[Rock] Decay - first recording

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Just finished up what I would consider my first "polished" recording, where the mix actually sounds tolerable instead of like someone gargling cats. Would be interested in any feedback on the song, the mix, etc. Feel free to go negative, I have thick skin. I think. Just don't bring my mother into it. Thanks.

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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 5:52 pm

I hope it is just my speakers, but we will see what others say before i go into great detail,
I like the song,vocals and the driving bass line,
but it sounds as if the mix is too tinny, maybe too much treble on the mix needs to be fattened up a bit, the guitar sounds really good though...good job otherwise.

Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:27 pm

I hear what ya say, gunner. I think it's the second guitar I can hear mimicking the main guitar riff, higher up on single notes maybe. Otherwise I am hearing things. Smile

The change into the solo was pretty cool, and the vocalist is very good too.

Whilst the main guitar riff is cool, it seems like it was the only riff. Being as it is a short song though, it doesn't necessarily mean that's a bad thing.

If this is any indication of the kind of stuff you write though, I see big things ahead. This is the kind of song I expect to hear on the local rock radio stations.

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Went back and listened and agree with the tinny sound. I went back and tried to remix that out. I also agree that it's the high harmony guitar part that is contributing to it, not sure how to fix, but I tried to EQ some of the squeal out of it. Would appreciate anyone listening to see if this version is any better. Frequently remixing just makes things worse. Very Happy

Play Decay2 by Mundanity

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Anyone? I'm really trying to figure out if the remix made any positive difference, and I've listened to them so many times my ears are no longer useful for comparison.

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am

Sorry for the wait bro....i have to slave for a living so sometimes coming back here regularly is impossible...lol
it is a little better....but now sounds like the mix has too much volume to it.....was this recorded all on one track?? and mixed all as one?
if so, this may the problem, when you mix all the instruments together at the same time, then the frequency spectrum becomes all whacked and trying to adjust highs,mids and lows will effect all of the instruments, dont get me wrong, i really like the song, but to get that good mix we need to know how you are recording, are you recording each instrument and then mixing each instrument track? or as i stated above all as one?

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Hey, thanks. All the tracks are separately recorded...the only one that is combined is the harmony guitar part, which actually has a high part and a part an octave lower, but the high part pretty much drowns out the lower part completely for whatever reason. The only time you can really hear the separation on that one is during the first part of the bridge with the feedback where they're clearly audible. Those are mixed into one stereo track panned left and right. Everything else is on an individual track, some of which have effects and some are clean.

I did notice a lot of frequency issues when I tried to put compression on the master track. The heavily distorted parts on the chorus completely dropped in volume compared to the verses and I couldn't get rid of it. Was a very strange effect, so I dropped the compression.

I played around with EQ'ing all the guitar tracks until my ears bled, but every change just seemed to make it worse so I gave up and went back to defaults. What I ended up doing was taking some of the highs off of the melody guitary part, and taking out the stereo widening effect off of the master.

I'm using Ozone3 to master the overall track, and it has some prebuilt chains I slap on to try and get a mastering effect. Tweaking that led to where it is now.

Really appreciate the feedback...now I know why studio engineers get paid so much for this stuff. Smile

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:06 pm

ahhh that explains it...Ozone 3,
i use it sometimes, but i found out that by the time i use,oh let's say, CD mastering with exciter pre-set...it sounds really good at first, but when I convert the wav to mp3 then to Disc...it sounds really tinny.....
if you have a few bucks to burn...there is a program out there that works pretty good..it is "AAMS" Auto Audio Mastering System....
what this program does is, it takes the wav file (which it prefers) then will adjust all freqs plus adjust gains and compression and such, plus it will give you a report of the final outcome, plus of course the final master wav file...then you just convert it to MP3 or whatever you want and that's it... the link to their website is
http://www.curioza.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
the price is around $65.00 USD...

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

That program looks very interesting....I'll snag it and use the trialware and see how it goes, and then decide on buying it after that. Thanks for the tip.

