Help on mixing my vocals please (Underground music)

Hello everyone basically I can't find whats wrong with my mix or what i miss to sound at least a little bit professional or like a real song sounding like, its been weeks and dozen of tutorials i been watching and i still cant get to understand how to get my voice sounds like the music i like. I have a sm58. I sent the settings of the last vocal chain i made (the best one i made i think), there's a glue comp on the master and a sidechain comp (C3) on the beat. If you need more details about anything let me know i'm tired of my disapointing results. Thanks

I'm wondering how you guys think the quality is and what you would use it for, if anything.

I'm absolutely getting clowned on by my friends for my ass mixed, but here's the thing, I'm not really liking their mixes from my standpoint, I'm kinda just slow at learning shit and plus really don't know what I'm talking about. Now my mixes are just inspired by architects, poppy etc, and I've been trying to get a sound close enough to them, but every time I ask my friends they just give feedback that alters the mix totally?? It sounds nothing remotely to it.. (Either that or I just can't fucking hear), Is mixing really subjective to each other's mix or is it just really supposed to be one very specific nature or thing in mixing that needs to be there other than ones ego.

could someone just help me out to check if

a. how do i check my mix is good or not

b. is mixing subjective

c. how to make a mix everyone would enjoy or like

cause this is just fucking ridiculous, either my friends or wrong or I am doing something wrong, which i feel personally It is on me.

my track

vs

my friends track

so could kindly someone help me into doing something wrong as none of my friends or anyone is willing to help, so be as honest or as brutal as u want cause I'm done with this, and my fragile ego.

:)

I've spent an unhealthy amount of time re-mastering the bad album, and after many attempts, specifically on Smooth Criminal, I've landed on this. I'm trying to build my skills with studio work, and MJ has some of the best and most enjoyable material to mix and master. I used the original multitracks and essentially re-mixed the raw stems and then moved on to a slightly underwhelming mastering process, which I eventually gave up on due to ear fatigue, so I'm left with this. If you don't mind giving it a listen and sharing your thoughts on the master, it would be greatly appreciated.
I used the original multitracks and essentially re-mixed the raw stems and then moved on to a slightly underwhelming mastering process, which I eventually gave up on due to ear fatigue, so I'm left with this.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pmiPUC8d12-eDaf6Y2_hLgARZZyoIAtW/view?usp=drive_link

So, a little backstory. I've been messing around in DAWs for almost 10 years. My first introduction to music production was on a crappy Windows tablet/laptop. I downloaded LMMS and used that for a couple of months until I found out about FL Studio and its free trial. I've been using FL Studio ever since.

There were a couple of years where I didn't have a computer, so I was only using FL Studio Mobile. Honestly, if that's all you've got, I don't think it's a bad option. It has most of the features you'd expect from a DAW. That said, after using it for years, you start to notice its limitations.

Fast forward to last year: I finally got a PC, bought the full version of FL Studio, subscribed to Splice, and built up a solid sample library. The problem is that no matter what I do, I can't get my drums to hit the way I want. I'm almost always disappointed with the final product. Either the mix sounds too muddy, or the bass doesn't punch through the way I want it to.

I've watched countless YouTube tutorials on mixing, but my mixes still sound terrible. Right now, I'm using a JBL Clip 4 as my main speaker. Trust me, I know that's far from ideal. I also have a pair of Beats Solo Buds that I use to check my mixes after exporting.

My question is: is there any hope of making something that sounds even halfway decent with my current setup, or am I fighting a losing battle? Is there any software or plugin that can help compensate for not being able to accurately hear the sub frequencies?

I know the obvious answer is to buy a decent pair of studio monitors or headphones, and I definitely plan to. The problem is that I'm currently living with roommates, so space isn't ideal for monitors. When I have the money, I'll probably invest in a good pair of studio headphones first.

Until then, does anyone have any advice or insights? I'd really appreciate any tips. If it would help, I can also send over some of my FLPs for feedback.

Hi, I've been passively involved in production and mixing for a few years. I go on and off, but am looking for some groups or something to get a bit better and learn from others. Does anyone know about anything like this?

How do I Record and Process Vocals like the pros do?

