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First self mixed song, comments please!

Discussion in 'Recordings [BG]' started by Wannaflea, Apr 12, 2012.

  1. Apr 12, 2012 #1
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    http://soundcloud.com/scruffians/rff-mp3


    My band Scruffians - http://www.facebook.com/scruffians - is in the process of releasing our new EP

    We're an indie-rock band from Jersey, Channel Islands, and with all our members being 16 or 17, we pride ourselves on our relatively mature music

    Everything's been recorded, and we are currently mixing the tracks ourselves

    This is the opener to the EP, what do you think?

    My bass part was Recorded with a Fleabass Streetbass, EMG 35 DC, and Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky steel rounds

    I've only been playing a year and a half, so constructive criticism please


    Free download link's there if you like it!
     
  2. Apr 12, 2012 #2
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Bump!
     
  3. Apr 12, 2012 #3
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Anybody? Haha
     
  4. Apr 13, 2012 #4
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Bump again
     
  5. Apr 13, 2012 #5
    BassPlayer900

    BassPlayer900 Guest

    Oct 19, 2011
    Nice playing! It's a cool song. I think it was recorded a little too quietly though. But still, good job!
     
  6. Apr 13, 2012 #6
    cheapbasslovin

    cheapbasslovin

    Oct 28, 2007
    Portland, OR
    I have two pieces of critique on the mix. From the 2:25 to the 2:55 area the vocals got a little buried on my home system. Also, from 3:05 to around 4:30 ish the bass was WAYYYYY boosted from its earlier level. This gigantic boost makes me feel like I needed to crank the volume in the early part of the song and then turn it back down when you got to the end.

    I thought your performance was pretty good, but it wouldn't compel me to see a show (although to be fair I don't get out to nearly as many shows as I should). I think you'll need to do something to get the vocals to 'pop' a little more at some point, but I've heard worse from bands that have an audience.

    You sound much better than other bands I've been around in the same age group.

    All of this is based on my home system, which is by no means hi-fi.
     
  7. Apr 13, 2012 #7
    paste

    paste

    Oct 3, 2011
    Michigan
    I like it :bassist:
     
  8. Apr 14, 2012 #8
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Thanks! Yeah we didn't think about how the levels were overall, which was a bit dumb I guess :rolleyes:

    Thanks man!


    Well the problems you got from your home system are exacerbated when played through a proper hi-fi :bawl:

    That volume change is the main problem, it's not good and we'll be dealing with it.

    We found the equipment that we worked with quite limiting, and that second verse vocal part is a prime example of this. Live, Rory (the singer) really strains his voice, and it sounds a lot less clinical, to me anyway. We can't actually complain about the equipment though, as it was done by a local youth service, who (as we are good friends with them) let us record for free

    This is the opening to a 6-track EP, to be sent off to labels at some point in the future (when the rest are finished being mixed

    Context-wise: 2nd song is a sort of noise rock number with a distinctive fuzz bassline, 3rd is a funk number which ends in an almost dubstep-esque 'drop', 4th is a throwback-themed 80's romance piece which ends in an aggressive guitar solo, 4th is a traditional dancey-indie number, with a complex break, and 6th is an acoustic song which builds to a guitar-solo climax

    That means A LOT, honestly. We strive to be mature in our music, so that's very very very nice to hear, thank you
     
  9. Apr 16, 2012 #9
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Really helpful feedback so far guys, keep it coming!
     
  10. Apr 16, 2012 #10
    Betrayer_Bass

    Betrayer_Bass Profanity Fish.

    Sep 24, 2011
    Oslo, Norway
    Endorsing: Spector basses, Winspear Picks, Spector Formula 603 strings
    Ok, as a semi-pro mixer masterer, I have a few comments:

    The initial recording volume is waaayy too low, also none of the tracks were normalized at all. You should assign an EQ to each track (I have no idea which program [DAW] you're using so I can't say how exactly) find the most prominent frequencies in the instrument and boost them. After this, bounce it (mix it down) and add some compression to try to "glue" the parts together more.

