Feedback on a song in progress

M

Musicandvibes

New member
Hey y’all, I need feedback on this track, specifically on the verse section with the synth, and general leveling critique. Thankyou
 

Attachments

  • mikebaker - completeset - MIX MASTER.mp3
    7.5 MB
I like it. Very 80's vibe to it, which is great. The vocal phrasing reminds me of 'Light My Fire', by the Doors.

The melodyne or whatever pitch tool you used is a bit obvious at 00:51 - unless that is what you were after.

I focused on the part with the 'synth' and It sounds balanced enough I guess? What are your concerns?

The mix might be a bit low end heavy, but it sounds ok on both headphones and little computer speakers. Stevie Nicks vibe on the vocalist. I really
like the doubled / chorused guitars, and the weird 7th chord. Cool stuff.

Overall, a really good song. Try some high pass filters on the guitars (especially the distorted ones) and keyboards to clean up some of the low end blur. 200Hz and up.
 
thanks for the feedback! On the verse synth my main concern is that it feels out of place in the song, maybe the tone of it could be tweaked a bit. Ah ya you maybe on to something with the low end, I’ll try removing some of the excess and see if that improves it overall.
 
The song is pretty good. I didn't really hear an issue with the synth.

My beef with it would be the "lo fi" vibe. It just sounds like there's no shimmer, no presence. The drums sound flat to me. It sounds too "cassette" to me. Not sure if that is what you were going for, but that's what I hear.
 
To me, the drums don't have the snap that I hear with real drums. It's not necessarily a compression or volume issue. They sound recessed. Cymbal crashes sound dull.

It also seems that there is some overall distortion. Like I said, it's a LoFi vibe.
 
The song could use a bit of an intro. It kind of jumps right it.

The other general thing to occurred to me was everything seemed over compressed. It's like every instrument was trying to be front and center.

I like the vocalist.

Something happens at about :40. The mix tightens up and sounds much better.

The bass is pretty rumbly and the low end it a bit out of control.
 
Hi there,

I like the song, I tend not to give composition advice as there are better people here than me to comment on that.

As far as the mix is concerned there are areas that could be improved. Overall the mix is pretty muddy, you need to tighten up the low end, the levels could do with revisiting, it could do with more width and I'd have a look at (at least) the attack and release settings on whatever compressors you're using especially on the drum bus. There's more but that should be enough to be getting on with for now.

Reference tracks are very useful when mixing, I'd guess you're not using any.
 
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Musicandvibes said:
Would you say the drums sound too compressed or louder than necessary in the mix?
Click to expand...
The song is largely crash-bang-wallup on the drums plus an even loud voice all the way through.
The drums are a bit in your face, but the voice doesn't match them dynamically.
We don't really hear the rest of the instruments till toward the end.
I can't help thinking of how Debbie Harry, might do this one.
Am not knocking it, but these are just my thoughts.
 
Not sure what humanplanet's file is about, or why it is even posted here.

The updated file you have, Musicandvibes, however, is an improvement, less low end smudge.

When you step back and listen to a song as a song, this is a good song. I can hear the instruments clearly. It isn't harsh sounding, has a good melody and
an awesome chorus. The guitar part at 00:42 could easily be dragged into time.
 
HumanPlanet, my comment above was kind of rude. I wasn't sure what the context of the file was, and confused it with the original post. Anyway, my apologies. I try to be more cordial in my old age, but sometimes I slip up. Look forward to your thoughts on this mix.
 
Eric Malone said:
HumanPlanet, my comment above was kind of rude. I wasn't sure what the context of the file was, and confused it with the original post. Anyway, my apologies. I try to be more cordial in my old age, but sometimes I slip up. Look forward to your thoughts on this mix.
Click to expand...

Hi Eric,

Thank you but there was no need to apologise. You were right, a post without explanation is pointless and reading back I didn't explain anything very well or at all.

I will give my more detailed thoughts on the mix soon, hopefully in a cordial manner as I also slip up sometimes (or often if you ask my wife).
 
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Something that needs looking at, listen between 1.18 and 1.30. Noisy (here and in other places).

Also as far as the drums are concerned, other than sorting out the timing, I would look to get the transients back and shorten the kick and snare.

The bass sounds like it could be punchier, personally I'd back the guitars off a bit and make some space for the vocal which I'd want to cut through more.

It's still muddy.
 
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Responding to the updated version:

The guitar in the left feels like it is fighting the vocal. I'd like to hear more vocal on that part of the track (1st verse)

Same for the guitar that comes in on the right. It's like a sausagefest hehe I joke man, I know it's your baby. I respect that. I play bass and have been told to bring it up in the mix because I want to avoid it being 'all about me and my bass (sausagefest)' I still want the track to shine.

Even though the vocals change into...'chorus vocals' it still feels like they stay at the same level. It doesn't come 'up' in the chorus, which I feel like it should. The vocals seem to stay at the same level even with there being 'more' vocals.

Nice solo/bridge

Okay I am at the end. Its a nice track. I'd absolutely take the time to get this right. It's well worth it. I like the texture of it. Lofi as @TalismanRich mentioned. Sure, it is not shiny but that vocal has a nice bit of sheen around it perhaps a nice vocal chain mic or just some nice processing. Everything has that kind of 'sheen'. Maybe a nice common reverb....?

Second listen

The balance right at the start is nice. I'd maybe push the vocal a dB or two but, it's nicer for my ear

I mean, yea, the drums could be pushed a bit. To make them pop. But I am not mad at them where they are haha like I am the authority haha

Yea that guitar on the left really makes me think sausage fest (my term haha)...was it mixed by the guitarist or a guitarist?

The chorus is good. It all comes together nicely. Play that shit man

Yea dude please get this right! Not even for my ear just so you are 100% happy with how it sounds. Especially in mono. If you can get this great in mono I think you'll be golden.

Great work
 
I like it. It sounds good through the big monitors and also through the mixcube, but interestingly, I think it's a touch better through the mixcube. Why? I think it's because the vocal's more present because the big drums are smaller. This is a pop song, after all. A good pop song.

It's really loud, though. Does it need to be that loud? What's the LUFS rating?

Edit: I listened to the first mix.
 
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