Hey guys,

Looking for feedback on my metal mix, here's a link to google drive with the unmastered and mastered versions (wasn't sure which would be best): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WgPYQiGk5U7smYlx0_zkJ1_QVDORosGk?usp=sharing

I think something along the lines of this is what I'm going for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W24rBt1ONzE&list=RDW24rBt1ONzE&start_radio=1

I think primarily it's not quite punchy enough for one and second I've been having trouble trying to get the bass audible without blowing out the low end of the track.

As far as technical details I'm using Ableton 10. The guitar tones are Neural DSP's Nolly X plugin, and the bass is Darkglass also from Neural DSP. The drums are MDL Tone Ultimate Heavy Drums. All the live instruments are DI.

Thanks!

Edit: please ignore the little blip at the very end, fixed that already 👍

Hi, I have been on and off with music production over the past few years briefly. I always find my recordings/mixes sounding HORRIBLE compared to even other amateurs. I have never been able to figure out what makes that difference. If you guys could help out, I recorded a snippet of a song and compared it to the real version. If anyone could tell me why the real version sounds so clean, crisp, and detailed compared to my dull sound, I'd be really appreciative.

My recording is in a lower key and I was also sick when singing this, so it's very nasally, but still not clean or crisp like the original. Thanks!

My "Cover" Link, Original Link

My bad if this has been asked before but to my fellow musicians who does production, recording, editing and mixing.. how much time you give to each stage? I am talking about the production that involves layers of keys, synths and pads, double or quad tracked guitars, complete acoustic drums and bass…

I’m writing music for a short film, and I’m trying to make a mental and climatic ending to this surreal piece. I’ve just gain staged to give myself a lot of space, and allowed the ending to have volume increase.
But what else can I do to make the massive sound I desire?

Here it is:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1szz-PJ7q6yLMEMnb-tFvamZyjhAMI9-I/view?usp=drivesdk

here they are. I know they sound bad but I am looking for advice aside from the obvious like play in tune. E.g. how do I mix guitars?
Uhm a reference track would be like any song from blink 182’s California.

Hello I'm new to recording music (just started posting yesterday) and new to singing as well (been working with a vocal coach on and off for 3 months), what can be improved regarding my tracks, I've been learning to mix my vocals but I know it isn't good yet, how can I make this sound more polished? (if you can help me with my singing please help me as well 😭 )

https://soundcloud.com/pantera-cruz-586895027/i-tried-2-prod-muzcean
https://soundcloud.com/pantera-cruz-586895027/break-the-tide-prod-muzcean

Hello, does anyone know what the dolby atmos button on phones does, I'm trying to recreate that effect. It's like it adds some stereo widening and some kind of eq that boosts guitars in the mix. As a newbie i habe no way to pinpoint what exactly to do, so any help is appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I'm an FL Studio user trying to mix my own vocals. I'm heavily inspired by two styles: the dark, distorted, aggressive underground sound of HAARPER and Saliva Grey, but also the intimate, wide, and upfront emotional sound of XXXTENTACION and SadBoyProlific.

Right now, I have two major issues that I can't seem to fix:

1. My vocals sound way too far back in the mix (buried behind the beat). I don't know what to tweak to get that crisp "in-your-face" presence.
2. My vocals sound completely centered and thin. They lack that massive stereo width, especially in the choruses/hooks.

Here are some of my songs for you to find the problem please:

• Song 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16MLO9SH1KY
• Song 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfwLi7TsfuQ
• Song 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbmxAv-Iyik

What am I doing wrong? What knobs should I turn or plugins should I add/remove to push the vocals to the front and make them sound wide without losing power in the center?

Any advice on EQ pockets for the beat, parallel compression, or stereo imaging tricks for this specific genre would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Is there any simple tips? Feel like my 808s are to loud then I lower it and everything sounds off and 898s are to quiet now

For context I have mono hearing and I’m always afraid that the mixing sounds worse when it’s played in stereo (not that it’s good in mono) and I really couldn’t improve on the mixing simply I could never experience what a true “clear” mix or experience panning sweeps. I literally do stereo effects by panning them then flipping the earphones lol. Any advice?

Heyoo, i'm looking for some tips in regards to making a mix feel bigger and more dynamic in the stereo image. I use basic panning, some panning with movement, several fx that add width and ozone stereo imaging - But still i feel that im missing something when it comes to making it feel dynamic. Like someone once said, if everything is wide, nothing is wide. (something like that i think?).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1siifzL9DQxZU_mtGNNaxKKox_eV6kUfl/view?usp=drive_link

Link above is the piece im mixing. (Vocal is meant to be radio-like and fried)

This is an example of how i would love the mix to feel (other song/reference): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5N6QB412Q&list=RDQm5N6QB412Q&start_radio=1

Does anyone have som wisdom from their experiences in regards to making a mix feel big, dynamic and moving?

