Serious Help With Mixing

[NocturnalBurial]

Hey guys. I have read a lot of post about using your ears to find the good sound but where should I even begin. I have always dreamed about being a music producer and I know thats what I want to do as a career. I wrote to songs and posted them on youtube for some help with the mixes. I know that there is no "straight foward" method on mixing because every recording is different. I just need some personal tips on what I need to definetly do on these tracks. Imagine these songs were your songs and you were going to mix them. What would you do to them? Turn down the mids? kick drum is to loud? Add a compressor to the guitar? Side chain the kick and guitar? I really need some help because I am a noob at all of this and I am really trying to learn. When I listen to these songs with headphones on, they sound great but then if i listen to then on speakers or at low volume they sound like shit. Please help guys. Any advice on what i should DEFINETLY do would be greatly appreciated so I can learn more. Thank you for the help in advance! Here is the link to my songs

www.youtube.com/user/nocturnalburialband

 

[-Noodles-]

When I listen to these songs with headphones on, they sound great but then if i listen to then on speakers or at low volume they sound like shit.

Maybe mix on speakers and at a much lower volume?

 

[chacka]

Hi there,

This could make your mixes 200% better:
First, take everything off the master inserts. It doesn't sound good right now because this stuff is pumping like crazy in a bad way. Make sure that it sounds GOOD before adding anything to the master inserts which should not happen too early as you should fight more important problems than loudness at this stage of your skills. This is why it sounds poor when you turn the volume down. A good mix sounds good at low volumes, too. Volume masks poor sound to some content.

Second, learn mixing with a song or two that you like as a reference inside your project. Then start asking yourself questions. Do I like my mix? No? Why? And now start to become specific which is to learn to listen discerningly. Compare to your reference track. Is my kick loud enough or is it too low? Change the level. How does the kick sound in comparisson to the reference track? Not enough click? Find the frequencies for the click and boost some.
Do that with all your instruments and try your best to come as close to your reference as possible.
Check levels first and last. This means after changing any eq or what not: Check the level of the track you just changed and adjust it. Always.
Work hard and good luck!

 

[Virgil.]

Maybe mix on speakers and at a much lower volume?

This.

I always start a mix on my monitors, but since my room is untreated, there are a lot of nasty frequency buildups that fatigue my ears and make me THINK my mix is good, but it's generally not. So after I start mixing on my monitors, I will switch back and forth between 3 different sets of headphones, as well as my laptop speakers just to reference the mix. The laptop speakers are thin, so it helps me hear everything flat. My different pairs of headphones all have different EQ, so it helps me hear if there is too much bass buildup, nasty mid frequency buildups, etc. The point is, reference on more than whatever speakers you're currently using. Switch back and forth between different things to reference and then make adjustments as necessary.

Another tip I can give is reference your favorite albums. Have a song you love the production and sound of already loaded up in itunes or something. Switch back and forth between your mix and the song you like. Try and mimic how things are panned, or how things are EQ'd, etc. Does that make sense?

Don't give up. Have patience. Mixing is as much of an art as writing music.