Heavy Rock ala - Slipknot 10th remix - do I have it now?

[jnmorrison]

Thanks for that bigblue!
I'm a little perplexed about the panning comment though-as the guitas are
currently panned hard left and right with differnet amp combos and everything.
Maybe something went haywire and I didn't notice? Or maybe the guitars are still just too loud? I'll have a looksee and try a mix yet again and let you know!
The drum advice is GREATLY appreciated- gonna try it out.

O.k. - So, I've re-mixed AGAIN!!! YAY, I do love it though - FUN!
Anyway, The drum trick that you mentioned worked great! Allowed me to turn the guitars UP actually, and I made sure the pan setting was set - and it is, but I had a middle completely effectless/dry guitar running in the centre which I've actually removed and I think the mix is cleaner for it! I think that was causing a little of the "cluttered mix" effect.
Overall - I think it sounds about a million times better than it did this morning thanks to everyone's feedback!


Thanks,
Nick

[rld]

Hey Nick,
I took a listen.
The main thing keeping this from sounding like a "modern" mix is the guitar panning.
I know Barry just mentioned and you think you fixed it, but what I hear is the main riff sounds very centered and 1 dimensional.
That repeating riff has got to be huge since its the main part of the song.
I hope Barry doesn't mind but if t you follow his link http://www.bigbluebarry.com/music/ and listen to his "On the Run" which has a similar riff, you'll hear the difference and how yours could sound.

[2lane]

Hey Nick, you couldn't pay for more successful advice than you just got from BBB and rld, this forum is great!
Cheers
Steve

[bigbluebarry]

Hey Nick,

Just took a listen to the newest mix. The drums are definitely cutting through better but it still sounds like the guitars are panned center. When you recorded your rhythm tracks, did you record one track and then copy/paste it for the other side? If so, that would explain why it's still sounding centered in the mix.

Thanks for the link RLD

I did a couple of tracks over the weekend for this listing. They're on my TAXI profile page - http://www.taxi.com/bigbluebarry - in case these links below don't work:

Thorns In My Eye - http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... tream=true
Tied In Knots - http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... tream=true

- Big Blue

[jnmorrison]

Hey Big Blue,

Seriously - thank you so much for all your time! You really have awesome ears, and talent!
Is that you playing all the drum parts in your tracks live btw? AWESOME!
I went back again, and rechecked and as it turns out the tracks within the plug-in were panned dead center and I think that they maybe over-rode my mixer?
Anyway - I fixed that problem, and VIOLA - it's like magic!
it opened everything up, the mix breathes better now, and I was even able to eq the drums better so I get more punch out of the kick!
I'm still using the bussing magic that you told me about - this now sounds 1million+ times better!

I really appreciate your help and time. And patience!

rid - thanks to you too!
I appreciate your feedback

And truly thanks to EVERYONE that has helped so far! I really value your feedback! And I was trying and I wasn't ignoring anything just a little unskilled with my software and missed a few things here and there!
This track has been such a huge eye-opener and learning exp. for me!

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. - if you have time and care to yet again the new mix is on the taxi page at: http://www.taxi.com/jnmorrison
"Onslaught"

[2lane]

Nick, way to go, much much better!!! That's about the best turn around of a song I might ever of heard on this forum.
I'm impressed....really!
Sounds like a whole new drummer.....well, Plugin anyways
Nice

Hey BigBlue, if you read this again, could you answer a question? I remember reading sometime back that it's best to find the common theme of all the a las, is it cool to focus on just one and try to nail it, or better to take 'em all in. What's been your experience if I may ask? Logic says as long as you're close on one, it should go.....true? Thanks
Steve

[jnmorrison]

Thanks for the compliments Steve!
I think that your question for Big Blue might be even better as a fresh thread - so that it doesn't get buried or missed! It's a really important question!

Metal,
Nick

[marcblack30]

\00/ \00/
ROCK!!!

[bigbluebarry]

Hey Nick,

You're welcome man, glad to help and the track is definitely sounding better! But... It still feels like there's a lot of guitar going on in the middle of the stereo field. You mentioned that you had removed one guitar that was panned middle earlier. Did you put it back in on this latest version? I can hear the hard-panned guitars, but right now, the guitar in the middle still seems to be overpowering them to my ears. Is it playing the same part as the hard-panned guitars? Maybe bring it's volume level down in the mix some and bring the hard-panned guitars up a bit.

And don't worry about the lack of experience with the software. This stuff takes practice and time. I'm still learning stuff every day. I've only been recording for about 2.5 years and I still feel overwhelmed at times. But if you keep at it, you'll get to a point where you're noticeably better than you were a couple of months earlier. And then a couple of months after that, you'll be noticeably better than you were a couple months earlier. And in a few more months, well, you get the picture... One of the important things to remember, and I had to learn this lesson too, is that this is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Earlier tonight, I heard a demo of a track that I worked on a couple of years ago and I just wanted to cringe! So keep your head up and take it one track at a time.

I found a thread that deals with Steve's question - http://forums.taxi.com/topic21059.html but I'll also answer the question.

In general, when I try to write and/or submit for listings that reference a couple or more specific artists, the first thing I do is try and find what is common to each of those artists. Take the listing that Nick is writing for as an example. Big drums and big guitars. Chaotic but still melodic. Intense. Aggressive. That's based off of what I know about Slipknot and SOAD. I must admit that I haven't listened to a lot of Mudvayne so I'm not as familiar with them. Which leads me to the second part of Steve's question...

Typically, I try and find one artist and focus in on that. With some listings, the artists will be similar enough that you can have some cross-over stylistically. But other times, the listings will reference three artists that might sound nothing alike from a production standpoint, but share common themes from an arrangement, instrumentation, melodic or lyrical standpoint.

So yes... if you're close on one of the artists, then yeah, it should go through, but if you're referencing an artists' obscure track that was only available as a limited edition single if you bought a Starbucks' gift card then your chances for a forward are not as strong as they would be if you reference their current hit single that's on the radio and being used on Grey's Anatomy.

hth,
- Big Blue

ps - Oh and before I forget... Nope, that was not me playing live drums. They were programmed using Superior Drummer 2's Metal Foundry Expansion pack. IT FREAKIN' ROCKS! But I've noticed that if I keep my picture up with me behind my kit, it adds another layer of believability to my drum tracks lol

[jnmorrison]

Hrm...not sure- maybe getting some unwanted bleed still?
I kept that dry guitar out, but there is another guitar that might be bleeding still.
And yeah- superior 2.0 Rocks! That's what this is actually-Metal Foundry with the custom Thomas Haake engineering with a few of my own tweaks!
Anyway- I'll keep working and mixing!
Maybe one more mix to go yet...LOL!:)
\m/
nick