Looking for feedback on my mix

siydock

New member
Hi, I am new to mixing. This is my second try at this mix and would love any feedback/critiques.





Thanks
 
I think that for the most part everything sounds good on its own, however, the separate elements are not mixed together very well.

The vocals are way too up front, they end up drowning out everything else.

They drown everything else out for 2 reasons. 1) They're just too loud. 2)They occupy the same "space" as everything else.

You need each element in its own "space" to avoid clashing.

The vocals also seem like they were just layed on top of the instrumental.

If you had carved some space out of each of the other sounds/layers, then the vocals would fit better in to the mix, instead of sounding like it was just thrown on top.
 
I'll weigh in.

The guitar is in a more present space and with the washy vocal reverb causes things to not sound 'unified.' You want them to sound like they're together in the same room. The guitar effects have some digital artifacts on the fuzz/overdrive/distortion. I like the sustain on the guitar though (not the effect tails at the end, just the sustain on the notes of the clean guitar).

Things to improve:
Lessen the reverb on the vocals or if you really want 'spacey' you're going to have to put the guitar in the same reverb 'space'.
As mentioned above, bring the vocal level down
Send both tracks to a Reverb Send Effect bus to see if you can unify them more.
 
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Vocal has a lot of distortion..im not sure if its intentional? or maybe over compressed? Back off the reverb also and bring the vocal more upfront.
 
I really dig the Mike Ness kicking a can down the street vibe. I agree with Dotwreck when he says it sounds like the vocals are layered on top of the instrumental. However I do disagree about them being too up front. I think the vocals rock, are they the focus of the mix? If not, maybe approach the mix that way.

I wouldn't necessarily lower the volume but I would remove the filter modulation on the vocal. It just doesn't add to the vibe that the vocals establish. Plus if the vocal track you have is good quality It'll make a solid foundation for a mix, because many of us have realized and treat a singer's vocals as an instrument if that's what the song needs.

Sorry if some of the terminology isn't the best but I feel it would give you back some room in your mix.

If the vocals were the focus when you sat down to mix then I would think about what needs to be removed, but I always try to operate with "complexity within simplicity" to help maintain objectivity.

Again the track itself is awesome and definitely has more than some potential in my opinion. Decide the focus and mix "that" song.
 
Your vocals sounds crusty (like sung through an amplifier on a too high volume :)). Maybe thats the style you prefere and you've mixed it that way.
If not, I'd recommend you to record them less loud. I record almost everything at least below -12 db. That way you'll never have too loud peaks (what can be a cause of crustyness). You cannot fix that in the mix.

But if it's your style, thats fine! I just thought I'd share this because this was a problem I had a lot when I was starting. Just remember: it's much easier to make something louder than to make something less loud. Make sure you don't record to loud.

(Sorry for my English and I don't know if crustyness is the right word but 'cracky' vocals sounds like it's bad and thats not what I mean :))
 
Yes all sounds very wet with reverb and distortion.

You need much more of the dry signal in there with less FX drowning it all
 
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