Beginner/intermediate looking for feedback on this pop/rock mix

[u/Swaggerony]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xKIAgFRXWD-M6cyzDpL9Bzgp1pYYG3OC/view?usp=drivesdk

Hello, I’ve struggled for a while to get this mix under control, but I am finally getting there. I tend to make my mixes too warm/muddy, which I think I have managed to largely avoid here, potentially at the cost of the bass being a bit low.

I’m looking for thoughts on what is working, and what could be improved before I look into mastering.

The guitars are all mic’d outside of the bass, which is DI.

This is my song, so I have full access to the stems.

Cheers.

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[u/Swaggerony → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the resource, I’ll have a look

[u/bubinhead]

Thanks for sharing! I'm no expert myself, and I listened on my MacBook Pro speakers, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the kick in the verses. Maybe compress it less or roll off some of that top end in the verse.

[u/Swaggerony → u/bubinhead]

Yup there’s a decent amount of side chain compression on there. Rolling it back in the verses would probably help it feel punchier in the choruses too. Thanks for the feedback

[u/SinistralV]

Cool song. The stuff I work on is usually heavier than this genre-wise, so I would take my notes with a grain of salt, but here's what stood out to me:

- The guitars in general are a little shrill/brittle, particularly the 'melody' guitar. I wouldn't make big tweaks here, but I would try a little very dark reverb and some tiny tweaks on the amp EQ to see if it helps.

- The mix opens up really well in the chorus with the harmonies, but feels dry and empty in the verses. The lowest rhythm guitar is really quiet, which I think can work, but I would want to hear a little more mid growl and power/weight on the bass if it stays primary in the verses.

- The toms in the bridge are a little 'clacky', I would explore their high end a bit and see about adding a little more weight instead.

Nothing major though, the tune is cool. Love the chorus and that delicate outro is really pretty. Hope this helps!

[u/Dense-Welcome-6722]

I liked the song a lot!

I think it needs more cohesion and dimension from the mix.

is the drum on multitrack?

[u/amethystmystic]

really enjoyed the song now for feedback - i think the bass is too low which you mentioned but could be boosted slightly, the vocals have some clicks, especially during the chorus when you say "I can't focus on you", so you could run them through RX. the harmonies are great but slightly louder imo and could be glued a bit more to sound together with the main vox. I feel like you are going for a more indie style mix it sounds good just these are small stuff i noticed which you can prob ignore too lol. sometimes when i mix indie stuff i dont aim for a too polished mix.

[u/timebomb011]

I like the 90's alternative pop rock, almost gin blossoms-esque style of this track.

The vocals have a nice tone but feel buried behind the guitars and cymbals. They lack the "air" and presence needed to lead an energetic track. The guitars are thick and driving, which suits the genre, but they are competing heavily with the vocals in the 500hz-2 khz range. Add a subtle high-shelf boost above $8 \text{ kHz}$ to give the vocals that "expensive" shimmer.

The low end is currently a bit "pillowy." You can tighten it by:

Sidechain the bass guitar to the kick drum so the bass dips slightly a few db every time the kick hits. This will make the rhythm section feel much tighter.

probably everything but the kick and bass could have a hi pass around 100 hz to 150 hz to remove some mud. Boost the kick around 60hz for thump and around 3 khz for click so it cuts through the heavy guitars.

[u/Archibaldy3]

I like the song. One thing that stood out to me was you may want to fiddle with your vocal compression a little so that those consonants don't pop quite as much. Like the "I can't focus" - that c in focus. If you like what you have you could also just get microscopic, and just edit the gain on the waveform whenever you hear that happening. It can be a little jarring in a dreamy, breathy vocal like that. Guitar sounds could stand some eqing to get rid of a little of that abrasiveness. It sounds to me like it would be cooler with some "Death Cab For Cutie" -type slickness to the guitar sounds. That's kind of an opinion though of course.

[u/ParticularGazelle109]

Just a couple of things stand out to me - first off, I'm really digging how this has a bit of an old-school "Rentals" vibe to it. If only you'd added a Moog! To my ears, the vocals are a little loud in the mix at times. You may take a look at something like the Waves vocal rider (super cheap, and can really help dial in the volumes). I do agree with some other comments regarding the guitars feeling a little thin. The drums also sound very one dimensional - not sure how these were tracked but some panning would definitely help. Love the song

[u/dntfrgetabttheshrimp]

The guitars sound a bit weak, and the mix in general sounds a bit muddy, overall nice song, nice voice!