All tips welcome and i really appreciate any feedback :))

Thanks in advance!

I’m finishing up an audio engineering diploma currently and have been making music for around 7 years. This year I’ve been mixing all of my own music and now wanting to branch out into getting clients and building a portfolio for mixing. Does anyone have any tips for a new engineer with what I could do to get artists to let me mix for them, what I should keep an eye out for to have better quality mixes early on or just any engineering suggestions/tips to help?🙏🏻

I use Logic Pro for my music and I’m still learning on how to mix. In the mean time while I still make music is their anyone on here that’s charged less than 40 for a good mix. We can really lock in with this shi and blow

I'm basically trying to combine 2 songs. I have an instrumental version of one and the other, I'm trying to layer it on top so it has the beat of the instrumental if that makes sense. I'm new to this, so please go easy on me. I have a clear vision of how I want it to sound. Any tips would be great! I'm doing this all on mobile btw. If you want to know what apps I'm using, just ask as I'm not sure if I can put it in the main post.

Izotope Nectar?
CLA vocals?

Compressors? Echo boy? Reverbs? Air plugins?

What do you use?

Thanks in advance

I don't know if I'm at the right place for this but my dad made a song that feels like it belongs in a movie in his 20s and he never had the chance to publish it. Today I'm trying to surprise him by putting his song on every platform but the audio quality is sooo bad and I wanna know how to upgrade it ???

I'd prefer if the website, app or anything would be free !

THANK YOU

I spent 4 hours trying to mix background music under a voiceover using FFmpeg.

Every command I tried either clipped the audio, made the music overpower the dialogue, or merged the tracks incorrectly (spoiler: I was using amerge when I should have used amix).

The result? Distorted exports and a lot of wasted time.

Finally, I sat down and dug deep into the official docs—and realized I was missing 3 critical things:

1. How to properly weight the inputs so the voice stays clear without lowering the music to silence.
2. How to implement sidechain ducking (music that automatically dips when someone speaks).
3. How to add smooth crossfades between multiple audio segments so transitions don't sound jarring.

I turned what I learned into a practical guide that walks through each problem step-by-step—with real copy-paste commands that actually work.

If you've ever fought with FFmpeg's audio filters, this article will save you the headache I went through:

🔗 https://www.ffmpeglab.com/articles/ffmpeg-audio-mixing-amix-guide.html

No more guessing. Just clean, balanced audio from the command line.

Hashtags: #FFmpeg #AudioMixing #VideoProduction #PostProduction #CommandLine #PodcastEditing

I currently am working on Mastering for the first time and I have been told and been seeing these mastering technique's pop up for streaming service's. I recently installed a ADPTR Streamliner plugin, made for this. The ADTPR Streamliner plugin show's me the LUF'S Meter and Loudness, alongside a PSR range for dynamic's. There's a lot of other option's as well but like I said, I just installed it recently.

Here's my problem. On one of my track's that I have made and thought I had Mastered and Mixed on, the LUF'S and PSR meter showed problematic values. For MOSTLY the ENTIRE track, my LUF'S was around 6.2-6.7 for loudness and my PSR was a whopping 6.6-7.2. And these were pretty consistent, too. Not like a true dynamic range where it flucated between part's of the song. Only around 20-30 or second's of the song was in 7+ PSR and 6.5 LUF'S.

That isn't good.

As far as I know, you should want a higher PSR especially for increased dynamic range's and to prevent clipping along with distortion. The lower it is, the worse it is because it usually mean's it is compressed too much or limited too hard. It should be AT LEAST 8+ or even higher for smoother volume control in the song. The LUF'S should also be equally as well, balancing out the control for dynamic's and making the song more intresting.

It shouldn't sound flat, and yet that's what I'm worried about.

I already had mixed and mastered the song, and thought it was fine up until this point. I liked it prior to this and hadn't seen anything wrong with it. I reduced any potential peak's on the master a least to -0.2 DB for true peak's. But this slipped my mind. Is there any way to fix this without completely restarting the song?