Hell yeah everyone. Thank you all for your advice and thoughts, this is the sort of info I was hoping to hear. I was sort of dreading mixing again, but after reading, I am kinda recharged and looking forward to putting it all back together with a little bit of a roadmap. It also makes me feel less insane that others go through this.

Edit:

So after tackling it again this morning. I have had really great success. I really wanted this stereo bass to work, but muting the fuzz bass really sounded better. So I went in and got rid of a good chunk of the low mids on the fuzz bass and put it back in and it felt better. So I did the same, but not as extreme with the clean bass and wham, they seemed to lay together so much better. So with the drums and bass(es) sounding good, I put the guitars back in and bumped them up some volume wise and it felt night and day. I think the bass was swallowing the guitars before. I also said fuck it and re-recorded the vocals (there were two minor flubs that were "fine" but a good excuse to go in fresh), and just laid them in clean and it sounded good, and added the FX but less crazy and still sounding good. Still work to do, but it sounds 70% better already.

Again, thanks all!

Anybody have experience deploying Netgear Insight-managed wireless access points?

Owen wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:25 am Still work to do, but it sounds 70% better already.

Nice! Yeah, being able to let stuff go is an important hurdle to overcome when mixing. I was collaborating with a synth player on a project and over time realized the synth and rhythmic guitar parts (especially fuzz guitar) almost always competed for the same space. I would compress the drums more, carve out frequencies in this and that.. but would then mute the guitar just to see what happens and voila: it all came together without all the unnecessary junk.

Now why it was always I who had to sacrifice ideas for the greater good is a discussion for another time..

Owen wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:25 am I really wanted this stereo bass to work, but muting the fuzz bass really sounded better.

When I learned it was totally OK to scrap things I'm having trouble with in a mix, just get rid of it instead of struggling with it, my mixes got better. Another thing I will do if I'm spending too much time tweaking plugins and shit is just make a decision, bounce the track with all those decisions made, and totally delete the plugins. Just bake it and move on. I've rarely regretted it.

Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:04 pm Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

I've been using a looper for this, just switched from a Digitech JamMan to a Boss RC-5 to save space on the pedal board. One thing I like about the RC-5 is you can build in a fade in/fade out if you don't have one in the actual track.

tallchris wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:20 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:04 pm Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

I've been using a looper for this, just switched from a Digitech JamMan to a Boss RC-5 to save space on the pedal board. One thing I like about the RC-5 is you can build in a fade in/fade out if you don't have one in the actual track.

So you're able to save things recorded in other places into the looper? I'm thinking things like synth noises, oohs/ahhs, and whatnot.

edit: I'm looking into the Boss jawn. Man, a Usb input on the back of a Boss housing.. there are cool things about living in 2021 sometimes..

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:28 pm

tallchris wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:20 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:04 pm Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

I've been using a looper for this, just switched from a Digitech JamMan to a Boss RC-5 to save space on the pedal board. One thing I like about the RC-5 is you can build in a fade in/fade out if you don't have one in the actual track.

So you're able to save things recorded in other places into the looper? I'm thinking things like synth noises, oohs/ahhs, and whatnot.

edit: I'm looking into the Boss jawn. Man, a Usb input on the back of a Boss housing.. there are cool things about living in 2021 sometimes..

Yep! Either via the USB thing (which I haven't used yet) or just playing them into the looper and recording them that way. The JamMan had an SD card slot that you could use to transfer stuff from computer and then play on the pedal.

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:04 pm Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

What about one of those Zoom H series digital recorders?

Curry Pervert wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 3:01 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 2:04 pm Recommendations for a thing to play back live prerecorded soundscape stuff through an amp? Obviously a laptop or tape deck can and has been used for this many times, but I'm wondering if there's a smarter way of doing this in 2021..

What about one of those Zoom H series digital recorders?

Seems more designed for on the spot recording though I do kinda need that as well..