Hey folks.
Here’s my band’s latest (as in latest fully recorded and *ready for a new EP - the song itself is maybe 15 or more years old and the drums were recorded back in 2006!)
I’ve thought I’ve had this mix “done” for a few days but keep changing a few things. I have a few things I am not sure on still, but am now too close to it and have heard it too many times, so it is off to my trusted folk at the IRD and then I will step away from it for a bit.
PLEASE NOTE: It does contain swearing so please ignore if such words offend you - they are not used aggressively or in a derogatory way if that makes any difference.
Good intensity and edge to the opening. Drums are sounding good. Vocals are good, although if i had a complaint it would be the background vocals “Oh now…don’t break my cover” and again at around 3:00. I think they could be a little louder and have a little more delay/verb to make them wider. Personal preference I think. This is really solid man.
I think it sounds great. There’s nothing about it that makes it sound unprofessional, so any changes at this point would be in the realm of personal preference.
Hi Love where it finally kicks in at 1:25. I am not hearing any bottom end from the kick or bass guitar? Might be these cans. Singer is believer. Some great riffs in there. Might be able to condense the total length of the track by cutting out a few places that have a lot of repetition. good stuff…congrats
Thanks. It’s interesting that no-one has mentioned a couple of things that, in my head, are small issues, which is making me start to think they are NOT issues. That is why I needed fresh ears as I feel I am about to undo some good to try and fix something I think needs attention but quite probably does not.
After listening in the car last night, I agree with Eric about that vocal coming up. Thanks again folks, I always trust in your judgement.
Rockin choon! Nice snare tone! The tones are all good and the vocals sound good. Guitar sounds cool. I can hear all the lyrics clearly. (apart from the lo-fi section - that needs a little more level).
Ok picky time:
The low end isn’t working for me on this. The kick drum is MIA, both in terms of high end “cut through” and low end “punch”. I think the lack of kick in the mix may also be the reason why you’ve mixed the bass pretty low. It seems only “just there” as a kind of general low end filler, but it doesn’t seem to drive the mix, or create the low end fullness it should IMO.
I know this is prog-ish rock, but production-wise, I got a bit bored with the length of the intro. The high mid-ish guitar part there just got a bit grating for me, as it went on for about 30 seconds too long.
Some of the lyrics I found a bit awkward, and your lyricist definitely needs a thesaurus to find alternative words for “bad stuff”.
… overall, I like the energy of it, and the melodies are good. It rocks hard!
I brought up that lo-fi vocal so that’s now fixed.
The intro is an odd one, as it technically was never part of the song as such, it was a little jam we made once that we realised connected and lead into the song itself so we did it live all the time as a segue of sorts. But it’s too short to make it a stand alone track/interlude and we don’t want to extend it.Not sure I’ll change it length wise but I agree with the tone of the guitar. I found with it pulled back a little, I couldn’t make out the subtler things her was doing. I’ll fiddle more.
I did notice the same with the kick and adjusted it already today, just brought it up and attack and low end came through more so.
The lyrics are a funny one. He has an excellent vocabulary, and we actually quizzed him on this too (both the overuse of “bad-stuff” and also the use of two "exactly"s in the same line). His explanation of the lyrics was interesting and justified the words completely with a deliberate decision to repeat the words exactly as they were - that repetition is the point of the song. I can’t recall the exact reasoning, but we all realised where he was coming from and accepted it.
Not sure what to do with the bass. I did bring the low up again but that may just be adding more background rumble. I’ll fiddle with that too.
The fellas have the most up to date version, so i’ll see what they say and see if I can make some adjustments to really make it kick!
Hey, very cool song, I really like the kinda punkish/garage/lofi/whatever vibe in it, it has a flavor that could reminds me of some old indie records in that genre.
I find the song a bit long at times and I don’t really understand what it supposes to be (tension, waiting…) I think it could not suffer to remove some measures here and there to get faster to the next section.
Mixwise, I found I really missed some low end and I wish there is some coming from drums, bass, or guitars. I thought it was on purpose to make the verse or chorus sounding huge.
I also found odd the way the drums sound: distant and blurry. I think add some close mic samples could add more punch for both kick and snare.
By the way, it’s your band and I’m sure you have a better point of view of the final result for that song.
Very nice job I should say!!
Mix wise, not much to pick. It is a great Mix. All instruments are in their place and mix translates it well.
The chorus at 1:59 is subdued and distant, unless its on purpose for aesthetics. It works more like anti-chorus.
3:36 drums could use a bit of boost in that section. Drums are playing at a consistent volume through out the song and listener sort of zones out while listening (unless it is intended that way)
This has a progressive rock/ garage vibe to it.There are lots of good elements in this song.I really like how the vocals sit in the mix. They seem balanced and they don’t get buried in the music. They feel as though they’re in their own space but still sitting nicely in the mix.
I’m not sure how I feel about the intro guitars with the pull-offs. Somethings seems slightly out timing-wise, or some kind of hesitancy in the playing. Maybe I’m getting too used of hearing everything locked to a tempo grid, but there’s a certain looseness in this. The pull-offs from E-A F-A seem a a bit awkward to me. I’m not sure if it’s the playing or what’s going on with my perception of it. I like when those pull-offs switch to the C-D…D# part. Something feels a bit loose between the drums and the guitar once the drums come in at 14 seconds. Not a huge deal, but I think it would sound better to me if things were tighter.
The drums sound good in some ways but they don’t seem to bite enough when fighting all the other instruments within the mix. The toms sound really good to me especially at the 1:06 mark. The snare seems a bit low-fi when mixed with all the instruments. I think the song would be well served to have a really impactful, snapping snare. Maybe add a bit more brightness to it. The kick could use a bit more snap too. Sometimes it sounds a little too muffled.
This is actually quite a good recording and the song is good but I think you can probably still get more shine on the mix, though the mix is quite decent as it is. I really like the progressive movement of the instruments!
