Mixing before Mastering. Would love your advice!

[Sean Conklin]

Hey mixing gurus,

I'm trying to get the best mix I possibly can before the mastering phase (which I still need to learn how to do). I'm very much a "mix by ear" type of person and still have yet to nail down a lot of the technical aspects of mixing. So for you guys who know what you're doing, what needs to be improved with this mix before it's ready for the mastering phase? Would love critiques and tips!

https://soundcloud.com/sean-conklin/mix-test-non-mastered

*Please feel free to Download it so you can hear the mix better rather than streaming from Soundcloud.*

Thanks so much guys,
Sean

 

[Daybreak]

I would say that the drums is too loud, but during heavy limiting in the mastering phase, usually the transients get knocked down and guitars/more midrangey instruments tend to take up more space. I would suggest seperating the elements of the mix more though, as the whole thing be more smeared together during limiting. The drums isn't just loud, they take up pretty much frequency space, at least to my ears!

 

[Sean Conklin]

Thank you very much for the feedback. Yeah, I would definitely like to achieve more separation with all the instruments. I'll get to work!