that's cool, the tonal balance is ok, really like this kind of song. i think you could use more reverb, and automation.

Steep high Pass at 35Hz? The snare is abrasive and harsh, too far forward. Maybe a gentle cut between 2-6K, or pull back on snare volume a tad. Sounded plenty loud to me, can't believe that RMS is only -12.

@leonardo lemes thanks! Funny, I've actually used MORE reverb and automation than I usually do. Could you possibly specify which elements/sections you think would benefit from more reverb?

@Tim Weirich cheers! I'll consider reducing some of that 9dB gain at 2.8k. :D Decided to be bold this time.

sorry you aked for brutal :)
I miss a lot of room information, drum have little impact when so dry, the band doesnt interact because they are not in the same room. i think this mainly concerns vocal frist, and then drums.
Many other things are pretty alright this mix, though. like the drumsound in general.

an yeah RMS limbs to -7dB on my meters

@Heck Heck almost brutal enough. ;) Got it, glue. I actually replaced reverb with delay on some vocals because I thought it was clouding up the mix. Maybe I was too bold. There's also a little mid room on the drums but I'll try pushing it a little more.

well well well this is a heavy mix with a lot of elements, i think the structure of the song is clear with some adjustements on the arrangements with holes in the instrumental comping and interventions ( personal taste )

then the bass is wayyy too loud and boomy it takes too much space

the drum parts are not sounding as one instrument and sounds more like programmed unliked parts that doesnt sound as a human drummer would

you need to work on space and levels everything sounds upfront at the same level and dry

i dont know what did you put on the 2 bus but i guess you have to work on the mix so the limiter or maybe izotope chain or else is not destroying the intention you had

the vocals sounds good overall it just needs space and a bit of treatment to get it on the next level :p

thank you for sharing this with us !

Hello, @Mikael Nyblom . Don't let the diamond fool you: I'll be the least experienced mixer in the room, and therefore I simply don't know what moves are needed to achieve better results... but I just wanted to say that I like every element of the song, specially the voices' timbres in that restricted melody and on harmonies, and I think the choice and number of instruments match the mood... but somehow every independent sound/track feels 'thin' all through the song, because one doesn't seem to interact with the others, as if they were 'parallel' lines...I also miss low end throughout the song, but specially in the chorus would help to increase the contrast between parts. I don't know if this makes any sense. I think I'm trying to picture the best potential result I'm able to imagine according to all the material you already have (which is very good, maybe I could have started saying that...). I hope you can finally get that sound and feel that fully satisfies you and your band.

Good luck!👌

@Darth Fader thank you! So once again: glue.

I was waiting for someone to mention the bass. Now you've confirmed it. The problem is that the bass was recorded with 4 quite different sounds, and as I can't re-record it I had to focus on making it as consistent as possible. Do you think the bass is too boomy everywhere?

Mix bus: just a 1.3:1 compressor and a limiter grabbing the very loudest peaks. And them I crushed it with a loudness maximizer. 😆

@Cuantas Vacas much appreciated. My takeaway from your feedback is that I've scooped out too much low mids on some instruments and need to put them back into the mix again. Plus, glueing everything together with more room treatment.

@Mikael Nyblom haha yes the maximizer must have crushed it a bit too much :p

well the bass is less boomy around 2'45 i guess this is another track but still too loud maybe with some reso around 100hz ( i've noticed my room was resonating around this during the eq exercises :p )

during the bass solo it is more clear with more detail on the high mids thats what it is missing on the other bass parts i guess

i think you need a multiband comp to contain this wild horse bass and to have a better balance before the maximizer

and it looks like a smile the eq on the 2bus : very loud bass and high with too much carved mids

Thanks for your feedback everyone! I've managed to make some improvements to the mix based on your feedback. The song will be released on 16 December.

I'll be waiting for it!! You've got a great song here.

@Mikael Nyblom Don't know if this helps but for a long time I struggled with getting the right loudness in my mixes, thinking it was some sort of mastering wizardry. But what I learned (from others) is that loudness comes from the mix itself. Here's what I do, anyhow,. I go to the loudest section of the song, solo the main element, for me it's usually the kick and get -10dB RMS happening on the meters. (I use logic level meter measuring RMS.) Once this is happening then it guarantees you a good level and it also encourages good gain staging. Don't be afraid to boost the waveform of tracks and/or use a gain plugin on the input to get the rest of the tracks working with it. Hope this helps

Forgot to add, when it comes to mastering you don't have to push the maximizer as much and things sound more natural

Hello everyone, just letting you know that the final version has dropped, in case anyone who listened before is interested in how it all came out in the end. More feedback on this version would also be appreciated. For those with an disproportional interest, you can even download a high-res version (wav 48/24) from SoundCloud. :)

👍