 and 2:1, take the threshold down to maybe about -15dB, put your attack up to about 35ms and try a medium to long release time of 300-700ms.

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