Hi!
Really not bad at all for a first go!
Keep on at it, and you'll find yourself improving over time as you practice, learn and gain more confidence. I think it's normal to be caught up in the technical side of things whilst learning and figuring everything out (Am I doing this wrong, etc). After some time you'll find yourself being more instinctive almost without realising it.
My tip for today:
Take a break of a day or so, if you've been working hard at it, ears do get tired. Load up the library mix on one stereo channel in the DAW, and set the level so it peaks around -6db. Do the same with your mix on another fader. Use the solo buttons to switch between them and note down anything you think might need improving in your mix, to try and beat the example mix.
Really listen to each instrument and try to hear what it is adding to the mix both balance and frequency wise.
Listen to the relative volume differences between each element and how they relate to each other. Also try and listen to the overall mix balance as well.
See how you get on. Some of the battle is learning the gear, some of it is training your ears.
It's also worth spending quite some time on the raw balance of the mix, before reaching for plugins. I find this is the point when I really get ideas of how I want to start processing each element, and how I want the final mix to sound (if only I was good enough!).
Not sure if this will help any, but might give you a few useful things to think about maybe?
Keep practicing and keep on posting up mixes. You'll soon figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
Cheers!
Really not bad at all for a first go!
Keep on at it, and you'll find yourself improving over time as you practice, learn and gain more confidence. I think it's normal to be caught up in the technical side of things whilst learning and figuring everything out (Am I doing this wrong, etc). After some time you'll find yourself being more instinctive almost without realising it.
My tip for today:
Take a break of a day or so, if you've been working hard at it, ears do get tired. Load up the library mix on one stereo channel in the DAW, and set the level so it peaks around -6db. Do the same with your mix on another fader. Use the solo buttons to switch between them and note down anything you think might need improving in your mix, to try and beat the example mix.
Really listen to each instrument and try to hear what it is adding to the mix both balance and frequency wise.
Listen to the relative volume differences between each element and how they relate to each other. Also try and listen to the overall mix balance as well.
See how you get on. Some of the battle is learning the gear, some of it is training your ears.
It's also worth spending quite some time on the raw balance of the mix, before reaching for plugins. I find this is the point when I really get ideas of how I want to start processing each element, and how I want the final mix to sound (if only I was good enough!).
Not sure if this will help any, but might give you a few useful things to think about maybe?
Keep practicing and keep on posting up mixes. You'll soon figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
Cheers!
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!