My band - recorded by me - pls help

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Member Since: Dec 09, 2011

Ok, this is my band, and what u listen on this link is what i could do with my personal ears:





About recording: one guitar is recorded as fallows:
Ibanez rg7620 loaded with 2 EMG's 707 directly in an Marshall Avt8080. The mic used was an Shure Beta 58, plugged directly in computer, i couldnt find one better. I used Reaper, and tracked one track, and panned it hard right, then recorded the same track and panned it hard left.

The second guitar was an LTD kh1000, with an EMG 81x in bridge, recorded same way as the first guitar above.

About drumms: i used Ezzdrummer in Reaper. After i made the rhytms, i rendered every drumm separately ( one track snare, one track kick, one track, hi hat, etc). I used an software for drums and i changed the sound on snare and drums with some more natural sound of drums, i used a pack from a guy on the net, i dont remeber his name, a famous guy from what i understand.

The vocal was recorded only one track, with double voice when needed. And that's it about recording.

About mixing: i used Izotope on every track, and tried to get some mix as good as i could. But here is the difference. I gived the track to a guy, who has made this mix with my tracks:





Can u tell me, only from hearing, as an advice, what i need to approcah myself to what this guy has done with the same tracks recorded by me.

Thx in advance guys, and i will give any explanation u require, so i can get some better sound.

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Byte-Mixer
Member
Since: Dec 04, 2007


Dec 09, 2011 03:11 pm

Okay, that's not an easy question to answer. There are a number of things that could help the mixing guy achieve a more balanced sound overall. Better room acoustics to help him accurately hear what's going on in the mix, better understanding of instrument positions and EQing in general, better monitoring chain/speakers/etc.

Many (most?) problems with mixing in home studios come from a room that is not adequately treated. So, that would be my #1 thing to check. Is your mixing room treated with bass traps and broadband absorption? Is it a typical room that can be treated relatively easily, or does the room have some odd dimensions or placements of doors/windows, etc.? Bass traps aren't too hard to make on a Do-it-yourself kinda budget, and there are some good plans for panels out on the net, and there's a few threads here on HRC for making them as well.

It could also be that the guy has a better overall understanding of what is required to bring out the full potential of the mix coupled with a more sophisticated room/monitoring chain.

I mean, you can throw any number of plugs you want at a sound, but if the room you're hearing it in is no good, then the sound you're hearing in that room will not translate well to other systems/rooms.

So, in a nutshell, no, I don't think anyone can easily answer why, or how, his mix is better other than making some educated guesses. My suggestion would be to look at your room coupled with what you're using to hear your mix. Improving your room treatment will go a long way towards getting a more balanced mix. Beyond the room, having a good understanding of EQ, instruments' relationships to each other in the audio spectrum (where their frequencies overlap and such) and positions/spacing of instruments in the mix itself will help as well.

Check the mix on various systems when you've got it where you think it's good. Listen to it in the car, on a stereo system at a friend's house, etc. Does the mix still sound the same as it did in the studio? Get some second opinions.

Hope that helps, and welcome to the forum. I'm sure others will add their input as well. :)

Member
Since: Jan 30, 2011


Dec 09, 2011 08:47 pm

He jacked up your vocals. WAY too much verb. This song is super tight by the way, keep it up.

And I agree with J, its all about acoustics and your monitoring system. Something I'm still learning how to do is get a good harmonic balance so my mixes sound as tasty on my moms crappy computer speakers as it does my monitors at my place.

It also sounds like he has a smoother low end, your mix was a little harsh. You can achieve that pretty simply by boosting some lowskies on your bass guitar, but be careful. The line between good solid low end and muddy is pretty thin. Make sure you mix with a reference track of a song you know sounds killer and try to get your sound to match that.

Hope that helps.

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