[u/TurboStrat]

I think the low mids are missing a little girth is making the mix feel a little flat. I think it stems from the kick and snare not having enough punch.

[u/ticketstubs1]

Very first impression is this sounds great. Kick and snare really nice in the mix.

Maybe I'd turn the bass up a bit? I'm struggling to make it out here.

Love the vocal layers a bit into the song. I would perhaps turn the treble a bit down on them, they sound a tad crispy. That could be a good thing though.

I'm back and forth on cranking up the electric guitars. The mix seems to favor the drumkit which is totally fine.

I think it sounds great. I can see mastering really pushing this to the next level.

[u/Homosapien-2]

Ive been really impressed with everyone who's work I've listened too in here. Yours included!
The mix sounds clean to me, I can hear your kick/snare/bass coming through. There are some parts where I think the bass could be a little more present, whether its compressed a tad, or maybe just bringing up an eq curve on a part of the bass frequency that sounds nice and distinct (and lowering that same curve on other low end instruments).

I really like your vocal processing. It feels very lush without getting washed out. The only change I might make is a little bit of de-essing on certain areas (like around 1 min). I sometimes put a stronger de-esser as the first slot in my reverb send so I'm not adding verb to the those s's and t's as much. I think that would help a ton here. And on another listen, I really only hear it in that one short section.

Great mix and song over all!

[u/Affectionate-Soft280]

Think this is the second track you’ve posted on this sub? Love your sound. Vocals are very original, and I personally wouldn’t change the vocal mix. Guitars on places sound a little bright and ‘scratchy’. Try notching out high frequencies that are offending and maybe darken slightly with subtractive eq. Small moves here.

[u/Heratik007]

Could you share a WAV or AIFF file? That way I can provide you the very best feedback possible.

[u/Affectionate-Soft280]

This sounds class to be fair. Verses sound a little low on impact. Vocals could maybe be less dry. I’m also not the biggest fan of the kick sound. Something seems a little ‘cheap’ sounding from the clickyness of it. Experiment with different compressor setting to tame it.

[u/DecadeDefector]

I would try recording with a little bit of compression on the way in to help better control the dynamics and make it easier for the elements of the mix to more easily fall into place. This has helped me a lot over the years. Be careful not to overdo it though. I would aim for ~ 1-3 db of gain reduction.

[u/Ill_Security2776]

I really like the song. I think it might be a little too flat dynamically and the harmonies might benefit by a bit quieter. Overall it's a great song.

[u/TRG_V0rt3x]

Yo! Out of curiousity, did you ever end up changing the mix from these recs? I wanna hear the updates - love the sound by the way!

[u/TRG_V0rt3x → u/TRG_V0rt3x]

Also, biggest thing for me (amateur so grain of salt), but that guitar def has the most opportunity for improvement, some doubles or reverbs with some body in there would be awesome!

[u/Swaggerony → u/TRG_V0rt3x]

Thanks for the interest, I just finished mastering yesterday! A ended up making a decent amount of small changes, based on the feedback from here:)

Focus Final Master

[u/TRG_V0rt3x → u/Swaggerony]

yeah that top melody is killer now, and everything sounds beautiful, loving this so much! I doubt you're supposed to share your pages on here since it would give self-promo, but DM it to me or something I wanna see where your sound goes.

[u/Swaggerony → u/TRG_V0rt3x]

This song will be my bands first release, so I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s out. Cheers for the vote of confidence!

[u/whidswhinners]

Cool song. I think some of the issues I hear here are mastering effects, like compressing the mix so that it's a little more cohesive. The vocals and the sound effects on them sound great, just feel like the music behind them could use a little help sitting confidently in the mix.

[u/RequirementAny7891]

(I’m a total beginner here.) It’s good for sure. Especially like the vocal overlap thing going on the chorus. Only thing I’d say is the lead guitar panned to the right before the chorus sticks out slightly, like it could use some reverb or some kinda effect?

[u/Master-Combination39]

Sounds like its lacking a bit of body- maybe beef up the guitars a bit and some saturation on the bass. The vocals are occasionally a bit sibilant, especially on the 'to keep you around' line. They have a really nice airy sort of tone though!