Metal People - Need Help on Final Mix

chaosMK · #1 12-04-2006, 12:26 PM

We are just about done with our album. We spent a lot of time and effort on it to put out the best product we can. We are about to give our engineer the last round of notes for what we want done with the mixes.

Here are some pretty final mixes-
www.myspace.com/leftbrainmusic

If you feel like being critics or are good at producing stuff, please let me know of any ideas that you have. What bugs you about the mix? Are there better ways of doing certain things than what we currently have?

TeeMartin · #2 12-04-2006, 08:17 PM

That sounds really well mixed (to me at least). What amp settings do you run on your bass?

Matt Till · #3 12-04-2006, 10:24 PM

Not a fan of this genre of metal... but it sounds tight. The vocals sound a little detached from everything... I think a light reverb would help, but that's just me. The drums sound awesome... the drummer's feet slip a couple times, but nothing horrible.

But all and all, I'd say the mix is about ready to go...

chaotick · #4 12-05-2006, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

The vocals sound a little detached from everything

Imo/ime, with metal you kind of have to or it is going to sound strange.

I think it sounds pretty good, man.

GrooveWarrior · #5 12-05-2006, 08:31 AM

I think the kick drum needs to be re-EQ'd. It's a little hollow sounding. Also, how much compression (and what type/unit) was used on the drum kit? It sounds like it could use some compression. I would also add some to the bass if it hasn't had any. The peaks and valleys were noticeable. It also sounds like the bass could use a slight bump around 200hz and 600hz.

I also agree with the reverb (very slight) on the vocals.

I think it sounds pretty good, however.

tlwaps · #6 12-05-2006, 09:53 AM

I agree with the kick drum sounding hollow. And if it were me producing it i'd bring the bass up a little more, just a tad. I produced my bands first demo. Click the link at the bottom and if anybody could give me some advice or anything it would be greatly appreciated.

chaosMK · #7 12-06-2006, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the tips! And good observations from everyone.

Drums have been raised about 2 db in the overall mix. We are still working on the bass drum tone. Basically, we originally had the drums low because his performance in the studio wasnt that great. However, after 50,000 edits, the BD work has been cleaned up quite a bit.

Vocals have been "blended" in a little better.

We havent done much EQ work with the mix.

I'll post up some samples of the finished product before long.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeMartin

That sounds really well mixed (to me at least). What amp settings do you run on your bass?

Bass: cut the lows, raise the mids a hair, raise the treble. More of a bridge pickup orientation.
Amp: the bass 400 has a natural mid cut, so i boost the mids quite a bit on it and bump the low mids, cut the bass (pull switch pulled) a bit, cut the treble a bit. i used the 2nd channel on this recording. it's a warm, almost too midrangey tone. mic placement was right in front of the cone.
Sansamp: this is where my "metal" tone comes from. I used a DI from the Sansamp and the amp/cab miced. The DI sat a little more clearly/aggresively in the mix, so it's a bit more DI than amp/cab.

GrooveWarrior · #8 12-06-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaosMK

We havent done much EQ work with the mix.

I've found this is where most of the time and money is spent. That will make a huge difference if you have an experienced engineer. You will (or you should) definitely spend more time and money on this part of the process than you did tracking the songs. Tracking is the easy part. Now you are in for the part where people will get in arguments.

Demon · #9 12-06-2006, 01:50 PM

Not really my type of metal, but, Sounds good mixed, but am i the only one who has trouble hearing the bass? Or do in eed headphones:O I can only hear it a little, only on a few parts.

GrooveWarrior · #10 12-06-2006, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon

Not really my type of metal, but, Sounds good mixed, but am i the only one who has trouble hearing the bass? Or do in eed headphones:O I can only hear it a little, only on a few parts.

No, the bass is pretty low. Since the bass frequency was cut when it was recorded, there will be a good amount of work to do in mixing to make up for that.

leffe luffer · #11 12-07-2006, 01:02 PM

I´m really digging your tone on the clean parts. How did you acheive it? Sounds like you dailed in a truckload of mids?

SurrenderMonkey · #12 12-07-2006, 01:17 PM

Nice Raging Speedhorn / Killswitch Engaged vibe

(that's the only metalcore bands I know!). The drums need a lot more pep, voice a bit too. a bit of reverb would sound nice. Chorus / tad of overdub, backing vocals maybe?

Sounds like the rythm guitars are taking too much space overall. They sound good though.

my $0.02.

PS : God... why is the Myspace player so CRAP....

chaosMK · #13 12-08-2006, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leffe luffer

I´m really digging your tone on the clean parts. How did you acheive it? Sounds like you dailed in a truckload of mids?

There are mad mids there... that's my tone without the Sansamp. I am not too crazy about that tone... almost too warm and midrange for me, but I was short on time.

Making final changes today... thanks for the help everyone!

chaosMK · #14 12-10-2006, 01:07 PM

Final mixes are up. They came out pretty cool.

chaosMK · #15 12-10-2006, 01:07 PM

Final mixes are up. They came out pretty cool. Thanks for the feedback.

SurrenderMonkey · #16 12-12-2006, 12:55 PM

Ah yes! Much better, now we're talking! Good job!

Still, the player keeps cutting out. :/ Shame, I'm enjoying this