How Can I Improve My Mixing? Loudness, Layering, Etc.

[FlakStar1]

Okay so the microphone that I use is a Rode Nt1-a and mix using Logic Pro X with the Waves bundle. I have received input from others that my vocals are too loud, too flat and need layering. My question is how I do layer vocals more efficiently? I have tried to follow tutorials on Youtube and have had no luck. A lot of times the videos show making two stems, and panning the vocals to the left and right in both stems. When I do that with track, it only makes the vocals louder and could have easily got the same result by moving the db upward on one stem. My other issue is when I try to adjust the volume of the vocals too be less loud, the beat always seems to beat the vocals in terms of volume. My last question is how do I make the vocals less flat? I have tried using all sorts of eq methods that I have followed on Youtube and nothing seems to be working in my favor. I really want to learn how to mix better since I cannot afford to have someone else mix for me. Here is a sample of how I mix my songs:Crazy Preview by Flak Star | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

[Synaptic Machines]

Yeah, I listened to your mix. Vocals are too dominating. What you can try is frequency mix. Look where your kick and snare hit in frequency, and make a little dip at these frequency ranges in the vocals. See what this does. Eventually, you can do that by sidechain, so that these cuts are made only when the hits kick in. IF you do, adjust the attack and release of the compressor you would use so that the effect is seamless.

You could also try to put the whole track through parallel compression or even maximise it to see what you get.

I too had no money for someone to do it for me, so I really dug into it. For 3 months studying this and trying things had become my priority when firing up the home studio. For me, that time spent was a fantastic investment!

As for making your vocals more dynamic, well, the dynamics are given by the singer... But you could apply a few effects, give a high end little sparkle with an exciter or tape saturation for example. You could also multiply the track and shift each instance a few milliseconds to give a "gangstar paradise' effect. Don't do it on all the track length, just pieces here and there to keep it interesting.

You can also play with some words, and place effects just here and there for a short time (beat repeater, dist, chorus, delay, reverb tails etc). I call this sculpting the vocals. It takes time, but it is fun because it is a real creative process. The results can be pretty cool.

Good luck!