Helpful ReplyNew Tune - Looking for Some Input

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ArrowHead
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2011/02/13 14:06:21 (permalink)

New Tune - Looking for Some Input

Wow,  I have not posted in a loooooong time around these parts.  I've been perusing these boards again of late to keep a close eye on the unrolling of X1.  In the meantime,  I've completed a new track from a bunch I'm working on.  I've been having issues with my room,  and my mixes are not translating well.  I get a great sound at home through my monitors,  and I feel that my headphones sound good too.  However,  I go to a friend's house who has the exact same monitors,  and suddenly it is WAAAY too bass heavy and muddy.  And he says it's the same in HIS headphones.  (I'm not trying on his earbuds,  that's icky).

Anyhow,  this is an instrumental piece that starts out very quiet and bluesy/clean.  At the end though it kicks in with a full band mix.  Especially on this part I would like to get feedback.  Too much bass?  Too thin?  Is there a particular problem area you hear?  I think it sounds very balanced on my end,  so when you reply if you could give me a tiny breakdown of what you listen through and what your room is like.  (are you in a closet,  or a full sized room?  Are your mixes generally well balanced on different speakers?)

Playing to a Deaf Room

#1
Wookiee
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 16:00:47 (permalink) ☄ Helpful
Dedicated studio control room,  the PC, not my primary DAW, I listen to this on has a Yamaha SW1000 feeding to an Yamaha 01v mixer out to a power amp driving Event 20/20's mounted on sand filled speaker stands, the room is treated and there is some bass trapping.
 
Not sure I like all the ambient room noise, the intro sounds reasonable but it all goes a bit whiffy when the band kicks in, if there is a drum kit in then it is lost except for the HH.
 
If you follow the link in my sig it will give you an idea of what my mixes sound like, not that I am really doing anything similar but it should give you an feel of what I achieve.
 
Thanks for sharing.

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#2
ArrowHead
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 17:27:15 (permalink)
hmm,  there's no way you could miss those drums.  Are you talking about at 2:32 when the whole thing kicks in?  The drums are as in your face as I can get... :(

Thank you for listening and giving feedback.

The intro/slow part drags on a bit,  so I think a lot of people are only hearing 30 seconds and missing the actual part with the bass/drums/heavy guitars/Symphony part.
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giankap
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 18:01:37 (permalink) ☄ Helpful
I checked it in both headphones that i have and it sounds good. in my monitors (yamahas it sounds a little bit different but this could be my rooms color). anyhow i didn't get this bassy feeling as you've experienced at your friend's studio. I'm no fan of this music but i'd say that the mix is good.


If you follow the link in my sig it will give you an idea of what my mixes sound like, not that I am really doing anything similar but it should give you an feel of what I achieve.


you can't compare the style of music you do with what ArrowHead does. ArrowHead deals with a lot more real instruments that have to be placed right in a mix. Electronic/ambient music is sooooooo much easier to deal with. even if you have lots of real instrument recordings in your mixes, those nice moving pad/synth sounds always sit nice in a mix and give you this feeling of relaxation and comfort. Don't get me wrong wookie, you have nice mixes, but trying to mix a band with no external synths and pads is a damn hard job!

sincerely,

Ioannis

Windows - some Dual Core CPU - a little bit of RAM - not so bad soundcard - i think it's called Sonar - a silver mixer with colorful knobs - black speaker monitors - my ears

some work
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ArrowHead
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 18:10:07 (permalink)
Thank you for listening also.  Ive begun re-working the mix we found bass heavy using this one as a reference point.  I think I'm getting much clearer sounds now,  but I need to rely heavily on headphones to do it.  I need to treat my room,  because now that I know where the problem is the difference is exaggerated that much more when I take my headphones off.


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thepogue
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 18:33:57 (permalink)
first..love the tune..love the weird intro...but that's just me...but on the kit I'm going go w/ Wookie I couldnt really hear it..I got the snare popin' bit my sub was dead still is seemed....the guitars are way in front of any kit...but again...I love it...the whole rockin part had some weird compression issue..but again...just a cool tune!
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Wookiee
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/13 18:57:12 (permalink)
Just for the record I made a point of listening to the whole thing.
 
Yes the "drums" are in your face but not with any definition, to my ears it sounds as if their space is occupied by other instruments.  They become lost in the maelstrom of sound.  It felt like the was no LPF on the bass, no HPF on the other instrument so the bass could breath, no little notch on the bass for the kick slap everything was sort of piled on top of everything else. 
 
This is of course just my opinion and is totally subjective, I rarely comment on mixes for this very reason and because I do not consider myself to be so qualified.

