Expert opinion on mix needed!

[Marcello]

hi guys!

i really need an opinion from some expert on my mix cause I’m mixing at home with headphones on my own and I don’t have external feedbacks on my work.

I’m quite a newbie and this is my song that I did with programmed drums and guitars amp sims. 
I then used LANDR AI automatic mastering platform online, you just drop your song and comes out the mastered version, I used a reference track from Mogwai since I play post rock stuff.

do you think the mix version is better than the master? Someone from a forum told me this, the master is too compressed and too much in you face, also the drums disappear in the master. He also claims that is confusing and I should EQ more to make space for different instrument frequencies.

also around minute 4, the instruments are a bit out of time.

what do you think? Is he right? Do you confirm all these things?

I don’t pretend to have a professional mix cause I’m doing everything at home, but I just want it good enough.

 

Mastered

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IZN1eH2jW2s5eJMiFKTG7XLs0AShSLdN/view?usp=sharing

MIX only

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12l7wh6Nrken01P-DP8AdZ-PzrxO_Yn2p/view?usp=sharing

[jack c.]

i mix with external monitors and for some final touch ups use headphones.too many busy drums.i like sounds within song.guitar around 349 sounds distorted.

[Marcello]

3 hours ago, jack c. said:

i mix with external monitors and for some final touch ups use headphones.too many busy drums.i like sounds within song.guitar around 349 sounds distorted.

What do you mean with too many busy drums? Drums are fine, probably the genre is not your cup of tea?

The drums sounds to me is the one I'm most satisfied with, I'm not sure about the guitars, if in the master are too compressed? once you drop the mix in LANDR the algorithm applies some AI EQ, I used a reference track from Mogwai, so I think LANDR tried to apply the same EQ, but maybe in doing that it compressed the guitars? are they too harsh? 

The one at 349 is a guitar with big muff pedal, is supposed to be like that, again not sure if you are confident with the genre.

[Jesse Screed]

Hey, this is hotter than the surface of the sun.

I dig the concept, 1:20 is nice, and yes it stays good, kind of zeppy/yessey

For me, back off

in other words

if you like it that is all that matters

 

[Marcello]

Just now, Jesse Screed said:

Hey, this is hotter than the surface of the sun.

I dig the concept, 1:20 is nice, and yes it stays good, kind of zeppy/yessey

For me, back off

in other words

if you like it that is all that matters

 

Are you using the youlean meter?

Speaking about the mix or the mastered version?

Because the mix should be at -6db to leave room for the master. 
The master should not go over 0 dbs, as far as I can see from the meter the master doesn’t go over that, I compared it with a song from Mogwai I downloaded in flac and the volume is the same, the meter is pretty much the same.

so can it be that is not clipping but maybe guitars are too harsh? Dunno too much high end maybe or compression?

Are you sure you are not confusing guitar distortion like big muff pedal kinda, with Hot (clipping)?

 

 

[Jesse Screed]

11 hours ago, Marcello said:

Are you using the youlean meter?

Speaking about the mix or the mastered version?

Because the mix should be at -6db to leave room for the master. 
The master should not go over 0 dbs, as far as I can see from the meter the master doesn’t go over that, I compared it with a song from Mogwai I downloaded in flac and the volume is the same, the meter is pretty much the same.

so can it be that is not clipping but maybe guitars are too harsh? Dunno too much high end maybe or compression?

Are you sure you are not confusing guitar distortion like big muff pedal kinda, with Hot (clipping)?

 

 

Well, first off, I probably shouldn't have expressed an opinion.  You said you wanted expert opinions and I AM NO EXPERT. 

I did not load this into a daw and fire up the meters or the wave profile, so I don't know what it looks likes.  I could have given a more informed opinion if I had, and I apologize for not doing that.

I just went by my ears, and my laptop speakers.  I can say that it did not transfer over well to my laptop speakers.

For me, the one way I can tell a good mix and master is how it sounds at various volume levels.  If it sounds good at low volume, and I turn it up incrementally, and it still sound good, and not harsh, or fatiguing, then to me it is a good mix and master.  That's just my non expert method of deciding.  This song had me pulling the volume down immediately.

The concept, the arrangement, and the musicianship are very good. 

So yes, I was probably confused.  If you ask anyone on this forum they will tell you that I am often easily confused.

 

[jack c.]

On 5/22/2021 at 12:35 PM, Marcello said:

What do you mean with too many busy drums? Drums are fine, probably the genre is not your cup of tea?

this is a place for all of us to learn/grown try not to take comments to personal.way to many fills all over the place.i've been playing/recording/arranging  since the beatles came about which is me major forte.i have relative pitch,self taught i can't read/write music.i play guitar left handed and bass,and keyboards.just some insight for all.i'm not here to put-down cut anyone up in any way,as manyyyyyyyyyyyy others through years have helped me i desire to extend me magical ears and thoughts.jack c.

[Marcello]

1 hour ago, jack c. said:

this is a place for all of us to learn/grown try not to take comments to personal.way to many fills all over the place.i've been playing/recording/arranging  since the beatles came about which is me major forte.i have relative pitch,self taught i can't read/write music.i play guitar left handed and bass,and keyboards.just some insight for all.i'm not here to put-down cut anyone up in any way,as manyyyyyyyyyyyy others through years have helped me i desire to extend me magical ears and thoughts.jack c.

yea fair enough fine but I know what I'm doing I grew up with chaotic hardcore music and this stuff is ok, I wasn't expecting an opinion on the composition I was more asking about the mix itself and the sound.

[Wookiee]

You are right in thinking that you can seek advice here, but many people have offered you good advice, not necessarily me, which you appear to me to be ignoring. 

Sorry but try not using LANDR getting some tools as I suggested in another post that are available for free. Also watch iZotopes series of videos on mastering on their site or YouTube. 

[Marcello]

19 minutes ago, Wookiee said:

You are right in thinking that you can seek advice here, but many people have offered you good advice, not necessarily me, which you appear to me to be ignoring. 

Sorry but try not using LANDR getting some tools as I suggested in another post that are available for free. Also watch iZotopes series of videos on mastering on their site or YouTube. 

Not ignoring but to be honest I was expecting LANDR to work decently, probably it doesn't work properly because my mix is not good enough, you have to feed him with a good mix in order to work.

I think that I still didn't learn mixing so Mastering would probably be next level up, so maybe I will try to ask help from a friend who has a recording studio.

[Wookiee]

As the saying goes you can not polish a turd. Unless a track is mixed properly no amount of mastering will make it right. 

People make the major mistake that mastering is there to fix a bad mix.

Wrong. 

Mastering is the process pursued to prepare the track for its final destination. 

Look on YouTube for mixing videos there's a plethora on there.