This is a master of a song. I released it on Spotify, etc., and I’m getting negative feedback on the mixing(I did it all myself, all instruments and vocals are myself too). Notably, some people are stating a. The bass drum is too loud. b. Guitars and vocals aren’t clear. c. Sounding muddy/fuzzy.
I’m not sure what to do in general to help it, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I truly thought it sounded fine.
Hello, I would love to give your song a try and then we can compare. The song is bad ass! Great composition.
And also Snare could be a lot louder, fatter and brighter. And than also a nice reverb from the snare sample. Gated plate or something. Non-Lin can also sound great
Hey 🙂
The Feedback you got seems to be correct.
A few things…
1) First check that you’re optimized for compressed Codecs. There are peaks clipping over 0db. If you use a true peak limiter it’s always good to check different Codecs, because even if it’s not clipping as a WAV file it can be when being compressed into mp3 or similar. If you want to play it safe -1db TP ceiling would be better. Or use a Codec preview plugin. Professional Masters also sometimes clip, but it’s always best to check where you can put the ceiling without it impacting the sound.
2) Controlling the upper Midrange would be a good staring point. Often in guitars there are ugly resonances around 3k-6k. Either cutting them narrowly or using something like soothe2 would help. As well as checking clashing between guitars and vocals in the upper Midrange.
3) I also used to cut too much lower Midrange, but this is where the Body of the Music is. Around 400-800hz. If you scoop too much it’ll sound thin. You can add this back in broadly (Q maybe 0.7). Either static or with a dynamic EQ like Nova. Boost till it feels good (or even a tiny bit more) and than make the band dynamic and compress with a med/low Ratio(2:1-4:1), Slow attack (30ms-ish) and a med/fast release (to the Song 100-200ms). This will give you more body and fatten up the transients a bit.
On that note a lot of the smack of the kick is in the 100-200hz range (sometimes also higher) I like to expand that range a bit also with a dynamic EQ.
4) Like stated by Max, the general balance could be better. Maybe also use more Automation.
5) I also think the Guitars and Bass could glue more together. EQing them to become one unit is something I really like in heavier Genres. Sculpting the Guitars Low-End around the Bass and getting them out of each others way in the Midrange is also important.
One trick I also do is have a Dynamic EQ on the Guitars, S/C from the Bass. It’s a low shelf (Q 0.7, 160hz) with a low ratio (1.2:1-1.5:1), med/slow attack (30ms-100ms) and a med/slow release (300ms-1s). Trying to compress around 3-6db, depending on the Song. I often do that before EQing the guitars. That way the guitars go out of the way of the Bass and if the Bass doesn’t play in a section of the Song, the guitars don’t sound super thin. Sometimes I do the same thing with Keys and other Midrange Instruments.
Hello jtaglieri30!
I listened to your mix, and I have to say that the reviews indicated by you in the description have a fair basis. In my opinion, the main weaknesses are the balance of the instruments themselves, as well as frequency conflicts. Here it is difficult to fit the solution into one common advice, but perhaps it is worth carefully reviewing what and how you use for monitoring. This is the most important aspect on the way to good sound in my opinion