Friend's tune…Flat mix

[dudernut]

I recorded, mixed, and mastered all today. Well, I'm using the term mastering loosely, some EQ and compression on the master bus. The overall mix just sounds flat to me…the more I hear it on smaller speakers, I think the snare drum could afford to come down a bit. Drums are an actual miked kit, I don't like to use samples unless I actually want them to sound synthetic. Just looking for some general suggestions from all you knowledgeable folks to make the mix pop a little more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdeH2MaKTs

 

[dudernut]

Here's the straight MP3 file in case YouTube's built-in compression is altering the sound.

 

[DM60]

Not sure what you mean by flat. The whole style is flat and the mix seems to follow that line.

Based on the whole tune, I didn't hear anything bad in the mix. It was dry, but the way the vocals were delivered, it seemed like the correct choice.

 

[TripleM]

Kind of a cool, quirky song. Vocal sounds very good.

The low end if dominated by the kick. It's pretty loud and the bass kind of lacks a strong low end. Kick is also a little woofy. I liked the rest of the kit.

You could probably turn up the guitars just a little bit.

Little pop at 1:24.

I liked the guitar solo.

 

[JLondon]

The guitars sound right in the middle on top of the vocals. Maybe pan them? I like the vocals but there getting stepped on?

 

[Retrohazard]

I feel the vocals could be slightly louder but the rest of the mix sounds good to me. I think it fits the style well and everything is clear and in it's own space. Vocals are really close too. Not much adjustment needed imo.

 

[dudernut]

Thanks for the responses, everyone…I will work the EQ a bit on the kick to give it more punch and less "woofiness"…maybe making some room for the bass guitar. The guitars are already panned (double tracked acoustic, panned hard right and left), if they're stepping on the vocals, maybe I can notch out some EQ room so they sit nice and on top in the mix….keep the suggestions coming!