Ioannis : You are correct comparison was not the intent and I agree that there is a big big difference between mixing synths and live instruments, synths tend not to suffer from artistic temperament, they are just temperamental. .  Thank you for the compliment on the my mixes.
 
There is probably a real good tune in this song it just needs a little more time in the mix.

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
Karma has a way of finding its own way home.
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#7
ArrowHead
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/15 21:09:21 (permalink)
Okay guys,  I'm hearing you LOUD and CLEAR now. 

Sounded KILLER on my monitors.  SOUNDED BUTTKICKING in my headphones.  (sennheiser HD202).  I was thrilled.  Had no idea how you guys didn't hear drums.

I bounced it down today,  and took it for a ride in the car.  Cue the sound of Charlie Brown as Lucy pulls the football away at the last minute.  "YARRRRRRRRRRHHHHhhhhhhhmmmphhh"  AWFUL.   There's like a huge chunk of the low end that was just not THERE.  Also,  the kick drum sounded like an empty basketball farting.  Dry farts too,  not wet ones.  I want wet,  fully-inflated basketballs farting for my kick drums.  How do I get there from here,  not so much mixing but getting accuracy from my monitors?

So HELP ME PLEASE!

I know I must treat my room.  From these issues I'm having,  how can I start looking where to fix this?
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giankap
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/15 22:53:31 (permalink) ☄ Helpful
ArrowHead


Okay guys,  I'm hearing you LOUD and CLEAR now. 

Sounded KILLER on my monitors.  SOUNDED BUTTKICKING in my headphones.  (sennheiser HD202).  I was thrilled.  Had no idea how you guys didn't hear drums.

I bounced it down today,  and took it for a ride in the car.  Cue the sound of Charlie Brown as Lucy pulls the football away at the last minute.  "YARRRRRRRRRRHHHHhhhhhhhmmmphhh"  AWFUL.   There's like a huge chunk of the low end that was just not THERE.  Also,  the kick drum sounded like an empty basketball farting.  Dry farts too,  not wet ones.  I want wet,  fully-inflated basketballs farting for my kick drums.  How do I get there from here,  not so much mixing but getting accuracy from my monitors?

So HELP ME PLEASE!

I know I must treat my room.  From these issues I'm having,  how can I start looking where to fix this?


sorry to hear that. acoustic treatment is really important. i personally don't have very good treatment in my room, but i'm always doublechecking at the studio. I'd start some bass traps in the corners. the bigger the better. move your speakers away from the wall if possible and place some absorbers on the wall behind every speaker. another absorber should be placed on the ceiling in the center between your speakers and the sweet spot(the chair you sit while mixing). and  then check your mix and again do the test. listen to it in your car, at your living room cd player, at your friends house...wherever you can. always write down the differences in a notebook. this will help you a lot!

sincerely,

Ioannis

Windows - some Dual Core CPU - a little bit of RAM - not so bad soundcard - i think it's called Sonar - a silver mixer with colorful knobs - black speaker monitors - my ears

some work
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Black_Haus
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/15 23:08:46 (permalink)
I like this allot!  Great guitar playing!  The piano along with the guitar are nice sounds to hear together.  I'm just listening on a pair of Dell PC speakers so I probably can't give any useful suggestions on the mix,  but it sounds pretty good from my seat.

Again,  the guitar playing is awesome!
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ArrowHead
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/16 21:43:30 (permalink)
Giankap:  Thank you very much.  I got started today by pulling the desk and speakers back from the wall,  and moving it away from the corner.  I moved the speakers a bit to obtain a proper triangle at the listening position. 

Tomorrow I am going to be filling the speakers stands I built with sand,  to help decrease what gets transmitted to the floor.

Next up will be getting some traps in those corners,  and some foam on the walls.  I have one wall with the air intake in the corner,  so I will not be able to put a trap there.  Is there any other way to go about this without blocking the air intake?
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ArrowHead
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/02/16 21:45:01 (permalink)
Black Haus

Thank you very much for the compliments,  I am happy you dug the track.  I'm not used to getting such nice compliments about my guitar playing,  it made my day to hear that!


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shawn@trustmedia.tv
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Re:New Tune - Looking for Some Input 2011/03/18 17:48:12 (permalink)
This is a great mix of a wide range of instruments...nice build...I waiting for drums right now.......................................taping the . in tempo ..........................ride  cymbal zylophone...........piano.........guitar..........who, distorted guitar.............................I'm waiting for thunder drums......................theyve got to be coming, i want it..................................hold it...............strings.....................................................just a light kick, I want my thunder drums......well, they never came but I like the track very much!

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