The feedback I got on the last thread was awesome and helped so much, so I thought I'd bring another track before you mix geniuses and see what you thought.

 

It's almost perfect, i think it's intentional that drums are down quite a bit, but i think it´s a good job

 

Hey thanks!! I really appreciate that.. between the orchestral drums and the drum kit I had to make a few compromises. Thanks for checking it out, feedback is so helpful!

 

Good job on the arrangement (not my cup of tea but good).
The drums lack the right "power", it's not only a volume question but a sample/eq choice that is not ideal (for me, of course). They also lack a "human feel" to them, they're too much "machine gun" sounding and it can be easily discerned that they've been programmed and not played by a drummer.
The guitars lack "meat" and at the same time are a bit muffled and "distant".
The vox is balanced and well tuned but it could be a little more upfront/in your face.
I can't hear the bass, is it there?
Did you mix the song at really high volume?
Sorry for being critical but I hope this can be helpful for you to make better mixes.

 

Hmm interesting perspectives. I never mix at a loud volume for more than a few seconds or so. The bass is indeed there, it rattles my studio sub and my car speakers pretty nicely, and is pretty audible with my studio sub turned off and only using my monitors, so hmmm, not sure why you can't hear it, that's odd.

The drums turned out how I wanted them to, though, I guess it's a taste thing, I would be interested to hear something you have mixed or would point to as a sound you would prefer. The drums are programmed but are fairly humanized, quantized yes, but velocity and slight millisecond humanizations all throughout the give it more life (though I suppose if you have a super keen ear for drums you can still tell but no shame in programming drums 90% of music nowadays use them).

I do appreciate the feedback, though more specific advice would be useful, I did achieve the guitar tones I was looking for, though again, if there is something you have mixed or something you can point to as a reference of what you desire in guitar tone would be helpful to understand where it is you're coming from.

I'm thankful to not have to "tune" my vocals haha, but do suppose they could be a little more upfront, however it's a thin line between the vocals being upfront and having a strong guitar presence.

Thanks for taking the time to listen and give me some feedback, if you happen to have some more specific critiques that I can put into practice I would love to hear it. I recognize that just about every aspect of the track is not working for you haha, so feel free to point me in the right direction to a reference track or a mix of yours that I can draw understanding from. Cheers!

 

Ok, I'll try to be a little more specific.
No shame in programmed drums (of course) but the samples and the programming leave me with a sense of a bit too sterile/mechanical sound. The decay of cymbals (a problem with most programmed drums) and the combination of the kick/snare sound is where I feel this sensation the most.
The kick and snare have an overall "veiled/boxy" sound (the snare more than the kick) that make them feel (to me) not very full sounding (although the kick is maybe a little bit too loud in certain passages).

About the vocals: for "well tuned" I wanted to say that the singing was well in tune, not well autotuned, sorry for the misunderstanding (english is not my native language).

The guitars sound it's a matter of taste (as with everything): I like the core sound of them but a little more meat (mids/lowmids) and presence would have been better from my perspective.

Now I listened to the track with my monitors and relistened with phones (first listen was on phones at medium/low level) for the bass and I can hear it although it feels a little lost in the mix for most of the time. I guess it's a stylistic choice as in styles like metalcore etc... is not always very easy to clearly hear the bass like in other genres.

I perceive the overall sound of the track as a bit "muffled" but I would correct it at track level and not on the master bus.

I don't have personal mixes in this or similar genres because I'm focused on other music (mainly electronic these days) and I don't have examples similar enough to your song to link but this

is an example (again not my cup of tea) of what I consider a balanced mix in regard to the overall sound, drums sound/eq/"programming"/ and guitar/bass/vocals sound and mixing.

Maybe you could point me to some of you references so I can better understand your style and, accordingly, mix choices.

No offense in anything I say, it's just my point of view and no matter how I try to be objective I'm heavily influenced but my tastes in mixing and sound preferences, so take it for what it is. I only think that with some changes it could sound more "professional" mixed.
Hope this is more helpful than my first post.

 

Last edited: Mar 10, 2022

I really appreciate the thorough response, now that helps a lot more haha. Never thought about the decay of the cymbals creating an unrealistic sound, that's interesting, something I'll definitely keep in mind moving forward. I'll also have to keep in mind what you touched on about the snare and kick sounding "boxy/mechanical" , though, they do (in my ears anyway) match up to most of my reference tracks used for this production, so maybe it's just a stylistic thing I've grown accustomed to?

Ahhh, okay I see, when I thing of tuned in regards to vocals, I immediately think artificially tuned (since so many are these days).

