auberginedreams: Need some vocal mixing advice please

Jots 07.23.20	imo the vocals are mixed fine / just right but additional sets of ear wouldn’t hurt
budgie 07.23.20	have you tried unplugging it and plugging it back in
Beardog 07.23.20	This is just panning issues? because uh idk, just use your ears then. You can also just record your vocals mono if it really bugs you out lol
Bedex 07.23.20	I'm no expert by any measure but if the worry is that vocal panning isn't centred I'd suggest muting every other track and listening to the vocals only to see if the perceived mis-centering persists. At least in the first track in that EP you linked I think some of the confusion might actually come from the other sounds and not the vocals themselves. Because some of the drum sounds have similar/complementary frequency content to the singing, when you pan them left and right close to the voice it may create an illusion that the vocals themselves aren't centred because the brain just interpolates between the two Again I have no idea this is just an uninformed theory
Sharkattack 07.23.20	Fuck vocals just keep it instrumental
auberginedreams 07.26.20	Thanks for listening guys. I think it must be something to do with the panning of the guitars. I also noticed this same issue on a lot of other (professionally recorded) music so maybe my ears are just weird.
Colton 07.26.20	That's an easy fix. If you hear the vocals to one side, just flip your headphones around. If you then hear the vocals on the other side, it's the panning. If the vocals stay the same as you originally heard, then it's in your head.
Sinternet 07.26.20	listening to this and i think the issue is mostly conflicting frequencies and volume issues. the harsh vocals are decently done, but the cleans are kinda poorly recorded, which compression on it's own won't solve. are you familiar with mid/side eqing? try to sculpt out the 150-1500hz range for the vocals in the mid channel (without overdoing it of course, unless for creative purposes eq should be done with smaller notches). but i think the main focus with those songs is just levelling, guitars are way too loud - if you pan an instrument to the side it naturally occupies a different space in the mix and gives it prominence - the perceived volume is much higher and you can turn it down a little. again without overdoing it, I think the different guitar parts could do with some bus compression to glue them together. but generally it's not too bad all things considered, it's fairly stylistically appropriate.
auberginedreams 07.26.20	Oh man I don’t understand a lot of what you said lol but thank you for taking the time to give me some constructive criticism. I’m gonna try and read up on the stuff you mentioned when I have time. I recorded this all on the GarageBand app on my phone, I vaguely remember what a bus is from when I used logic but my laptop crashed so I need to get another one and then I’ll have access to a proper DAW with more options available. In terms of frequencies and stuff I honestly had no idea what I was doing, I just messed around with stuff until I thought it sounded good but I have no idea about the numbers and stuff. Do the vocals sound mostly centered to you or when you say there’s an issue, do you mean like with the audio quality or volume levels?
Jots 07.26.20	it’s emo-esque so just record it in your bathtub
auberginedreams 07.27.20	Maybe I’ll try that next time
conesmoke 07.27.20	Use an akgC414 with the 40hz filter on. Also use a u87, arrange them with the capsules close and horizontal (that way if you tilt up, the mics still get the same level) use a pop filter and maybe compress the u87 so the dynamic range of the performance doesn't unsettle you from your take
conesmoke 07.27.20	Need warmth, boost 250 with a wide q, less nasal, pull out 800Hz to1.2kHz, want some rpesence, try 8kHz HF shelf
conesmoke 07.27.20	Also use EQ on other elements to pull out miss and make a hole for your vocals in the centre of the mix. And make sure there are ample HF on either side of the vocal to 'house' it.
auberginedreams 07.27.20	I don’t know what any of those things mean lol but thanks.
Jots 07.27.20	yeah idk I just record with some random shure mic with a pop filter and diddle the knobs until I think it sounds ok, then double track, then add a bit of reverb, good enough 👌
Jots 07.27.20	what cone is telling you to do probably isn’t feasible unless running a decent DAW like Logic. you might wanna upgrade in that case lol
auberginedreams 07.27.20	Yeah I’m looking at buying a new laptop soon so I’ll get a proper DAW to record the next release. Just started recording a rough demo of a new song last night. I also have a couple old songs from like 2012 in this style that I want to re-record. I took a few music production classes in college but I still feel like a complete novice, a lot of the more technical terminology and stuff is still very over my head but I’ll try to understand it a little better. At least I chose a genre that doesn’t necessarily need perfect production to sound decent haha.
Beardog 07.27.20	Tbh, no genre needs perfect production.
auberginedreams 07.27.20	Then in your opinion does the production/mixing/panning on here sound “good enough”? Just trying to see what other people think because none of my irl friends and family are musicians so everyone just says “wow, sounds just like a song on the radio!” lol