Also taking suggestions for reference tracks I can use while mixing/mastering.

Good job and a very nice song Daniel! Maybe the bass tone is a bit aggressive in context? Or it's just my taste ) I also think the song could benefit from a little more low end in the final section.

Thanks David! I think that's a good callout on the bass tone. It's an Ibanez Mikro bass that I recently got, and I've noticed that it has a bit of an abrasive sound (at least with my style of bass-playing). I was thinking that maybe it stuck out a little bit considering the smoother tone of everything else going on. I also added some crunch because I was afraid of it getting lost in the mix. I may consider re-recording it with a softer touch or playing around with the amp sim.

Thanks for the note on the outro lowend, too 👍

Updated mix, and my first crack at mastering the track:
https://soundcloud.com/dflosounds/dust-and-atoms-master-1/s-7TjpWdBs1wF?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Again, opinions/critique welcome!

I'm still a bit of a mix noob, but just wanted to to say I like the song!

Great song and mix. I feel the solo part is a bit long and would come back to the lyrics sooner. Also the solo part is a couple of dB too loud for me. And when the vocals come back it should fall a little more. Overall a wonderfull song and just my two cents Dan.

Glad you like it, Melanie!

Thanks for the feedback, Paul. Just to clarify, are you referring to the updated mix, or the original one in the post? I brought the volume of the solo section down a bit for the 2nd version (relative to the sung parts). I can certainly try to bring it down a bit more to see how that feels.

For me I think the arrangement is pretty much locked in at this point, but I can see how it might be a tad long. Believe it or not, that solo section is already around 15 seconds shorter than what I originally had 😅. Sometimes I get carried away with instrumental sections, haha.

Thanks again!

song was fire.

Listened first to the original mix and then the updated, and will comment on the latter.

The first half is incredibly well mixed, and very pleasant to listen to.

When the electric guitars come in things get a bit complicated. The center lead got much better when you lowered it, and it stopped interfering so much with the vocals at the end.

I think there's some interference between the panned electric guitars and the clean (ukulele?). From what I can tell they're both hard panned to the left and right. You could try change the panning a bit to resolve that.

The only thing that really bothers me is the pause in the guitars at 2:30. It feels very clumsy somehow. Not sure, but perhaps you could try to add a healthy amount or delay just there, to smooth it out a bit.

Thanks, Mikael, great feedback.

The ukuleles are panned hard left/right, but the electric guitars (aside from the "lead" in the center) are panned -35 and +35 in the 2nd mix I posted. It's been a challenge making sure everything comes through nicely in that section. I'll try to spend a little more time with the ukes/electric guitar to see if I can make them play nicer together.

Noted on that pause at 2:30. I like the idea of adding something there to help smooth the transition a bit. I'll play with it.

Gave it one more go. Added a subtle phase/delay effect during the break in guitars at 2:30 to help smooth things a bit. Lowered the overall volume of the second half a few dB. I tried to fiddle with the ukulele/guitar panning and EQ in the second half to help with any interference. Not sure how effective I was with that, but I'm pretty happy with everything overall at this point.

https://soundcloud.com/dflosounds/dust-and-atoms-master-2/s-vdYfqhlfe2S?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Again thank you all for the awesome feedback and compliments.

Master2 is very good. Vox sibilance in the second half like @2:50

I know how it goes. It's great how it is, just leave it like it is Dan. I listened to the updated mix.

You pretty much nailed it with the third mix. :)

From a composition viewpoint, you might consider whether the center lead guitar actually adds anything from when the final vocals begin. I'm not sure, but then I haven't heard the track without it. You could try to slowly fade it out from 2:51 to 3:01 or so. Or, if that leaves too much void, just bring it down even more so it's barely audible.

Or just leave it as it is, it's really good enough as it is. :) Really cool track, congrats!

Thanks all, it helped a lot. Here's the version I ended up going with: https://soundcloud.com/dflosounds/dust-and-atoms