ShortScale.org

Particularly about the drums, but advice about the guitars and bass are welcome. I'm pretty sure this mix sounds messed up because I didn't use monitors doing it, just ear buds. Vocals not done yet, but I figured I should get some advice on what's there already before I start making it even more complicated.

One of the problems I'm hearing is that the snare sounds kinda ring-y. Not sure if that's something that could be fixed with better EQ, or if I need to go back and re-track it with a tighter sound/better micing.


This song kinda sounds like a generic punk/rock song, but a lot of the others I'm currently tracking will be more 'alternative', whatever that means.

Yeah - there needs to be a heavy wallet or something on top of that snare.

It sounds a bit off because things sound in different spaces.

I'm guessing the guitar is DI with a pod type box or just very close mic'd, and the bass DI. Then the bass the same. The drums sound like you've already EQ'd the balls out of them when trying to get them to be less muddy or something. They're lacking pretty much all of the lower mids and have no emphasis because of it.

Go back to the kick and try to find a nice point in the low end, probably somewhere in 80-150hz. Take off any low cuts you have and give a little boost in that area. Then you can use a high pass filter just below it to remove any unwanted stuff in the very low fequencies. Then you want to find the snappier end of the kick, probably around 2.5khz. The beater hitting the skin. Punk mixes use a lot of it so try to find a nice point around it, boost it and then cut most of the above and give a gentle cut between that and the 100hz area. Try playing the bass track at maybe 2/3 the volume, and EQ the kick to sit well with that. Depending how you mic'd it, you should be able to get some low end back that way.

The snare will probably have some decent stuff going on around 400hz. You have a lot of low end in the guitar and none in the snare. Find a nice point in the lower mids like that, remove any cuts and maybe give it a slight boost. If it sounds too busy, try cutting a bit out of the guitar in that area. You'll probably find some stuff around 1khz you can cut out. In general I'd say use pretty wide cuts and boosts, but for that maybe a very narrow, very deep cut in that area will take out a lot of the ring.

I can't really tell if you should go ahead and re-track it because I'm not sure if you have the guts of a good drum take there or not. It depends if you've already over done it or not. If you haven't done much to it, you'll be best off re-tracking. All of those suggestions are off the top of my head having just woke up, so they might be a bit off but they're where I would start.

damn James, I should of had you listen to the stuff I'm currently mixing when you were down here. I'd have loved to hear some suggestions.

Yeah, waaay more lows and lower mids needed on the drums in general, it's nothing but cymbals and snare PING at the mo. You can probably EQ out some of the snare ring a little bit (find the resonant frequency it's ringing out at and cut it somewhat), it's not too bad.

And yeah, get some click into that kick- it's a good sorta "jazz" kick sound but not great for rock music.

Don't be afraid to A/B your tracks with a professional recording of a similar genre to gain some insight and what you need to tweak to get it sounded closer. I mean, sure, maybe you don't want a typical punk/rock production on the song and that's cool, but it's a good starting point.

i don't like the 600-700mhz region on most snare sondz. i like big fat dry sond.

compression would help the drums, moderate attack, slow release to beef it up.



don't mix in earbudz or headphones, it'll eventually throw your shit out of whack. i tend to do it by habit and i ALWAYS have to fix something.

Thanks for all the advice.

In regards to getting things to sound in the same 'space', am I just going to have to man up and record the guitar amps in the same room? Or is there some way with reverb or EQ that I can get them to meld with the track better, right now they're just sitting on top of the drums. There's three tracks, all playing the same thing from a direct in signal. That's probably why. But I want them to have some of the same presence and attack that I have going on right now.

Might try putting a trigger with the snare.

I'll post back after I get some time to redo it.

Nah you don't need to record in the same room.

You just need to think of it in terms of how it actually sounds. Right now it sounds like there's a quiet drum kit in the far corner of the room and you have your head next to a guitar amp. You need to create some space with the guitar sounds, add a little reverb, maybe cut some mids. Then bring up the lower mids to give the drums some more emphasis and prominence.