new mix (ambiance instrumental metal) - constructive criticism appreciated!

Hmm, guitars seem to be a bit off time in some parts and the mix sounds "hollow" or like it was encoded as a 96kbit mp3. Specially the cymbals, since you get a washy, undefined sound, but that might be soundcloud's recoding. The song itself I really like. It reminds me quite a bit of Chimp and that's a good thing in my book.

Kim said:

Hmm, guitars seem to be a bit off time in some parts and the mix sounds "hollow" or like it was encoded as a 96kbit mp3. Specially the cymbals, since you get a washy, undefined sound, but that might be soundcloud's recoding. The song itself I really like. It reminds me quite a bit of Chimp and that's a good thing in my book.

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Thanks a lot!

Which guitars in particular are off-time? The leads or the rhythm. Which spots in particular.
I often have some timing issues and I don't really seem to notice it until it is pointed out to me. I do realize though, that in the fast picking part towards the end of my solo I am rushing a bit ahead of the beat.

How would I go about fixing the "hollowness" of the mix?
Are the cymbals too harsh sounding?

Thanks for the Chimp remark, I admit I am a huge Chimp Spanner fan

Rhythm guitars from 0.18, sounds like a missed double take all the way to 2.15.
I have a tendency to rush ahead of the beat too

Listen to the hat @4.28, sounds like low bitrate artifacts to me.
The mix doesn't sound direct enough, did you apply a lot of verb? It kinda sounds like if you played it on a boombox in a large room and listen from the other side of the room.
I have to say I'm listening on a pair of porta pros though.

Kim said:

Rhythm guitars from 0.18, sounds like a missed double take all the way to 2.15.
I have a tendency to rush ahead of the beat too

Listen to the hat @4.28, sounds like low bitrate artifacts to me.
The mix doesn't sound direct enough, did you apply a lot of verb? It kinda sounds like if you played it on a boombox in a large room and listen from the other side of the room.
I have to say I'm listening on a pair of porta pros though.

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Thanks a lot, man, I appreciate this!

The double tracked rhythm guitars are always very difficult for me to get tight. Take after take after take and they are still not tight :scream:

I don't think I applied a lot of reverb, just a bit on the snare I think and then some on the leads and some on the clean/ambience guitars.

Santuzzo said:

Thanks a lot, man, I appreciate this!

The double tracked rhythm guitars are always very difficult for me to get tight. Take after take after take and they are still not tight :scream:

I don't think I applied a lot of reverb, just a bit on the snare I think and then some on the leads and some on the clean/ambience guitars.

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dial back the verb on the lead and ambience then, because I think it influences the entire mix. It just sounds too wet.

Sounds pretty good man! :yesway:

Kim said:

dial back the verb on the lead and ambience then, because I think it influences the entire mix. It just sounds too wet.

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Thanks again! :yesway:
Will give that a try!

jaxadam said:

Sounds pretty good man! :yesway:

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Thank you

I love the riff at 2:40 or so, but it does sound a little rushed - doing stuff like this where you're playing in one time signature against the drum track in another and working the overlap sounds awesome, but it needs to be REALLY in the pocket. Could you maybe track this against a click track in the tempo of the guitars, rather than trying to nail the polyrhythm?

Soundcloud is eating this alive, IMO.

Santuzzo said:

Thanks a lot, man, I appreciate this!

The double tracked rhythm guitars are always very difficult for me to get tight. Take after take after take and they are still not tight :scream:

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Same here! It's frustrating. Usually when I record the 2nd guitar, I'll center both guitar tracks or only pan slightly, then record with headphones. It makes it a lot easier to hear if my picking starts getting out of sync.

Drew said:

I love the riff at 2:40 or so, but it does sound a little rushed - doing stuff like this where you're playing in one time signature against the drum track in another and working the overlap sounds awesome, but it needs to be REALLY in the pocket. Could you maybe track this against a click track in the tempo of the guitars, rather than trying to nail the polyrhythm?

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Thanks ! :yesway:
I did not even think of this part as a poly-rhythmic part, more as a syncopated 16th run shifting over the beat.
But yeah, getting this tight is tricky. I definitely gotta work on that!

Soundcloud is eating this alive, IMO.

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What do you mean by that?

BaptizedBurning said:

Same here! It's frustrating. Usually when I record the 2nd guitar, I'll center both guitar tracks or only pan slightly, then record with headphones. It makes it a lot easier to hear if my picking starts getting out of sync.

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Thanks, man! That is a great idea! Will try that:agreed: