From my studio.
- Thread starter phyregod
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TommyTheCat
Gonzo Scientist
That chits compressed or limited. There's not much of any peaks at all and the little there are are in the vocals. Nasty.
SlowStang305
Slowboy
LOL I like it! AHHHH
integraslut78
Stylus DJ Extraordinaire
I agree you can't go wrong with a D112 on the kick I actually like 2 mics on the kick one for BOOM and one to make it sound like a basketball bouncing in a gym, as for the snare I say mic the bottom of it as well you will thank me later, oh and if you need help let me know I will go into work early and mix it for you on the Neve
Last edited:
Hey guys ... haven't posted on here for freeking ages, but thought I'd check back and chime in. Nice to see you musicians still rockin out. Brian ... great replies as always
Anyways, Blanco:
Overall the song is pretty decent for the genre, so good on ya for putting in an honest effort. Your vocalist has some potential as well.
I'll give you a really short critique of the mix, just to give you some things to think about next time around. I've also put some tips in there.
- Overall levels are pretty decent, in terms of balancing the mix, but the the drums are too pushed back in a way that makes me think the drummer wasn't too happy with the performance, or timbre of the kit. The drums are the backbone of a good recording, and the drum sounds (and the way they were mixed) fell short.
- The main vocal need some texture because it's just sitting there, right up front. It doesn't push or pull, but stays in the same place during the entire song. I'd like to hear the vocal push back and have some space in certain areas, especially going into the bridge when he holds that long note. For texture, an Eventide H3000, and any kind of aural exciter is your friend. Don't be afraid to use them.
- The drums need space. Lots of it. Lots of ways to accomplish that. Room mics, and overheads are the absolute priority when recording drums. They are the center image of the entire kit, and the way they sound in the room, respectively. For overheads, if you are using a stereo pair, keep them pretty tight together or you will have phasing problems. Also, don't be afraid to use a mono overhead. A properly placed mono overhead can have very surprising results, without having to worry about phase. I've had mono overheads with just a single kick mic mixed in that would blow your mind. A mono overhead also keep the drums very centered in a mix.
As for room mics, quickly measure how high up your overhead mics are from the kit (eg: 6.5ft), and set up a stereo pair of large diaphram condensers in an ORTF, Blumline, or XY pattern directly facing the front of the kit at the same distance. The ORTF pattern is my fav, because it has great separation and localization of the kit. About chest hight should work well.
- When you start to mix the drums, ALWAYS start with the overheads. ALWAYS. The overheads represent the image of the entire kit. When you have your overheads up and panned (if stereo), than you can slowly start to fill in the sound with the direct mics, like the kick. Be very weary of phasing issues as you start to bring them in. For example, try putting an EQ plugin, or something that has a phase reverse on it ... the overheads are up, now start to bring in the kick .... does the kick you hear in the overheads start to get weaker, or does it get louder and punchier? If it starts to dissapear, that means the kick is out of phase with the overhead. Flip the phase on the kick, and your good to go. Do this with every direct mic you bring into the mix. always check phase.
- Drum Panning: When you have the overheads up, listen to where the hi hat sits ... where the ride is, where the toms are. That is where you want to pan your direct mics (see how important the overheads are now?? lol).
- The back bus: When your mixing drums, send the drum mix (Through a send [Bus] to a stereo Aux track. On that Aux track, throw on a compressor and get between 8-10dB of gain reduction happening. Somehwere around a 10:1 ratio is good (at 10:1 the compressor is actually acting as a limiter), fast attack, med release ... you're just trying to get that "pumping" compressed sound. Now slowly start to bring that stereo track into your drum mix. It's fucking magic.
- Drum verb: I can't really write about this because I'd be writing for a year. All I'll say is that every mix I do, I spend a good hour or so toning the drum reverb. It is VERY important. Even if the client is on a tight schedule, I still do it. Plates sound great on drums, or halls with a tight decay. Remember if you're using a reverb on the drums, you NEVER insert time based effects like verbs directly on the track. Reverbs are always set up on Aux tracks, than individual tracks are sent to the reverb via busses. This way, you can still hear the direct tracks, and than by altering the level of the send to the reverb, make the drums sound as wet or as dry as you want. Also try and play your drums with the verb on, and stop it abruptly. Listen to how the reverb decays .. does it sound natural? Does it sound like it's in a room? If not, than change it. Be particular.
Everything else sounded alright to me. The guitars were pretty decent, and the bass was ok. Some attention to the drums, and some action on the vocal, and you'll have something you'll be happy with. Keep things simple, and remember, the performance is the key to a great recording, not the gear, or the engineer. I've had clients (for instance Eva Avila [Canadian Idol winner]) that you just set up the mic, press record, and your done. It's that easy when the performance on the floor is good.
Keep at 'er bro.
Anyways, Blanco:
Overall the song is pretty decent for the genre, so good on ya for putting in an honest effort. Your vocalist has some potential as well.
I'll give you a really short critique of the mix, just to give you some things to think about next time around. I've also put some tips in there.
- Overall levels are pretty decent, in terms of balancing the mix, but the the drums are too pushed back in a way that makes me think the drummer wasn't too happy with the performance, or timbre of the kit. The drums are the backbone of a good recording, and the drum sounds (and the way they were mixed) fell short.
- The main vocal need some texture because it's just sitting there, right up front. It doesn't push or pull, but stays in the same place during the entire song. I'd like to hear the vocal push back and have some space in certain areas, especially going into the bridge when he holds that long note. For texture, an Eventide H3000, and any kind of aural exciter is your friend. Don't be afraid to use them.
