Set Me Free Mixed by Jalil

[Jalil]

Hello everyone! I am new to this website/forum! I think this is a great place to share mixing ideas and stuff and I have no doubt I am in good company with some great mix engineers! Here is my mix of Set Me Free! This song has become a favorite of mine so I hope I did it some justice Mr. Talbot! I hope everyone enjoys! Thanks for allowing me to share my work!
Jalil

[ptalbot]

Hey Jalil! Glad you like the song
You mix is cool, there's some cool elements that I like, in particular the subtle delay on the lead vocal, it sounds good.
A few things that I noted:
- first the reverb on the lead vocal is nice but it is rather bright and emphasizes the sibilance. I think in general your reverb is too bright, I can hear it on the horns too and it sounds a bit too artificial. I'd use a LPF or high shelf cut to make it more natural and not hyped. The vocal might still need some de-essing though.
- the bass is a bit dark and it's also quite low during the stronger sections with the drums (keys solo and guitar solo in particular)
- the toms are very loud during the "set me free" chorus
- the drums are quite dry, the snare in particular, it sounds cool and could work but it's a bit weird when it first hits after the very reverb-ey vocals and horns have set the mood. I'd say either make things more dry in general or make the drums more ambient, I suppose you have to choose a side to achieve some coherence in the tune general ambience.
Still, you're off to a good start. Keep it up!

[Jalil]

Thank you for the critiques Mr. Talbot! I can see what you're saying with the vocal and the snare; I listened back and decided that the snare definitely could use more space in context with the record. Also the horns actually have no reverb at all, but I believe that could also use a bit more tweaking as well. I'll remix and also keep this in mind for your other records.
Thank You again for listening!
Jalil