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:29 pm

No Problem....i am searching for a reliable free mastering software now.....this way for us "unsigned" broke artists can have a chance...lol
I will post anything i find here for you and others..

Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:32 pm

By the way here is one of the reports that this program generated from a song i am working on ..it lists everything that it adjusted...
the cool thing is....it does all this automatically!!!

AAMS Auto Audio Mastering System - Mastering Document

Source File : wakened.aam
Reference File : @Rock Metal Hard.aam

Equalizer Suggestion - Settings

(1) Freq. : 20 Hz M : -1.3 dB L : -1.0 dB R : -1.6 dB
(2) Freq. : 40 Hz M : -2.6 dB L : -2.4 dB R : -2.9 dB
(3) Freq. : 60 Hz M : -2.7 dB L : -2.5 dB R : -2.9 dB
(4) Freq. : 80 Hz M : 1.2 dB L : 1.6 dB R : 0.8 dB
(5) Freq. : 100 Hz M : 4.1 dB L : 4.8 dB R : 3.5 dB
(6) Freq. : 120 Hz M : 2.6 dB L : 2.9 dB R : 2.2 dB
(7) Freq. : 140 Hz M : 0.4 dB L : 0.9 dB R : 0.0 dB
( Cool

Freq. : 160 Hz M : -7.9 dB L : -6.7 dB R : -9.1 dB
(9) Freq. : 180 Hz M : -4.0 dB L : -3.2 dB R : -4.9 dB
(10) Freq. : 200 Hz M : -0.3 dB L : -0.1 dB R : -0.5 dB
(11) Freq. : 225 Hz M : -2.3 dB L : -1.8 dB R : -2.7 dB
(12) Freq. : 250 Hz M : -4.2 dB L : -4.0 dB R : -4.5 dB
(13) Freq. : 275 Hz M : 0.5 dB L : 0.4 dB R : 0.5 dB
(14) Freq. : 300 Hz M : 1.4 dB L : 1.4 dB R : 1.4 dB
(15) Freq. : 325 Hz M : 1.0 dB L : 1.2 dB R : 0.7 dB
(16) Freq. : 350 Hz M : 0.0 dB L : 0.1 dB R : 0.0 dB
(17) Freq. : 375 Hz M : 1.3 dB L : 1.5 dB R : 1.1 dB
(1 Cool

Freq. : 400 Hz M : 1.9 dB L : 2.0 dB R : 1.9 dB
(19) Freq. : 425 Hz M : 1.8 dB L : 1.6 dB R : 1.9 dB
(20) Freq. : 450 Hz M : 4.6 dB L : 4.6 dB R : 4.7 dB
(21) Freq. : 475 Hz M : 0.5 dB L : 0.7 dB R : 0.3 dB
(22) Freq. : 500 Hz M : 1.2 dB L : 1.6 dB R : 0.8 dB
(23) Freq. : 550 Hz M : 3.7 dB L : 4.0 dB R : 3.3 dB
(24) Freq. : 600 Hz M : 2.5 dB L : 2.8 dB R : 2.3 dB
(25) Freq. : 650 Hz M : 4.7 dB L : 5.0 dB R : 4.4 dB
(26) Freq. : 700 Hz M : 2.8 dB L : 3.0 dB R : 2.6 dB
(27) Freq. : 750 Hz M : 2.8 dB L : 3.2 dB R : 2.4 dB
(2 Cool

Freq. : 800 Hz M : 4.2 dB L : 4.4 dB R : 3.9 dB
(29) Freq. : 850 Hz M : 0.8 dB L : 1.0 dB R : 0.6 dB
(30) Freq. : 900 Hz M : 2.4 dB L : 2.5 dB R : 2.3 dB
(31) Freq. : 950 Hz M : 2.0 dB L : 2.1 dB R : 1.9 dB
(32) Freq. : 1000 Hz M : 2.9 dB L : 2.9 dB R : 2.9 dB
(33) Freq. : 1200 Hz M : 3.6 dB L : 3.9 dB R : 3.3 dB
(34) Freq. : 1400 Hz M : 3.6 dB L : 3.9 dB R : 3.3 dB
(35) Freq. : 1600 Hz M : 5.7 dB L : 6.0 dB R : 5.3 dB
(36) Freq. : 1800 Hz M : 3.8 dB L : 4.1 dB R : 3.5 dB
(37) Freq. : 2000 Hz M : 2.1 dB L : 2.5 dB R : 1.7 dB
(3 Cool

