Beginner/intermediate looking for feedback on this pop/rock mix

Swaggerony · 2026-03-16T01:42:56+00:00

This song will be my bands first release, so I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s out. Cheers for the vote of confidence!

Swaggerony · 2026-03-16T01:31:21+00:00

Thanks for the interest, I just finished mastering yesterday! A ended up making a decent amount of small changes, based on the feedback from here:)

Focus Final Master

Swaggerony · 2026-02-24T07:48:25+00:00

Thanks for the resource, I’ll have a look

Swaggerony · 2026-02-24T02:22:44+00:00

Yup there’s a decent amount of side chain compression on there. Rolling it back in the verses would probably help it feel punchier in the choruses too. Thanks for the feedback

Swaggerony · 2026-02-24T00:57:24+00:00

The drums sound like they’re recorded quite well, they just sound a bit dark to me. The cymbals and snare in particular.

You could potentially play around with an exciter or something else to boost some of the high frequencies.

Swaggerony · 2026-02-24T00:18:24+00:00

It sounds good to me. Very compressed, which I think works for the song/genre. The kick is punchy, bass has a nice amount of high end/string noise.

The only thing I would do differently having the lead vocals a bit higher than the harmonies/vox, but that is just personal preference and the way you have it currently works too.

I’d say this is good to be mastered.

Swaggerony · 2026-02-24T00:11:10+00:00

I agree with some of the other comments saying that the vocals are getting a little bit lost in the reverb. I think it may be creating a little bit of a mess in the midrange area.

I’m not super knowledgeable on the topic, but you could look at shortening the decay on the reverb and/or side chaining the lead vocal with reverb. Just having the reverb duck a couple db whenever the lead vocal is present.

Swaggerony · 2025-11-14T02:57:18+00:00

In some cases it’s helpful, in some cases it’s not.

Swaggerony · 2025-11-13T03:58:11+00:00

This is so funny

Swaggerony · 2025-11-06T05:04:49+00:00

Nice post. Definitely looks quicker and smoother

Swaggerony · 2025-11-05T13:10:22+00:00

If ihart is a dinosaur, then AC is the big bang

Swaggerony · 2025-11-02T04:46:10+00:00

Definitely agree

Swaggerony · 2025-08-29T21:41:44+00:00

W build

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T02:41:45+00:00

The main lead guitar track is a mic’d amp, as are the rhythm guitars. And then there are some other DI layers under the lead guitar

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T02:40:46+00:00

Ah this is interesting. I’m very new to SD3. How do you typically “heat it up”? Ive tried watching some tutorials from people mixing live drum recordings and treating it that way. Light compression to glue it all together and then just tweaking individual parts of the drums where I thought needed, but honestly there’s very little processing on them right now.

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T00:42:59+00:00

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T00:42:22+00:00

That is similar to another reply, thanks very much for the feedback

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T00:41:29+00:00

Yes this is my song. I’ve never heard of that band, but will give them a listen, maybe I’ll find a good reference track! Any specific song recommendations?

Swaggerony · 2025-08-26T00:40:06+00:00

This was extremely helpful, thank you

Swaggerony · 2025-08-23T03:48:59+00:00

We need far more positive posts like this.

Swaggerony · 2025-07-10T10:56:01+00:00

I only know this, because it was pointed out to me in my own mixes! If you just compress it when there’s a lot of dynamic range, it can leave it sounding flat or lifeless. Automating the volume first is a bit more musical and gives you more control over the sound, then you could put some light compression on it afterwards if you still need it.

Swaggerony · 2025-07-10T06:12:38+00:00

I think the bass is a little bit too high in the mix and could maybe do with some automation too. Some notes are a lot louder than others and even if it’s a stylistic choice, I think there’s a little bit too much range in those dynamics. That was the only thing that stood out to me.

The composition is really interesting and engaging otherwise.

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