My second finished Song I used Ez mix on everything :)

[norrie]

Hi all this is my second finished track of my solo work

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10007266

I bought Ez Mix a couple of months back so I thought i would use it on all of this track to see what I could come out with

I have used Ez mix on everything no other plugins

I played all parts my self but I am a Drummer at heart and played the Drums useing a Roland Td20 and The Metal Foundry

I am interested to hear any feed back from you all !

Thanks for any comments good or bad

Norrie

Windows 7 (64 bit ) Intel I7 930 12GB OCZ Gold Sonar 8.5 Producer VS700r VS700c Superior 2 / MF/NY EZ mix Roland TD-20

Topic

[Whitten]

Good production. Well done.
I know we are drummers, and this is the Toon forum and all that, but I thought the drums were too loud.

[norrie]

Hi Whitten thanks for the reply !

I agree I do tend to get a bit carryed away with the drum level most of all the kick

I am going to do a second mix and get the balance right between tat and the bass guitar

Thanks for the reply though 🙂

Norrie

Windows 7 (64 bit ) Intel I7 930 12GB OCZ Gold Sonar 8.5 Producer VS700r VS700c Superior 2 / MF/NY EZ mix Roland TD-20

[Scott]

I like the song. It’s catchy.

Here are some changes that I would make if I were given this song to mix.

First, thing, I agree with Chris that the drums are too loud compared to the rest of the instrumentation. Second, I would recommend double tracking your heavy guitar track and hard pan them, left and right. This will solidify the guitar sound. Next, it doesn’t sound like there is a bass guitar at all. Either that, or it’s very low in the mix. Next, when the vocals come in at :26 for the verse they sound electronically double tracked and panned. It’s a cool effect but I would use that type of effect on a chorus and not the verse. I would either use a single voice on the verse or make the double effect much more narrow (the same for the other verse sections). Then, at the :50 second mark (sounds like the chorus to me), I would use that ‘double tracked’ effect on the new vocal line ‘I’m out here on my own…’. It would provide much more separation to the sections (verse/chorus) and give the chorus that ‘lift’. You may want to come up with another guitar/keyboard/other sound to bring in during the chorus to lift it even more.

By the 3rd verse my ears were wanting more variety. This verse might benefit from a ‘breakdown’ vibe. The drums could breakdown and play more ‘simply’ and the guitars/bass could play with a more whole note rhythm. The vocals to be more personal and ‘taken down a notch’ to fit with the breakdown vibe and provide more interest. Remember, you need to pull your listener through the song and keep them listening. Variety will help this ‘pulling’.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[norrie]

Hey there Scot thanks for listening 🙂

I should have given you the song to mix 😛

Fancy it 😉

Theres a lot of changes I thik I will make to it like you say the bass guitar is very week its there but I always strugle to get the bass siting right and bass guitar is the one instrument I stuggle to play I think sub consiosly I leave it behind in the mix for that reason and its a habbit I need to get out of

I did double track the guitars ( played them twice ) There siting 20 Left 20 Right

With the Vocals I didnt electronicly double track them I had sang them twice on he verse and paned them again left and right and with the chorus I had done it 3 times and left right and down the center but with the center one pulled back slightly I was aiming to thicken them all out by doing this

Thanks for everythign guys this is a big learning curve for me but I am enjoying it all 🙂

Norrie

Windows 7 (64 bit ) Intel I7 930 12GB OCZ Gold Sonar 8.5 Producer VS700r VS700c Superior 2 / MF/NY EZ mix Roland TD-20

[Whitten]

Yes, I don’t understand hard rock or metal too well, but the bass drum did seem particularly loud.
I think the drums should drop in level so they fight with the guitars. That gives a sensation of loudness, and helps give the guitars a feeling of bigness. It’s exciting.
On many commercial releases you can barely hear the hi-hats and cymbals. On this kind of music the bass drum does tend to be in your face, but the snare just pokes through a wall of powerful sounding guitars.
Mind you, I’m no audio engineer or mixer.

[Scott]

I should have given you the song to mix 😛

Sure, if you can upload the .wav files somewhere and email me the links I’ll take a crack at it.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[norrie]

Me eather I am just a drummer / Guitarest / something haha with a passion for recording music

I am learning as much as I can I will defo be bringing the drum levels down

In my mixing room its not so bd but on other systems its a bit over the top

Norrie

Windows 7 (64 bit ) Intel I7 930 12GB OCZ Gold Sonar 8.5 Producer VS700r VS700c Superior 2 / MF/NY EZ mix Roland TD-20

[Scott]

How the low end is affected by the room is one of the biggest issues with ‘home’ studios, in my experience. Room dimensions, the lack of bass trapping, speakers incapable of reproducing low end efficiently, etc can cause the low end to sound great in the room and totally over the top everywhere else. The best way to handle that situation, aside from fixing the room problems (which may or may not be possible without major reconstruction ) is to listen on many different sources and take notes. Then, head back to the studio and make the changes. They may not feel ‘right’ in that studio room but will, hopefully, translate better to more audio systems,

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[norrie]

Sure thing Scott If you honestly fancy a crack at it 🙂

I am actualy going to demo a set of new monitors tomorow loking for somehting that has front fireing ports I think I will buy a set of the KRK Rocket 6 G2s with frot fireing ports Ive heard lots of great things about them rather than rear fireing like the tapco S5s I am useing at the momment.

I think that has a lot to do with the issues I have come across in the past as my monitors are so close to the walls and there is nothing I can do about it.

I am due to move to a new place in a few months though and will have a room built for mixing with accoustic treatment etc but here is the pics of my set up at the momment so you get a ruff Idea what I am on about

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9005534@N02/5281204867/
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9005534@N02/5281808908/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9005534@N02/5283228046/

That is the view as you walk in the door. My monitors point towards the area that the window is. I have a set of thick blinds and thick curtains that I use to cover the window.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9005534@N02/5283230286/
This pic is just as you turn to the right in the room behind the reflection filter you will see another curtain….. Behind that is a huge hole in the wall it used to be a bed so if you Imagin the size of a single bed space? I use the are for storage now keeping drums etc in there out the way.

I am wondering about puting some accoustic treatment behind the monitors and also on the bottom side of the shelf above…..

What do you guys think ?

Norrie

Windows 7 (64 bit ) Intel I7 930 12GB OCZ Gold Sonar 8.5 Producer VS700r VS700c Superior 2 / MF/NY EZ mix Roland TD-20

[Scott]

Sure thing Scott If you honestly fancy a crack at it 🙂

Yeah, why not? PM me where I can download the raw files.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[GORILLA]

Widen those geetars!!! That lead will sound even bigger if the guitars were wider. No way am I trying to hijack a thread… http://metallabs.com/DFH/KennyLeeDRumSampl3.mp3%5DHere’s a sample. Real drummer DFHS and plugins two guitars 80L 80R .. bass and a lead guitar. I have treatment behind my monitors and on the wall behind them and on my ceiling. It’s just a spare bedroom, I used to put drummers in my family room hahaha…. Someone mentioned checking mixes on several systems. Hellz yeahz… I live by Best Buy -electronics store in the U.S. And before I got familiar with my monitors, I’d take all my mixes there and play them through EVERYTHING they had!! After a while they’d see me coming and laugh. They couldn’t say nothing because……… I was a customer.
Your tune is cool. Drums seem quite simple, but hey that’s the groove you were going for!! So I’ll shut up hehehe. Vocals seem really loud and yeah the kick isn’t in your face…. it’s on it hahahaha.

http://www.metalmusicians.net/<- click here for GORILLA'S website!!!!!

[Author]

Replies