Freq. : 2250 Hz M : 1.7 dB L : 1.9 dB R : 1.4 dB
(39) Freq. : 2500 Hz M : 0.6 dB L : 0.7 dB R : 0.5 dB
(40) Freq. : 2750 Hz M : 0.1 dB L : 0.4 dB R : -0.3 dB
(41) Freq. : 3000 Hz M : 1.3 dB L : 1.6 dB R : 1.0 dB
(42) Freq. : 3250 Hz M : 2.8 dB L : 3.3 dB R : 2.2 dB
(43) Freq. : 3500 Hz M : -2.1 dB L : -1.7 dB R : -2.6 dB
(44) Freq. : 3750 Hz M : -4.7 dB L : -4.4 dB R : -5.0 dB
(45) Freq. : 4000 Hz M : -5.2 dB L : -5.0 dB R : -5.5 dB
(46) Freq. : 4250 Hz M : -6.6 dB L : -6.3 dB R : -6.9 dB
(47) Freq. : 4500 Hz M : -5.8 dB L : -5.8 dB R : -5.8 dB
(4 Cool

Freq. : 4750 Hz M : -3.0 dB L : -2.9 dB R : -3.0 dB
(49) Freq. : 5000 Hz M : -1.6 dB L : -1.1 dB R : -2.1 dB
(50) Freq. : 5250 Hz M : -3.2 dB L : -3.0 dB R : -3.5 dB
(51) Freq. : 5500 Hz M : -4.8 dB L : -4.7 dB R : -4.9 dB
(52) Freq. : 5750 Hz M : -4.5 dB L : -4.4 dB R : -4.6 dB
(53) Freq. : 6000 Hz M : -2.3 dB L : -1.9 dB R : -2.6 dB
(54) Freq. : 6250 Hz M : 0.2 dB L : 0.7 dB R : -0.3 dB
(55) Freq. : 6500 Hz M : 1.7 dB L : 2.2 dB R : 1.2 dB
(56) Freq. : 6750 Hz M : 1.6 dB L : 2.2 dB R : 1.0 dB
(57) Freq. : 7000 Hz M : -0.9 dB L : -0.6 dB R : -1.3 dB
(5 Cool

Freq. : 7250 Hz M : 1.2 dB L : 1.4 dB R : 1.0 dB
(59) Freq. : 7500 Hz M : 2.3 dB L : 2.8 dB R : 1.7 dB
(60) Freq. : 7750 Hz M : 0.6 dB L : 1.0 dB R : 0.3 dB
(61) Freq. : 8000 Hz M : 0.2 dB L : 0.4 dB R : 0.1 dB
(62) Freq. : 8250 Hz M : 0.2 dB L : 0.1 dB R : 0.3 dB
(63) Freq. : 8500 Hz M : -0.5 dB L : -0.1 dB R : -1.0 dB
(64) Freq. : 8750 Hz M : 2.9 dB L : 3.1 dB R : 2.7 dB
(65) Freq. : 9000 Hz M : 3.8 dB L : 4.4 dB R : 3.2 dB
(66) Freq. : 9250 Hz M : 1.7 dB L : 2.2 dB R : 1.2 dB
(67) Freq. : 9500 Hz M : 0.5 dB L : 1.1 dB R : -0.1 dB
(6 Cool

