I struggle with the mixing of a metal track i made and i was hoping i could lend your ears and try to figure out what i’m doing right/wrong.
My first attempt was this:
There are obviously something wrong with the mix so i did another attempt thinking that this sounded a lot more balanced:
Just to realise this one sounded even worse than the first one…
So i started from scratch and re recorded everything and tried to apply some of the tips i got from stoiximans’ song thread and here is the result so far:
Is it getting any better? I don’t trust my own ears…
I am starting to feel that there is something wrong with your ears man Listen start panning things.Keep the heavy bass guitar in the middle and pan the others left and right.Pan the drums hats maybe use a rotary effect so they play left and right from time to time.Keep the kick in the middle and the snare slightly panned and upload it again
Yes! Your first mix was very thin in general, your second mix was very bass-heavy and in both mixes the drums except the kick were too loud. Your third mix is way better balanced but needs some adjustments in terms of volume of the instruments. I’m thinking primarely of the guitar, which is quite soft in comparison to the rest. If you’re listening through speakers the guitar seems to be dulled too much, you can hear it very good at 0:28 when the guitar starts for the first time. The first instruments are quite nice, then the guitar starts and it seems that you’ve put a heavy compressor over it. Have you checked your mix in mono? This is one of the first things you should do, especially if you’re not sure where to go. But I’ve already told you that.
But slightly.
But slightly without any changes regarding left and right. Pan the hats slightly to the left or to the right, but you have to make a decision.
I’m not super pointy on mixing but I like the third version, the intro sounds very Nirvana and the whole track is well constructed. Sound good for me.
Maybe the only thing I’ve noticed is that the drum sounds less natural than the other instruments, especialy the kick sound. Maybe it could have been a bit more modulated (not always the same velocity).
A very slight panning on the snare wouldn’t be noticable to the listener only us producers may notice it but it would do a great difference in the mix… I believe
Hmmm, are you trying to confuse me even more?
I find it a bit difficult to know the difference between what is mostly personal preferences and what is simply not good producing. I grew up listening to lo-fi rock and black metal, so i think i have been damaged too much from shitty sound.
Hopefully i will get the hang of it one day.
The rythm guitar is recorded twice, monoed and hard panned left and right as this is a trick i have learned from earlier to get a phat guitar sound and imo i kinda like it that way, though i won’t say it can’t be improved. When recorded twice it shouldn’t compromise the mono compatibility as far as i have understood. I agree that it could be too much compressed as i sidechain compressed it to the lead guitar and kick. Maybe i overdid it, or maybe it isn’t necessary at all?
This is not by any means meant as the final mix, as i just wanted to make sure i’m on the right track before i finish it off. The first two tracks are mastered by sc/dolby automatic mastering, the third is just a scetch.
I will do some changes and probably upload another mix soon, but i’m going away for a couple of weeks, so i’ll have to give it another go when i’m back.
Depends on the snare and the style, but generally I wouldn’t pan a snare. Instead you could pan the reverb of the snare for a better desired “3D feeling” if there’s a reverb. Of course the snare shouldn’t be too short if you want to do that. If this is noticeable or not depends on the way you’re listening. If you’re listenening through headphones you can hear it whether you’re a producer or not. And if you’re listening through speakers and the snare is only panned a little bit, you may not notice the panning, that’s right. Nevertheless I would say a snare should hit like a kick, and the best way to achieve this is when it’s centered. Just like a bass.
I would say personal preferences are finetuning in terms of sound and good producing is when your tracks are well balanced and good sounding through all kind of outputs, whether headphones, speakers, monitors, car radio and so on. Your third mix sounds good through headphones, but through speakers the guitar falls off and there are some small things which can be improved.
Bass-heavy, yes.
Maybe @TheBellows should go for a bad production quality when it comes to metal, even though it’s not Black Metal. But obviously there are many people who prefer this kind of sound:
That guy in the video certainly has a point, i have always been drawn to this grim and imperfect sound.
It’s not my goal to make the most pristine and up to date sounding track, i want it heavy, but rough.
I struggle with making the drums sound natural. I guess i should concentrate on improving those first.
Hmm, for a while there i thought there were something very wrong with my ears, as i also prefer it from the first one. I’m still not sure about the third, but it isn’t finished yet.
Listen start panning things.Keep the heavy bass guitar in the middle and pan the others left and right.Pan the drums hats maybe use a rotary effect so they play left and right from time to time.Keep the kick in the middle and the snare slightly panned and upload it again
