Thoughts/help on this mix I'm working on?

guillaume1086

New member
Hey guys,

First off I hope I'm posting this in the right section... I wasn't sure if I should post here or into the "Mix This" forum... anyway don't blame me if I got it wrong! :drunk:

Ok so I'd just like to share with you guys a lil mix I'm working on, I seem to encounter a very commun problem which is "mud" or "muddy mix". I'm fine with this mix as I'm aware I'm just starting out and I can't have it all mastered right away (this is the first artist I recorded other than myself) and there's no big expectations on this project, it's just a friendly collaboration, but still I want to do it the best I can. So even if the mix could stay that way because it is audible I feel like there are a lot of things that could be improved still. Here is a link to the song so you can understand what I'm talking about:

soundcloud.com/guillaumerottier/11-adelaide-to-la/s-WWTG2TPEHrj

It's pretty busy as I have the "producer" role and tend to have a lot of arrangements ideas, so I added violons, xylophone, a lot of backing vocals, etc....... I feel like not every part has got it's place in the mix even if it's still audible, I feel like no part really stands out it's just all a big mess... I really tried to EQ every instruments depending on other ones I EQed before, I used HPF on every tracks that needed it... I used a lot compression, maybe too much? On almost every track. I tried to minimise the use of reverb and maximise the use of distortion... Well I guess that's about it.

I have to say that I wasn't helped in the first place because it was recorded with a (very very) shitty guitar straight into a Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre and my friend is really not a good player (I guess we can say the same about me on drums), and I know that the most important part of a mix is the recording/playing part. So that explains (and reassures me :rolleyes:) maybe a little but it's not all of it.

Soooo what do you guys think? Any thoughts??

I'm not hoping anything from this thread but to maybe find new ways of approaching mixes for next time based on a "finished" exemple. Even if I'd like to improve that one too but I'm not hoping for magical answers :) It's a 12 songs album so this one is just one off of this album. So maybe I can use advices on this for the rest of the album too. What a colossal work!! I didn't realize before... haha!

bye bye
 
the volume level was right, around -6 to 0 seems healthy...so that was consistent and not too loud, not too quiet.

the mix is about the picture of sound and so I dont know what is the art goal vibe you wanted.
does it sound like the Beatles Yesterday recording or Tony Bennet...no.
does it sound like YES and PINK FLOYD? no
does it sound like Metallica, Slipknot, Heavy Metal typical sound? no

so Ramones, Punk, Punk ish...? yes

the drums and guitar and bass seemed to be tight but imo, which is that the vocal distortion thing was ok but the fx was too large, it seemed to push the band to the back ...too far to the back....if you could make the vocal fx smaller and stick it into the Band somehow it might sound more like a typical recording.....but then again...listening to Punk raw type stuff, this sits as is too.
Early Ramones was rough and many other punk bands were even rougher but that was part of the goal....to sound rough, and to NOT SOUND like Journey or some polished sleepy FM radio STYX type glossy stuff.... Punk was high energy, fast tempos, rough recordings, distortion almost a LIVE sound in a garage- small venue sound... so you got that going.
I liked the title and song...
 
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