Hey guys, every time I try to finish and complete a song, everything just sounds a bit off, out of place, or "backwards". I can't pin point exactly what it is but it doesn't sit well when I play it back. Any tips on how to achieve a better overall sound?

Right now I'm thinking it has a lot to do with depth and panning positioning. Any advice on how far/near, left/right certain timbre's and sound frequencies should be?

Is there a "general rule of thumb" that I could follow? i.e. sub's should be mono, bass synths should only pan a certain amount, high frequencies like percussions can sit in the back?

I make trance music so it's been difficult balancing all the different layers together :/

I spent years looking for the "one thing" that was making my tracks sound not-quite-right compared to professional tracks. Eventually I realized it wasn't one thing, it was EVERYTHING.

In other words, what makes professional tracks sound good is having well-chosen sounds that compliment each other, mixed with just the right levels, panned and stereo-processed just right, with saturation and compression applied in the right amounts, carefully EQ'd to sound good and not interfere with each other and to fill the frequency spectrum in the right way, run through just the right reverb and other effects, and then mastered with just the right subtle effects, limiters, and compressors.

I'm still working on half of those but I'm getting close. If you post a track I'd be happy to take a listen too.

Another thing I've learned about professional tracks--whenever I see one I notice they have some kind of effects on EVERY channel, and automation of some sort on almost every channel. I'm not saying you should add those arbitrarily, but be aware that it's that kind of fine-tuning that really makes a difference.

Oh, and general rule of thumb for panning: the higher the frequency, the more you should pan or widen it.

You will eventually realize you might need to be conversing with a professional sound engineer to get close to where you want to be.

Do you think that the producers that do this professionally just capped their learning and just continued to make music?

No, to get the things they want, they had to work with other people who were way better than them.

Some innate ability and observation of working conditions made them more proficient at creating, but they might not of had the technical understanding and knowledge with out having some one sit down with them and talk things through.

I'd suggest you try to find some one who is willing to do that for you.

I recently helped lydian gain a better understanding in just about less than a week for a home work assignment and 50 hours working with a song he's been trying to mix.

I can offer my services given certain parameters that you will have to work under.

PM if this interests you.