Not You: Pop Metal Mix

[jeffd42]

Trying for something a bit Linkin Park meets Kings of Leon...

Stream and 44.1/16 download also at: https://soundcloud.com/jeffd42/we-fell-f...ky-not-you

[Mixmasterwannabe]

HI jeffd42;

Listening through my headphones, these are my thoughts...

The vocals are muffled.

The guitars lack meat, and are too harsh on the ears. Guitar solo is too in your face.

The bass is nice and dirty!

The drums are mixed well as a kit, but sit too far back.
Love the snare sound you have going on.
The symbols are whooshing.

Are you using a multi-band compressor in the main mix bus? I think if you go for a simpler approach, the song will open up and breathe.

In my opinion, peel back some layers of processing.

Thank you for sharing.

[jeffd42]

The vocals are muffled.
The guitars lack meat, and are too harsh on the ears. Guitar solo is too in your face.
The drums are mixed well as a kit, but sit too far back.
The symbols are whooshing.
Are you using a multi-band compressor in the main mix bus?

Thanks, mixmasterwannabe, all very well made points. I've had a bit of a play with the levels and EQ, as you suggested.

Some of the sound on the drums/cymbals is deliberate, there's a UA DBX-160 across that giving the kit a specific attitude.

No multi-band on the 2-bus, but it was fed through Slate's SSL bus compressor clone, and that didn't seem to sit well with this particular song. A few elements were also too dry in the mix, a touch of heavily EQed reverb opened it up.

Updated mix on the original post.

[jeffd42]

Ok; fresh ears, after a few days, and I think I now have the mastering EQ where it needs to be now to match with the commercial references. Appreciate any further feedback on the mix also! Thanks in advance