Please someone tell me why this mix sucks :(?

[Dj Shaw-t]

Please can someone help me out with this mix. It is bugging the life out of me. For some reason I just feel like the mix overall has a lack of energy and I have no idea how to fix this? It's suppose to be an upbeat type of pop/dance track but the energy just simply isnt there.

Let me know what you guys think I can do.

[raggedman]

well...other than that the whole thing sounds like it was squeezed out of a toothpaste tube (is there any actual audio in this piece?) I'd say the simplest fix would be to speed the tempo up.

[lettenmusic]

I agree with the "speed it up" advice. The song really goes nowhere so going faster may help "energize" the song. Add a bass line, change the kick sample for something with a bit more 4K to it, maybe add that standard dance offbeat hat thing in the chorus, add a conga loop somewhere, add an arp loop somewhere, lo-fi the drum loop in the middle break...

..otherwise this song does nothing for me.

[alehoe]

it sucks because you suck

OOOO SNAAAAPPPP

[raggedman]

Originally Posted by alehoe

it sucks because you suck

OOOO SNAAAAPPPP

soooo constructive

[alehoe]

Originally Posted by raggedman

soooo constructive

oh i wasn't trying to be constructive

i didn't even listen to the track

[Dj Shaw-t]

Yeah the arrangement needs work. I agree with adding a congo loop or something and possibly changing the kick. Any mix advice? more compression on the synths, less? anything like that?

[SPatrick]

Listen to your "shaker" sound that comes in at about 00:17, it's way behind the beat and it's dragging the whole thing down. Either quantize it or fix the sample.

[Dj Shaw-t]

Thanks. Think I am going to replace with a hi-hat loop or something. Any mix suggestions or is it just arrangement problems?

[kafka]

None of your instruments have any kind of attack to them. There's just no dynamics at all. Also, all of your lines are very repetitive and predictable.

[Dj Shaw-t]

Thanks for checking it out. Is it over compression? Or is it just sound choice. How do you think I can fix it?

[alehoe]

Originally Posted by Dj Shaw-t

Thanks for checking it out. Is it over compression? Or is it just sound choice. How do you think I can fix it?

use slow comp attack on the drum buss and synths

[buddy]

Choose a better kick sample. Add an offbeat hat in between the kicks and the claps. Bus the kick, clap, and hats, and compress the snot out of that bus. Then speed the whole thing up.

[alehoe]

agreed on the better kick sample

also, you are probably comparing this mix to commercial stuff which has been mastered to be pretty damn loud

limit your mix until it's just as loud as the commercial stuff you're comparing it to if you want to have a fair comparison

[Dj Shaw-t]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback. When I do throw a limiter on with a lot of gain it sucks the life out of the track even more so I do not think that is the problem. I think the synths are lacking some attack as mentioned earlier, not sure how I can achieve this. And I defnitely agree with everyone about a new kick sample and speeding it up a little bit. I will post round 2 soon :). Thanks a lot guys

[alehoe]

if you can you send me the midi so i can remake it and let you know what i did

[Dj Shaw-t]

Yeah I can do that. You have an email I can reach you at? I am going to upload a new version later on today let me know what you guys think

[alehoe]

alehoeatgmaildotcom

[kafka]

Originally Posted by Dj Shaw-t

Thanks for checking it out. Is it over compression? Or is it just sound choice. How do you think I can fix it?

Sound choice. Tweak the attack on your synth to something shorter.

[The Recordingist]

if my more electric mixes sound like this, a little bit empty and not really full, i usually speed up the tempo or add some background sounds like strings, muffled pianos or some hi hat rythms. The hi hat rythms dont have to be a constant ticking but just a rythmic thingy, it usually gives the song more speed, energy, vibe or whatever you can call it.
Combine that with a more powerfull bass kickin in after a while which doesnt just zoom but also does some rythmic stuff and i think the song will start to roll.

i'd try that and also what the rest of the guys say of course

[mranderson1983]

I'm with everyone on this one, speeeed it up!!

Also, if you throw down some basslines it's always worth popping a bit of side chain compression to get that classic dancy pumping sound. Doesn't always work for everything but worth a try.

Hi Hat Grooves and percussion will definitely add some life :D

[musichopper]

Why are your 2 and 4 beats all like lagging 30 ms? LMAO Considering this is clearly all digital it should be quantized lol.

I am sorry. I don't know why but this song is making me laugh very hard here. LMAO There are too many things off time and its just very "soft" sounding

[patrickg]

My 2 cents are

speed it up

dont put that 'ping' on the quarter note backbeat it sounds cheesy, if you wanna use that sound, use it less often, like once per four measures

i guess there's some stuff going on with sixteenth rhythm, but its too quiet and not doing much, I'm just getting this slow four on the floor on the pulse, some hihat can really breathe life into it

that main 'bassline', I would say take out. Mute everything except your drum track and put in some new bass. I think you'll get a lot more space to work with if you take that midrangey stuff out and do a remodel

I don't know if its the pads, the melodies, or just the whole major chord vibe but it sounds like it came from yoshi's island or something.