    Apart from that, the performance itself was ok. If the singer really strains his voice live, then make him do it in the studio. Do everything you would live in the studio (except maybe the jumping around :D)

    Get it re-recorded at some proper levels (remember to do it without clipping, don't use a limiter for that, just record it so it's audible without cranking)

    Hope some of that helps :)

    If you really want, you can send it to me and I'll do a pro job for cheap ;)
     
  11. Apr 16, 2012 #11
    tdub0199

    tdub0199

    Mar 4, 2010
    Atlanta, Ga.
    Like others have stated already, the overall mix is very low, literally had to turn my speakers to max volume to hear it.... The bass boost @ 3:07 was way more than needed, the toms sound very muffled to my ears as well, I personally would start over and my main concern would be focusing on the levels....
     
  12. Apr 21, 2012 #12
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
  13. Apr 22, 2012 #13
    cheapbasslovin

    cheapbasslovin

    Oct 28, 2007
    Portland, OR
    Vocals lack conviction or maybe the word is confidence. Lead and backing vocals both have this quality. Other than that I really quite like it. I dig the little bass runs you do at the end while still maintaining the backbone of the song.
     
  14. Apr 22, 2012 #14
    CrewsControl

    CrewsControl

    Dec 6, 2011
    Hollywood, CA
    I liked the song over all. It reminds me of Love & Rockets. Good sound to have. The only thing that sticks out as maybe needing to not stick out so much, is the surf-y guitar. Not just the clean surf rock tone, but the licks the guitarist was playing sounded straight out of a 60's surf single. It didn't fit the rest of the song, to my ears.

    And the bass lines were my favorite part. Lot of potential in this band.
     
  15. Apr 22, 2012 #15
    Tractorr

    Tractorr Guest

    Aug 23, 2011
    Philadelphia
    The lead vocal could definitely use a bit more compression. This would be to control the levels rather than as an effect. Also you may want to automate the vocal level throughout the song so as to keep it from being so loud in the soft parts and buried in the loud parts.

    All in all this is a pretty impressive job for a first attempt.
     
  16. Apr 22, 2012 #16
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Loving the feedback guys, this is why I posted! :bassist:

    I think that our singer lost a bit of the passion that drove him to write the lyrics, which might help explain this, but, I'll also say that the lyrics are about political oppression in a detached sense, so he's also sort-of putting it on, to an extent. Thanks! I know, 6 months ago, I would have been wanking all over a progression like that, but I've matured a bit as a bassist, and I'm quite proud of my restraint there haha. Managed to fit some chords in at the beginning, without it sounding conspicuous too :smug:

    Thanks! Tone-wise, our lead guitarist (the one who plays in the verses) is using a Road-Worn 60s Strat, and the rhythm (weirdly the one with the solo at the end) is using a standard tele. Could you give some examples of the bits where they sound surfy? I think I have an idea of where you're coming from. It is quite 'bridge pickup'-esque, but that was more to accentuate the fast playing in the verse riff.

    Thanks man! When we were writing it, I came out the room not particularly thinking much of the line I'd written for it, but the guys were raving about it :hyper:

    Thanks again, I'll keep you guys posted on the EP release! It'll be free download

    None of us have any real experience in recording, but the vocals have been the hardest to get right. Thanks for the advice!
     
  17. Apr 22, 2012 #17
    BassPlayer900

    BassPlayer900 Guest

    Oct 19, 2011
    Sounds better now. Good job!
     
  18. Apr 22, 2012 #18
    CrewsControl

    CrewsControl

    Dec 6, 2011
    Hollywood, CA
    The riffs in the intro and especially starting at 1:00. Then around 2:25 again. Reminds me of surf songs like this: The Astronauts - Surf Party - YouTube
     
  19. Aug 13, 2012 #19
    Wannaflea

    Wannaflea Guest

    Jun 7, 2011
    Jersey, CI
    Guys, I know this is a zombie thread and thank you for listening to the track before.
    HOWEVER
    IT'S DONE!

    Probably the proudest I've ever been in all my 17 years!

    After a long process, we decided that mixing on our own just wasn't giving results that were worth the time and effort of recording. SO, with a local techie - who hadn't done this sort of thing before - and mixed it with him

    The standard isn't professional by any stretch, but it's practically unrecognizable as the same tracks that we flailed around with a few months back!

    This is all 5, not just Trapped Underneath, so this is a better insight into my band, PLEASE listen!

    http://soundcloud.com/scruffians/sets/scruffiansep

    Free download, I urge you to download, free music and it's nice for us to see a download. Now to send this off to labels, we don't expect anything back, but we're all proud of it anyway!

    Thank you!