Listening to the reference track you shared, absolutely, yes, that guitar tone is extra meaty in the mids compared to mine, I do like how it sounds too, I have to figure out how to get some of that sound into my tone. Although, again, the reference tracks I used for this production tend to have a less mid range driven tone to them which is probably why my guitar tone has been sculpted the way it has (another stylistic choice I suppose?)

I noticed that the reference track you shared has a lot of electronic elements to it (bass, synths, etc) which I find make a big difference in sound, especially in the bass, ( I do like it though and will have to draw inspiration from it for sure)

Here are a couple of the reference tracks I used for this production, maybe it will shine light on the decisions I made in sound design/selection.

There were a few more I used but this should give you an idea.


Again, thanks so much for taking the time out to listen and provide feedback on my mix it helps tremendously. I don't take anything offensively when it comes to constructive criticism, I crave it. Anything to possibly help me become better is a plus. Cheers!

 

Hi, thanks for your understanding of my words, sometimes it's not easy to make constructive criticism without offending anyone and I'm glad that this is not the case.

I chose that track because I feel that it has a good overall balance, is well mixed and tick the boxes in regard to the various aspects I was talking about. It contains synths/synth (sub) bass elements but for the important parts of the song (in regard to our subject) like from 1:08 to 1:34 or 2:02 to 2:54 or 3:15 to 3:34 it's voice/drums/bass/guitar apart from some subbass synth that is just an occasional layer in some specific parts so I thought that it wouldn't make much difference in the bass department or on the overall sound.

I listened to your reference tracks and here's what I think:

all 3 of the tracks have something in common that yours doesn't have.

-the overall mix is balanced and doesn't feel veiled/muffled.
-the snare sound is not boxy and the kick drum sits better in the mix with a more solid sound. Your kick has more bass/subbass frequency compared to those ones (think 40/80 hz region). They all have different sounding kick/snares but they have these things in common.
The boxyness I was talking about was in regard to the snare that I perceive as boxy and veiled. The kick drum is a bit veiled and too bassy at the same time but not boxy. The Chevelle kick for example is a bit boxy (decay) and edgy (the transients) but not bassy, so even if I don't like it it still sits better in the mix.
-the guitars in all of the tracks have more meat and presence than yours. Overall they're more balanced. The Stone sour one having the less "bite" and distortion but still has more presence and balance compared to yours.
- the vocals are more in your face except the Chevelle one but that track has all the other elements (bass/drums/guitar) more in your face and although is the one I liked less in regard to mixing it however has a balance given by the contrast of the elements that your track lacks.
-the bass, even if different in all tracks, has more definition and I can clearly hear the notes being played in all of the 3 tracks.

All in all 3 very different tracks but it can still be observed that they share a "common ground" that is not present in yours in regard to what I was saying.

The Skillet one has a very good overall mix. I like how the bass has a much good balance between solidness and roundness (different sound in different parts but always very well balanced), the kick has the right punch with the right dose of subbass content in the right parts that make it feel powerful without becoming overpowering and at the same time it doesn't have that bright transients that often ruin (for me) certain kick sounds (The Chevelle one is an example of a kick ruined but a too strong/bright transient and overall eq/recording choice). The snare sound and processing is very good and the cymbals/hats are also very good sounding and balanced and arranged in a way that just feels right.
The drums arrangement is very good and is very well mixed overall. I don't like the female voice but the male one is very good mixed and singed. The guitars are also very well mixed and strike a good balance between bite and warmness.
This is the one I would reference the most if I had to choose one.

In regard to the decay of cymbals: with programmed drums, cymbals, if programmed in a certain way, (crash and chinas when doing repeated hits is where I feel it the most) have an unnatural feel to them that is very perceivable in the decay part of the sound. If you listen to the Stone sour track (for example) you can feel that the repeated hits are natural and don't have that mechanical/machine gun like feeling compared to yours. I know that it's a very different arrangement and sound but I hope that you can understand what I'm trying to say.

This is my opinion and my view that could very well be very different from yours, I sincerely hope that I don't appear judicious and pedant for expressing my point of view. Just my 2 cents

 

Last edited: Mar 14, 2022

double post

 

Thanks so much!! So many people are too quick to just say it sounds great, I'll never get anywhere like that. For you to take the time out and point out all of these things that I couldn't see (as they say, you can't see the forest from the trees) so awesome! With advice and direction like this my mixes are going to be sounding so much better, I just know it. Again, I truly appreciate you! Cheers!!

 

Looking for feedback is an important part of learning. Giving an honest and not necessarily kind opinion is what I would want for me and what I do when someone ask me something. Cheers!