Bit of blues rock
I think the vocal are too hot and the rest of the mix is too dark.
You seem to have captured nice bit of body and crunch in the snare, I really like the tone. But its so far back in the mix, I kind of strain a bit to feel the energy of it.
If those are real drums, I would consider bringing out the body of the kick by throwing parallel compression on a drum bus, and including any room mics you have in that bus. Also, I’m not getting enough of the beater (try boosting at 2.5-4K) if you have a mic inside the kick. This may change though if you push the drums further forward.
The vocal is too dry in my opinion. But I wouldn’t lengthen verb tails, I’d probably just thicken the blend of a natural room verb, ramp up early reflections, and add imaging effects to it to widen it.
That solo guitar sounds like its being played through a pig nose, an old gibson amp, maybe a silver tone or maestro. It has a really nice sound. I wouldn’t pan it that far right though.
The compression on the piano is way off to the point it distracting. The attack and release settings are digging to where it doesn’t breathe, and the attack/release aren’t timed to the source. This might be a good time to try and use a compressor plugin like a Fairchild or a Vari-Mu (basically anything where the peak reduction circuit is constantly re-biased by a simulated voltage control mechanism that feeds off the source). Or an API 2500 that does the same thing a different way. If you don’t have anything like that, maybe try a multi-band compressor and manage that nice mean honky mid-rangy grit separately from the bright percussive top.
I’m picky about piano, but I’ve mixed over 300 piano dominated recordings over the last seven years. The tradeoff on the those side chain feeding compressors is transparency for glue. Especially for a piano solo like that, you need to think of that solo more like a marimba or xylophone solo and less like a guitar solo. Approach the piano as a chromatic percussing instrument.
Just some ideas.
…and I just thought of something else. Given the style and era of that genre, you could use a vinyl simulator or reel-to-reel saturation to tone shape that piano too. If you have a drive simulator like the Slate VCC, UAD 1073, UAD 610a/b, Waves Helios, or SoundToys Decapitator, those things work great too.
And while I’m writing a damn book here on how to not over compress a piano, I’d highly advise choosing a compressor that gives you the option to unlink the left and right channels and run in multi-mono mode. Most pianos are mic’d to capture the high end of the soundboard with one mic, and the low end with another mic. This is problematic for most stereo compressors ESPECIALLY with pianos. You want to minimize the crosstalk between both sides of the compressor, because peaks on the left side result in gain reduction on the right side.
Simply using a compressor where you can link and unlink isn’t quite enough for me, I want to be able to manually control the wet/dry ratio of the compressors crosstalk.
I never used a compressor on the piano it came like it is .Good luck with the book .
Great advice on piano compression ,I will remember that.
The piano was also just one mono track.
Dude can sing:) . I was wondering if you are mixing these songs yourself and then running by the forum for more tweaking? Unbelievable talent to tap into here. Look at the depth of critique you just got. amazing the detail. "I’d rather be drinkin " too
Paul
Yes I sort keep working on some of them and yes the people on here are amazingly helpful .Its always good to have other ears around and I very much appreciate everyone’s feedback,
Youch. That’s unfortunate. Sorry to hear that.
Does anyone else hear some weird things going on with the phase on that piano? Its almost as if someone put 2 mics on a piano and summed them to mono, but did so incorrectly. That piano is smashed to shit…I don’t know if you could even make a piano sound like WITHOUT a compressor. Oh well man. Gotta work with what they gave U. Right?
Revisions, well basically mixed again
Listening in headphones, so I haven’t got a great reference point here… Cool track with nice natural performances and sounds. I particularly like the snare.
Some things I noticed
- The piano sounds a bit boxy - in need of less 600- 800hz and more brightness up top.
- the ride bell dominates the drum sound too much when it appears - tricky to deal with, but it can be done
- the slide guitar gets swallowed up by the other instruments - it needs more level.
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Done some more revisions
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This one sounds great, lots of improvement. The one thing I’ve heard through all the mixes that I would do a little differently is the position and level on the piano. Jonathan is correct, the piano sounds compressed, in that the level and attack are the same throughout the tune, so it is a touch unnatural. You might consider moving it a little left, and automating it a bit more to feature it when the licks are the main focus, and move it back into the mix when it’s part of the overall rhythm section. This would allow the guitar to grab your ear in the verse, with the piano supporting the vocal with a bit more of a call and response sort of feel.
Other than that, it’s well done, I’m always up for some blues, and if drinking is involved that’s a plus.
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Good news then,cheers for the feedback .
Hi Allan, Yeah, I agree with Bob - big improvement in the latest one - the tones and balances are better here.
The thing that this mix needs is a good dose of automation on all the elements, as it’s the interplay between all of the musicians that makes the production. Best way is to think of it like a conversation, where each “person” gets his or her say…
It’s amazing how you can fool the listener into picking out more detail in the softer parts if you just draw attention to an element for a moment when it has a really cool line that can shine for a second or two.
It somehow makes every element seem louder, even when it is not.
It takes some time to do it, but it’s worth it IMO.
Good stuff!
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Few more revisions
the vocals in your original (very first post) were a bit better to my taste, they were polished, stylish and current. I am guessing they were a bit more dry and compressed.
new one is good as well, it sounds more classic, barstyle blues but has some kind of pitched stereo/ reverb thing going on that is not quite as current for me, keeps the vocals a bit isolated. Though it is still very cool.
The guitar is panned too far left for me, its playing frequencies that are usually better received by the right ear.
I was fine with the instrumental tracks being a bit rugged, makes the vocals shine even better.
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Great improvement from the OP to the last.
I love the song and the singer!
My suggestion is that you need to do some editing on the piano.
Some hits are off (i’ll pinpoint them later) and they hold the song back.
In general the piano is the weak link in the song…
Perhaps you could record it again or I could help you with that since I play keyboards. I’d be glad to do it.
Intro and finale snare needs some editing too. Not very well timed.
Actually in the final revisions it’s not too noticable as the OP. Did you fix it or did I get used to it? 
Piano after guitar solo. 1:51 - 2:02 is a bit obvious.
Yes the piano is problematic in this track .As its not my song I only mixed it I wont bother replacing it but thank you very much for that kind offer and the feedback
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Thank you very much for having another listen and feedback .