Freq. : 9750 Hz M : -0.5 dB L : 0.2 dB R : -1.3 dB
(69) Freq. : 10000 Hz M : 1.2 dB L : 1.7 dB R : 0.7 dB
(70) Freq. : 10250 Hz M : 0.6 dB L : 1.6 dB R : -0.3 dB
(71) Freq. : 10500 Hz M : 1.1 dB L : 1.7 dB R : 0.5 dB
(72) Freq. : 10750 Hz M : 1.8 dB L : 2.7 dB R : 1.0 dB
(73) Freq. : 11000 Hz M : 1.0 dB L : 1.7 dB R : 0.4 dB
(74) Freq. : 11250 Hz M : 2.2 dB L : 2.8 dB R : 1.6 dB
(75) Freq. : 11500 Hz M : 1.9 dB L : 2.0 dB R : 1.8 dB
(76) Freq. : 11750 Hz M : -0.2 dB L : 0.2 dB R : -0.5 dB
(77) Freq. : 12000 Hz M : 1.5 dB L : 2.0 dB R : 0.9 dB
(7 Cool

Freq. : 12250 Hz M : 1.7 dB L : 2.1 dB R : 1.3 dB
(79) Freq. : 12500 Hz M : 1.6 dB L : 1.8 dB R : 1.4 dB
(80) Freq. : 12750 Hz M : -1.0 dB L : -0.5 dB R : -1.6 dB
(81) Freq. : 13000 Hz M : 0.4 dB L : 0.9 dB R : -0.1 dB
(82) Freq. : 13250 Hz M : -2.4 dB L : -2.3 dB R : -2.4 dB
(83) Freq. : 13500 Hz M : -2.7 dB L : -2.3 dB R : -3.1 dB
(84) Freq. : 13750 Hz M : 0.9 dB L : 0.8 dB R : 1.1 dB
(85) Freq. : 14000 Hz M : 2.7 dB L : 3.0 dB R : 2.3 dB
(86) Freq. : 14250 Hz M : 4.6 dB L : 4.8 dB R : 4.4 dB
(87) Freq. : 14500 Hz M : 1.9 dB L : 2.3 dB R : 1.5 dB
(8 Cool

Freq. : 14750 Hz M : 0.5 dB L : 0.1 dB R : 0.8 dB
(89) Freq. : 15k Hz M : 2.5 dB L : 2.4 dB R : 2.5 dB
(90) Freq. : 15k5 Hz M : 2.8 dB L : 3.5 dB R : 2.2 dB
(91) Freq. : 16k Hz M : -0.6 dB L : -0.1 dB R : -1.0 dB
(92) Freq. : 16k5 Hz M : -1.6 dB L : -1.2 dB R : -2.1 dB
(93) Freq. : 17k Hz M : 0.6 dB L : 1.2 dB R : 0.0 dB
(94) Freq. : 17k5 Hz M : 0.0 dB L : 0.8 dB R : -0.8 dB
(95) Freq. : 18k Hz M : 0.7 dB L : 1.0 dB R : 0.5 dB
(96) Freq. : 18k5 Hz M : 1.1 dB L : 1.3 dB R : 1.0 dB
(97) Freq. : 19k Hz M : -0.6 dB L : 0.2 dB R : -1.3 dB
(9 Cool

Freq. : 19k5 Hz M : 1.2 dB L : 1.3 dB R : 1.1 dB
(99) Freq. : 20k Hz M : 1.5 dB L : 1.6 dB R : 1.4 dB

Compressor Suggestion - Settings

Compressor Band : 1
Start Frequency : 5.3 Hz
End Frequency : 120.9 Hz
Compression M : 0.7 dB
Compression Left : 0.6 dB
Compression Right : 0.8 dB

Compressor Band : 2
Start Frequency : 120.9 Hz
End Frequency : 2000.0 Hz
Compression M : 1.7 dB
Compression Left : 1.5 dB
Compression Right : 1.8 dB

Compressor Band : 3
Start Frequency : 2000.0 Hz
End Frequency : 10081.9 Hz
Compression M : 2.6 dB
Compression Left : 2.3 dB
Compression Right : 2.9 dB

Compressor Band : 4
Start Frequency : 10081.9 Hz
End Frequency : 20000.0 Hz
Compression M : 2.5 dB
Compression Left : 2.2 dB
Compression Right : 2.7 dB

DSP-EQ Results

Fader End Volume L : 00.0 dB
Fader End Volume R : 00.0 dB

DSP-Compressor Results

Compressor band : 1
Start Frequency : 5.3 Hz
End Frequency : 120.9 Hz
Suggestion Mono : 0.7 dB

Suggestion Left : 0.6 dB
Measured Left : -0.6 dB
Differences Left : 0.0 dB
Threshold Left : -3.6 dB
AGC Correct Left : OK.

