Hello there, fellow mixing and mastering engineers. Me and a friend o' mine were mixing a song from scratch. Just for our contentment of who is mixing better in this genre of music. I would love it if y'all can Please give a listen to the mix and let me know what y'all think and which is better. Also, do point out which mix needs improvement and how it can be done, according to you. Thank you so much for your time and suggestions, in advance.

Mix 1:

Mix 2:

 

Last edited: Apr 7, 2022

The first one sounds better to me (Not that the second sounds bad)

Where the second one falters (for me anyway) is the kick isn't sitting right in the mix. The first one sounds more polished.

 

Thank you for replying. Noted about drums. What about the vocals in the mix 1 and mix 2? Which do you think is better sounding?

 

You're welcome.. Vocals huh? I'm always guilty of never bothering to take much notice of the vocals.. but let's see.

The vocals sound fine to me on both, however after listening again I find the 2nd one's acoustic guitar is set much too loud.

 

I'm just a bedroom musician so I'm interested in what the idea of mix 2 was, as both sound great to me

 

Thanks for replying. But, I'm Not sure what you mean by "idea", though. Please elaborate on that.
And I'm glad you like both the mixes. Just outta curiosity, if you were asked to pick one, which one would you and what improvements would you like to hear in the mix?

 

Got it. Thank you so much for your feedback.

 

Second mix is fuller and louder, with more clarity, from the first seconds the difference is obvious. Good work.

 

Can hear the highs much more in 2. The hats are almost non existent in 1.

 

Mix 1 is imho the best.

 

Thank you for replying. SO according to you, mix 2 is not "clear" yet? What do you think must be altered to gain clarity? Thanks again.

 

Thanks for replying. Noted. What about vocals? Which mix has better sounding vocals?

 

Thanks for replying. Might I ask, Which mix has better vocals and low end? Thanks again.

 

I thought on first listening that the idea was to make mix2 wider, create space, bring some instruments up in the mix and make the mix in general a little louder. Maybe I was waaay of on that assumption.

Like I said both sound great to me but If I had to pick one, I say mix 2 - because I like the width - sound has opened up - it may not be quite so silky but for me it's more immersive and sounds great on my speakers, although on my headphones with mix2 the guitars do stand out maybe a little too much, but thats only compared to mix1 - and that may have been the sound you were after. Also when mix2 isn't played straight after mix1 my impression of the guitars when wearing headphones may well be different. Not sure how much all that helps but they are my first impressions.

 

Great points there. Everything counts. Thanks a lot. I'll take a note o' all these. Feel free to listen to these again when you get any free time and in case you come across any more "thoughts" regarding the mix, do let me know here. Thanks again.

 

Mix 1 is more Hindustani standard, though the voice is way too present even for that.

The instrumental is lacking , it's close but it's not right. The vocal is a little too warm for the genre, the high end is about right on both the backing track and the vocal. The lows and mids need a little work a little less instrumental compression might help.

#2 is a throw away, just too much wrong not wasting my time or yours chasing all those goblins.

 

Mix 1 sounds "better", more defined, everything is controlled nicely. The voice needs more control at around 300Hz, particularly when the chorus hit (i assume it's the chorus, idk :D), there's a bit of a buildup between 0:17 and 0:20. That said, i don't like it, mainly because it feels like "vocals+everything else" instead of everything as a whole.

Mix 2 is messy but it has way more movement and it feels more connected, which i think beats definition in this case. The guitars are a bit loud but i kind of like how they fit in the big picture, maybe sidechain compress them a little so they don't get in the way of the vocals? Maybe automate?

Mix 2 wins the cookie imo, however, it does need more control around 100-200Hz. I think it's because the kick has a lot more presence there in comparisson to mix1 and there's also some distortion going on, which are all good things but it may be overdone in this case. Mix 1 sounds waaaay cleaner but it lacks the "thing" mix 2 has, and i really think that has more to do with the approach each one took than technical stuff.

 

Mix 1:
+ loudness
- vocals too loud
- some bass notes boomy

Mix 2:
+ vocals sit better in the mix
+ bass not boomy
but
-- way too loud, IMHO.

I think the HH 'problem' in Mix 1 is gone after lowering the vocs and bringing the whole track up.

 

Thank you so much for replying. I'll def take a note for this.

 

Thank you for replying. I felt the same of "High presence" of vocals. I'm glad you pinted it out. Thanks again.