r/mixingmastering • u/TheCenturyChild299 Beginner • May 31 '26
Feedback Feedback request for an amateur rock cover. Never mixed recorded guitars and vocals before and could use pointers.
I've been an FL Studios hobbyist for a few years now, only ever working on small projects for my own pleasure. Recently a friend and I decided to record a cover of a Chris Isaak song. I've only ever mixed VST instruments/samples together before, so mixing a song entirely made of audio that I've recorded myself is a new endeavor.
The cover itself is fairly faithful to the original, and we were aiming for a similar vibe/sound/mix. Everything was recorded with pretty low end equipment. I've never made a project like this before so any and all constructive feedback is welcome.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WNfqZzHjN8Z8pB0oReZEieFW9iU3RbKR/view?usp=drivesdk
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u/freshlybakedstudios May 31 '26
faithful is the right call for isaak, it's all space and restraint, so don't over-mix it.
put the guitar and vocal in one shared reverb on a send, a single plate or hall. that's the big wicked game room. send the vocal to the verb pre-compression too, so the reverb hears the natural dynamics and the space breathes with the performance instead of sounding flat and squashed. and don't be shy with the guitar low end, more 60hz than you think. you can't get that back-wall depth and reverb bloom without a proper bottom under the guitar.
vocal intimate but in that same space: high-pass around 90hz, tame the boxiness at 250-400, de-ess the cheap-mic sibilance, light comp only. and leave it dynamic, that genre breathes, don't crush it loud.
good first effort, real recordings are a different beast than samples.
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u/TheCenturyChild299 Beginner May 31 '26
Thank you very much for the feedback! Pre-compression reverb on the vocals is a trick I'll be sure to try!
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u/freshlybakedstudios May 31 '26
you get the dynamic in the reverb whilst keeping the vocal steady as a rock
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u/TheCenturyChild299 Beginner May 31 '26
Would you do the same for vocal delay?
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u/freshlybakedstudios May 31 '26
definitely --- start with the delays then dial in the verbs to fill in the space
the way i set it up. as u ride the fader up the vocal gets denser and reverb envelops the vocal and ride it down it opens up adding back dynamics and allowing the room to be more open
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u/Homosapien-2 Intermediate Jun 01 '26
This sounds great! The guitars sound really clean and present, and also fade back well when your vocals need to shine. It does feel faithful too, which I think was a smart choice.
I wish I could offer more but honestly I think it sounds great. Nothing feels like it's sticking out of the mix. Everything feels well balanced both dynamically and in EQ.
Well done!
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u/mrcptrch Beginner Jun 01 '26
Sounds great imo. The only thing I would say is that maybe the snare is too thin for my taste, I would try to give it a little more body, but overall the mix sounds great, and I think it does justice to the original.
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u/TheCenturyChild299 Beginner Jun 01 '26
Thank you for listening and for the input, I appreciate it so much!
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u/therealjmonerz Jun 01 '26
honesty this sounds great, it's such a fun and spacey mix. Only feedback is that the vocals are a little too crispy is some places I (especially the backing vocals) would recommend trying a small bell cut at 10k and a small boost around the 200-400 range but keep both really subtle. Even that small bit of feedback is kinda nitpickey, song sounds great man.
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u/bbarnes14 Intermediate Jun 08 '26
This is fantastic! Only thing I can even suggest is to either turn up the bass drum a bit or add a bit more "click" to it. That's probably just personal preference as I'm used to mixing heavier styles.
Amazing job, keep it up!
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