- The drums need space. Lots of it. Lots of ways to accomplish that. Room mics, and overheads are the absolute priority when recording drums. They are the center image of the entire kit, and the way they sound in the room, respectively. For overheads, if you are using a stereo pair, keep them pretty tight together or you will have phasing problems. Also, don't be afraid to use a mono overhead. A properly placed mono overhead can have very surprising results, without having to worry about phase. I've had mono overheads with just a single kick mic mixed in that would blow your mind. A mono overhead also keep the drums very centered in a mix.
As for room mics, quickly measure how high up your overhead mics are from the kit (eg: 6.5ft), and set up a stereo pair of large diaphram condensers in an ORTF, Blumline, or XY pattern directly facing the front of the kit at the same distance. The ORTF pattern is my fav, because it has great separation and localization of the kit. About chest hight should work well.
- When you start to mix the drums, ALWAYS start with the overheads. ALWAYS. The overheads represent the image of the entire kit. When you have your overheads up and panned (if stereo), than you can slowly start to fill in the sound with the direct mics, like the kick. Be very weary of phasing issues as you start to bring them in. For example, try putting an EQ plugin, or something that has a phase reverse on it ... the overheads are up, now start to bring in the kick .... does the kick you hear in the overheads start to get weaker, or does it get louder and punchier? If it starts to dissapear, that means the kick is out of phase with the overhead. Flip the phase on the kick, and your good to go. Do this with every direct mic you bring into the mix. always check phase.
- Drum Panning: When you have the overheads up, listen to where the hi hat sits ... where the ride is, where the toms are. That is where you want to pan your direct mics (see how important the overheads are now?? lol).
- The back bus: When your mixing drums, send the drum mix (Through a send [Bus] to a stereo Aux track. On that Aux track, throw on a compressor and get between 8-10dB of gain reduction happening. Somehwere around a 10:1 ratio is good (at 10:1 the compressor is actually acting as a limiter), fast attack, med release ... you're just trying to get that "pumping" compressed sound. Now slowly start to bring that stereo track into your drum mix. It's fucking magic.
- Drum verb: I can't really write about this because I'd be writing for a year. All I'll say is that every mix I do, I spend a good hour or so toning the drum reverb. It is VERY important. Even if the client is on a tight schedule, I still do it. Plates sound great on drums, or halls with a tight decay. Remember if you're using a reverb on the drums, you NEVER insert time based effects like verbs directly on the track. Reverbs are always set up on Aux tracks, than individual tracks are sent to the reverb via busses. This way, you can still hear the direct tracks, and than by altering the level of the send to the reverb, make the drums sound as wet or as dry as you want. Also try and play your drums with the verb on, and stop it abruptly. Listen to how the reverb decays .. does it sound natural? Does it sound like it's in a room? If not, than change it. Be particular.
Everything else sounded alright to me. The guitars were pretty decent, and the bass was ok. Some attention to the drums, and some action on the vocal, and you'll have something you'll be happy with. Keep things simple, and remember, the performance is the key to a great recording, not the gear, or the engineer. I've had clients (for instance Eva Avila [Canadian Idol winner]) that you just set up the mic, press record, and your done. It's that easy when the performance on the floor is good.
Keep at 'er bro.
Just for shits and giggles, next time you record, try spacing out your overheads a little more. Opt for a spaced pair setup instead of a tight XY.
Place your overheads about 6.5 feet High, and point them directly down at your snare, and floor tom. Make sure they are exactly at the same height. You'll find you have plenty of cymbal action, but the actual "Image" of the kit is very precise. In Cubase, pan the OH left and right, respectively. If you're room is 10x10 with average ceilings, you might want to place a -10dB pad to attenuate the signal a little. Small rooms tend to distort mics. Also keep in mind that when using a cardioid mic, the more gain you use at the preamp, the wider the cardioid pickup pattern becomes, less gain = tighter cardioid pattern. There is 2 more things you can think about
The entire point of an overhead mic, and why it is so important, is that you're capturing the exact way the kit sounds in the room. Play around with placement and height of the mics and listen. You're trying to get the most realistic representation of the kit, the way you hear it when you're sitting behind it and playing. From the look of how you had the mics placed, it would be a very realistic representation of how the kit would sound if you had your head right between the cymbals
Once the Overheads are dealt with, panning your hats and ride will only make the kit sound bigger, and widen the stereo image. This is good. If you can set up a stereo pair of room mics, than you're laughing. The kit will sound live, punchy, and have a huge stereo spread.
Place your overheads about 6.5 feet High, and point them directly down at your snare, and floor tom. Make sure they are exactly at the same height. You'll find you have plenty of cymbal action, but the actual "Image" of the kit is very precise. In Cubase, pan the OH left and right, respectively. If you're room is 10x10 with average ceilings, you might want to place a -10dB pad to attenuate the signal a little. Small rooms tend to distort mics. Also keep in mind that when using a cardioid mic, the more gain you use at the preamp, the wider the cardioid pickup pattern becomes, less gain = tighter cardioid pattern. There is 2 more things you can think about
The entire point of an overhead mic, and why it is so important, is that you're capturing the exact way the kit sounds in the room. Play around with placement and height of the mics and listen. You're trying to get the most realistic representation of the kit, the way you hear it when you're sitting behind it and playing. From the look of how you had the mics placed, it would be a very realistic representation of how the kit would sound if you had your head right between the cymbals
Once the Overheads are dealt with, panning your hats and ride will only make the kit sound bigger, and widen the stereo image. This is good. If you can set up a stereo pair of room mics, than you're laughing. The kit will sound live, punchy, and have a huge stereo spread.