They are nice musically and vocally but do have a flatness about the drums and bass.  I play bass so I listen to it critically.  I am not the engineer for our projects so the other guys will help you there.  I agree with Herb that the bass was loud.  I listened on good headphones and then on good monitors.  Great start, though.

The bass and drums sound flat because they aren't real. They're Studio Instruments (drums) and Sound Center (bass). Not sure how much I can do to make them sound more authentic.

I agree with the others on the mix don't think it was bad its just the bass for me that isn't right - a little to high and no one has mentioned it but I wonder if you really play the right notes on the bass in the first song - it sounds like big terse where it should be a small one etc. The last song is really good and a little calmer. Play and mix on Chadtindale

Mike, I did want to ask you. Do you really think I was wrong to master/limit these? I've always been told that it's the final step in any mix. And from what I've read it's the best way to make the song sound like it's together. And to me, it worked in that regards. I always have a hard time making the vocals sound like they fit into a mix. They always come out sounding like someone's singing it karaoke. But after compressing and limiting it all just sits together. Am I solving a a tweezer problem with mallet? If I still wanted to compress/limit the tracks, would I be ok doing so with less compression? I really do want to weigh the pros/cons of the final mastering I did. I know for certain that I'm not good at it. But I want to be.

Hi Chad,
 How about trying to limit the tracks again but this time just limit the very peaks.

 That means you'll have to set the threshold differently for each song and as I mentioned you can set the threshold much higher.

 Last Christmas barely needs any limiting, the majority of the entire track is limited and peaking steadily at -6dBFS and the end is a bit louder with sections peaking up to -4dBFS occasionally.

 At a 20:1 ratio I'd guess that setting the threshold to -6dB and using 5dB of make up gain would be a place to start listening.

 What you'll find is that this particular song already has a rather significant averaged -18.4dB RMS power,  and if you add 5dB of make up gain to it the mix will get thicker and perhaps muddy. 

 I think that if you wish to use a final stage to "glue" stuff together than you have to mix with less compression and limiting.

 But I also think that you can mix to a final output and skip all but light polishing in the master phase.

 I think the most compelling reason to "master" digital files these days is to have a second set of ears listen and make adjustments. If you have another person do your mastering they will generally ask for a lighter and lower level mix so that they may have more flexibility while doing their thing.

 The part where you turn it up and limit it is fairly easy... figuring out which frequencies bunch up and get muddy when you do it takes some practice. The more you figure that out the more likely you'll just predict it when you mix.

 If you are doing it all your self it seems fine to just mix to a final output target and be done with it.

 With regards to this mix... it sounds bass heavy. The bass tones sound great but they are balanced much louder than the other instruments.

 I think this sense of bass heavy balance contributes to the way the song does unexpected things after it was compressed or played on your in laws computer.

 I like big strong bass... but it seems a bit pronounced.

 If I liked the mix as it is, which I do... I might just set a limiter at -4dBFS and turn it up 3dB and call it done. Basically just turn it up with out actually limiting anything.

 If you really want to glue the vocals in with a final pass... go back to the mix and turn down the bass, beef up the rhythm guitar with some low end eq, beef up the lead vocal with some low end and a bit more reverb, raise the levels of the back ground vocals, and then go limit it all together.

 Then listen to your mastered mix and go back and tweak it from the mix if you feel an urge.

 I like the song and would try those very minor tweaks I mentioned and I would not wait for limiting to bring the balance together.

 

 You are so close... it's hard to give advice because it seems that you surely have a vision for what you want... so I am just trying to encourage you to grab the parts that help you get there.


 all the best,
mike

Well thank you for your help. I'm certainly learning. This whole project was less about producing something rather than learning how to do it. I'm convinced that my speakers aren't good enough for me to trust my own mix. After doing all this I got a graphic eq which did show me that the bass was rather high. something I probably would've tried to correct had I had it earlier.

Hi Chad,

 I sincerely believe that experience and time in the saddle is the easiest, and actually the only, way to get where you want to go.

 I encourage you to just keep at it.

 It may be revelation to someday realize that you are probably your own harshest critic. 

 I think you are doing great... the songs are strong and it's pretty obvious that you are thinking about your mixes and doing a darn good job.

 Just keep at it and you'll get to where you want to be.

 Good luck with it!


 best regards,
mike