Feedback on Production Quality

[Lythox]

Song Demo: View attachment Deelbaar.mp3

Hi there guys,

I've been into making music for quite some time by now. Lately however I'm starting to get more and more annoyed with how I can't get my mixes to sound as rich or dynamic as others seem to. Everytime that I get really excited about a song I'm making I let friends hear it and all I get from them is "pretty cool" or "not really my taste", which are rather disappointing to me. I have the feeling my ears are deaf to my own production flaws, so I would like to lend the help of some unbiased ears from here and possibly receive some constructive feedback/tips!

A little information about the song:
It's a mostly EDM and a little bit Metal track. This specific track kind of started out as a joke cuz a friend of me sent some random spoken insults in a whatsapp message and I decided to sample them and make an electronic music thing out of it (I'm usually more into rock but I'm starting to like DnB and the likes). I know the vocals are pretty poor (they are in dutch as well so take them with a grain of salt) as they are poor samples, but I am really aiming to make the rest of the track sound great.

A little information about my (possibly nooby) techniques for production:
- I compress a lot of tracks, especially drums and vocals
- I try to achieve stereo image by either panning tracks of which I have 2 separate samples (I.E. i record the same guitar riff twice), or I use a stereo spreader (spreads different parts of the frequency spectrum to left or right), or sample delay where I delay the sound for the right or left track by a bit.
- I do equalise a lot of tracks but I often find myself making subtle adjustments (think 3db), and more often than I'd like I boost rather than cut as to my ears that usually sounds best, even though I know from what I read that you should usually cut. I do cut low bass from most elements though.
- I prefer to add multiple samples (I.E. 2/3 different snares) and kind of try to blend them into 1 powerful sound.
- After bouncing the song in Logic Pro X I master it with T-Racks CS, the difference between master and initial bounce is usually pretty large.

My biggest problems I seem to have so far is making things fit in the mix. I have the feeling my mixes are too cluttered and there isn't enough room for separation of instruments. However, cutting severely in EQ seems to ruin the sound quality to me and unfortunately I have a knack for loud music, I guess this is my way of making it loud but I'd really prefer to do it more correctly.

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Ripskide]

I actually really enjoy the vibe of the track. It immediately reminded me of a project from the mau5 man. Good work.
As far as mixing goes, here is my advice: 137

1. Vocals/vox effects in the intro sound unmixed. Try a unique way to introduce them into the track. Such as a lowpass filter in, or just a ping pong delay with increasing volume.

2. Add more suspense effects rising up to changes in the song such as the drop, or breakdown. The right placement of effects can go a long way.

3. Around 1:20 you have 2 bass lines that are trying to kill each other. You have one bass line which is more prominent which sounds really skrillexy which I like, however you have a wobble bassline under that that is literally using some of the same exact frequencies. The combat between those basslines also mitigates the effect of the kick drum. Pick one bass line and pick a kick drum, and mix them both at the same time whilst paying attention to which frequencies both sounds are using on the sound spectrum. The recommended mixing procedure with a kick and bass is that the kick should generally sit higher frequency wise than the bass. Kick should be around 100-130hz and the bass should be mixed comfortably sub 100hz. ***A plugin a greatly recommend is Dada Life's Sausage Fattener. It's a great plugin to throw on your drums(and any sound) to bring out the meat.

4. Around 1:40, that guitar sounds 100% louder than anything in the mix. recommend just a volume fader on that one and a teeny bit of glue compression. That guitar is also fighting the kick drum. Remember, the kick drum is arguably one of the most important features in a track.

5. I love the groove of a track dude. My last tip is just to simplify it a lot and really bring out the drums more. I love the feel of your tracks, link me to your sound cloud sometimes man I'd love to follow and see where your producing journey takes you.

 

[Lythox]

I actually really enjoy the vibe of the track. It immediately reminded me of a project from the mau5 man. Good work.
As far as mixing goes, here is my advice: 137

1. Vocals/vox effects in the intro sound unmixed. Try a unique way to introduce them into the track. Such as a lowpass filter in, or just a ping pong delay with increasing volume.

2. Add more suspense effects rising up to changes in the song such as the drop, or breakdown. The right placement of effects can go a long way.

3. Around 1:20 you have 2 bass lines that are trying to kill each other. You have one bass line which is more prominent which sounds really skrillexy which I like, however you have a wobble bassline under that that is literally using some of the same exact frequencies. The combat between those basslines also mitigates the effect of the kick drum. Pick one bass line and pick a kick drum, and mix them both at the same time whilst paying attention to which frequencies both sounds are using on the sound spectrum. The recommended mixing procedure with a kick and bass is that the kick should generally sit higher frequency wise than the bass. Kick should be around 100-130hz and the bass should be mixed comfortably sub 100hz. ***A plugin a greatly recommend is Dada Life's Sausage Fattener. It's a great plugin to throw on your drums(and any sound) to bring out the meat.

4. Around 1:40, that guitar sounds 100% louder than anything in the mix. recommend just a volume fader on that one and a teeny bit of glue compression. That guitar is also fighting the kick drum. Remember, the kick drum is arguably one of the most important features in a track.

5. I love the groove of a track dude. My last tip is just to simplify it a lot and really bring out the drums more. I love the feel of your tracks, link me to your sound cloud sometimes man I'd love to follow and see where your producing journey takes you.

Alright, thanks so much for the detailed advice and the compliments dude! I will get to this as soon as I get home today, I'll be sure to post the results!

My soundcloud is soundcloud.com/lythox
My latest track I've done there is called Eyes and it contains my own singing the mix however probably suffers from these same issues with mostly too much combat for certain frequencies thats why im grateful for your advice with regards to the guitars and the kick/bass frequency ranges, gonna take some good time to set that right this time!