I took some advice  from here and the Cakewalk user group facebook, and I like the results. So, thanks!
https://soundcloud.com/mi..idwell/mg-new-2-remixed
 
Hi people. First post here. I have a VERY modest setup. Sonar Artist, medium level interface, some mics, and a ton of VST's.
I have been experimenting and trying to learn, and feel that I'm getting the hang of things. But sometimes I'm not sure if I'm using compression correctly, or using too much reverb, and would like some advise.
 
I'm getting ready to finish some guitar tracks for a cd, and want to make that project as good as possible.
 
This song is unfinished as there are no vocals, and the guitar tracks are for reference only and have plenty of mistakes. I'm just interested in the mix and if I'm in the ballpark or not, and want to hear from those who have great ears and a lot of knowledge in recording.
Thanks for listening:
https://soundcloud.com/mike-bidwell/mg-new-1

From 10,000 feet, I'd say you are headed in the right direction. Hard to judge the mix until the vocals are done because that will force you to make changes. So far, I like what I'm hearing...
 
Regards,
Dan

Hi 
 
I really like the tune. You can obviously play guitar really well and that shines through. The drums sound great too. What I would say (which was a bit of advice I got given years ago by an old jazz guy) is use your mono button (assuming youve got one?) periodically and you can see how your mix is developing from a one speaker perspective.
 
This will show you how the overall balance is acting. When you put your mix into mono it is a little drum heavy and the bass guitar isnt punching through. Because I play similar music to you Im totally guilty of wide spreading the guitars to 100% L/R or there abouts. But then I usually track them again at around 70 - 80% L/R but a little lower in volume. It works for my mentalness :-) 
 
My trick with the bass is to record a DI into sonar and then duplicate the track and have a clean bass sound but also a filthy dirty bad ass bass track. That may fill in the gap in the middle when you mono reference your track.
 
All of the above is just my way of doing things that Ive picked up over the years, mainly for listening to the guys on this forum (pro audio 8 days, im getting old man) and watching tutorials. Either way your going in the right direction for sure.
 
Last tip...trust your ears not your eyes....my eyes tell me I look like Keanu Reeves 
 
 
 
 
 

SiTheMon
Hi 
 
I really like the tune. You can obviously play guitar really well and that shines through. The drums sound great too. What I would say (which was a bit of advice I got given years ago by an old jazz guy) is use your mono button (assuming youve got one?) periodically and you can see how your mix is developing from a one speaker perspective.
 
This will show you how the overall balance is acting. When you put your mix into mono it is a little drum heavy and the bass guitar isnt punching through. Because I play similar music to you Im totally guilty of wide spreading the guitars to 100% L/R or there abouts. But then I usually track them again at around 70 - 80% L/R but a little lower in volume. It works for my mentalness :-) 
 
My trick with the bass is to record a DI into sonar and then duplicate the track and have a clean bass sound but also a filthy dirty bad ass bass track. That may fill in the gap in the middle when you mono reference your track.
 
All of the above is just my way of doing things that Ive picked up over the years, mainly for listening to the guys on this forum (pro audio 8 days, im getting old man) and watching tutorials. Either way your going in the right direction for sure.
 
Last tip...trust your ears not your eyes....my eyes tell me I look like Keanu Reeves 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks!
 
Well, your guitar advice is what I actually did. Git 1 100% left and a second performance 20% left. Git 2, same on the right. I think they just need better eq and to be brought up some. Plus, the amp was low for those tracks. When I get ready, the amp will be much louder, and I'll play the parts right!!
 
I do the mono check, but I don't want to be guilty of my guitars being too loud, so they're always low.
 
I'm suffering with hearing bass properly in the headphones. But I am going to try the double with a dirty trick. I just keep forgetting, (I'm old too). 
 
Cool!
 
 

See OP. I did a remix.

What did you use for Bass & drums? Sounds awesome!

Mr. torture
What did you use for Bass & drums? Sounds awesome!

Mr torture, thanks a lot!!
 
Bass is Native instruments Scarbee Jazz running in to
Ampeg SVX.
 
Drums are Addictive drums 2, Metal kit
I transposed a live drummer's performance
 
Of course EQ, Comp, etc where needed.
 
It's been a lot of work, and I'm glad others confirm that I'm doing pretty well.
 
 

Thanks for the reply, I think you have done a great job. Guitars sound huge! Is that amp or VST?

First off, ignore the mistakes on the guitars!
 
Funny thing about them. I've played for ever, but 6 years ago, I came down with MS. It affects my legs most, but it does affect my right arm some. Especially if I'm tired, I know, whaaaaa, lol. So, I'm working on a different project than this tune. It's a collection of tunes that my first band wrote in the 80's. So, wanting that to turn out as good as possible, I was stressing about being able to play at least 24 tracks perfectly.
 
So I thought, what if I record DI guitars, and then edit out any rhythm problems, and punch in or copy an paste any mistakes and then reamp the tracks to my amp and record them?
So, just to test my theory, I bought a reamp box, and then dusted off this tune and recorded with a sim JUST to get the clean DI track, then I deleted the sim. I did NOT fix any mistakes, but I did reamp the tracks.
So, that's real guitar and amp...with mistakes hahaha.
 
After, I had just purchased Waves Renaissance Axx. It's a compressor for guitars and bass. It's stupid easy to dial in just a tad of compression. Plus a little EQ. Also, its double tracked Left and Right, so that makes it bigger.
  

Wow, sorry to hear about the MS. But I am so glad to see you are still making music!
 
Funny you mentioning the re-amp box, I just bought one myself and do the same thing! I apologize for the 50 questions, I am a child of 80's Rock / metal too so when I see another guy doing it I always have questions!
 
Great work and I cannot wait to hear your CD!