Suggestion Right : 0.8 dB
Measured Right : -0.8 dB
Differences Right : 0.0 dB
Threshold Right : -3.6 dB
AGC Correct Right : OK.

Compressor band : 2
Start Frequency : 120.9 Hz
End Frequency : 2000.0 Hz
Suggestion Mono : 1.7 dB

Suggestion Left : 1.5 dB
Measured Left : -1.5 dB
Differences Left : 0.0 dB
Threshold Left : -3.9 dB
AGC Correct Left : OK.

Suggestion Right : 1.8 dB
Measured Right : -1.8 dB
Differences Right : 0.0 dB
Threshold Right : -3.9 dB
AGC Correct Right : OK.

Compressor band : 3
Start Frequency : 2000.0 Hz
End Frequency : 10081.9 Hz
Suggestion Mono : 2.6 dB

Suggestion Left : 2.3 dB
Measured Left : -2.3 dB
Differences Left : 0.0 dB
Threshold Left : -5.8 dB
AGC Correct Left : OK.

Suggestion Right : 2.9 dB
Measured Right : -2.9 dB
Differences Right : 0.0 dB
Threshold Right : -5.8 dB
AGC Correct Right : OK.

Compressor band : 4
Start Frequency : 10081.9 Hz
End Frequency : 20000.0 Hz
Suggestion Mono : 2.5 dB

Suggestion Left : 2.2 dB
Measured Left : -2.2 dB
Differences Left : 0.0 dB
Threshold Left : -5.7 dB
AGC Correct Left : OK.

Suggestion Right : 2.7 dB
Measured Right : -2.7 dB
Differences Right : 0.0 dB
Threshold Right : -5.7 dB
AGC Correct Right : OK.

DSP-Compressor AGC Status

All AGC Correct!

Fader End Volume : 0.00 dB
Fader End Balance : 0.00 dB

DSP-Loudness Results

Master End Balance : 0.00 dB
Master End Loudness : 2.32 dB

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Okay, I downloaded AAMS and used it to auto-master...interesting result. It certainly took a lot of the harshness out of the mix, which I didn't even notice until I had this to compare with. I expect you could do a lot more once you learn to tweak it manually instead of using the default reference files.

Play Decay3 by Mundanity

I also found another program in the same vein, but it doesn't have a free trial. Looks pretty good though.

http://www.har-bal.com/

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:15 pm

wow.....it really did the trick.....sounds soooo much better.....
I am sure there is a ton of stuff you could do manually with AAMS but, all i do is use one from the reference library...
I am listening to this as i type.....man it really brought out the vocals....
every instrument has been brought foreward and can hear everything going on...this track is much more enjoyable now.....lol..no offense to your first mix...lmaooo
what reference file did you use for this???
hell,,,,i am gonna listen to this again...
see ya!!

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 19

Okay, one more thing I tried. I liked a lot of what the auto mixing software did, but I also felt in some areas it squashed all the life out of the sound. So I downloaded a spectrograph tool and watched the eq frequencies bounce, wrote down a few areas where it was spiking or dropping a lot, and then went in and cut or boosted EQ as necessary.

I think this ended up achieving what a lot of the auto mixer did while still preserving some of the original sound. I think with some tweaking this approach can work as well...my ears alone were not picking up on the bands that needed to be changed, but the spectrograph made it easy.

Play Decay4 by Mundanity

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:38 am

What is the name of the spectrograph tool???.....
i never thought of that approach... i will have to try this.....since i dont have any bass guitar in my tracks I have to double the guitar track to get a stereo plus depth and bass freq to offset not having said bass guitar......but seeing where the dropouts are i will be able to eq as you did to get that much closer to a fuller sound.....
Thanks

[Rock] Decay - first recording

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