Originally Posted By: marty c
.. I listen to each individual track, make adjustments to make it what I like to hear, but when it all comes together
..


You're doing it wrong.

That's like cooking the ingredients before you mix them together to make a cake. You can't refine each instrument to sound it's best like it is a solo instrument then throw them all together. Many beginners make this mistake.

You need to do these things with the other tracks playing, otherwise you have no idea how you are affecting the overall sound of the mixed tracks.

Sure there are occasions when a single track needs attention, but that is not the way to approach mixing.

Example - you may be able to cut the lows on a guitar and never miss them in the mix, yet the bass suddenly has more definition .. but if you solo the guitar you may not like it (as a solo instrument); it's the sum of the parts that counts.
What you need to do does come with practice/experience, but doing it by soloing tracks will take you forever.
There are general rules of thumb that can help.
As mentioned; cutting lows on guitars can clean up a mix quickly.
Adding 2kHz to a bass can give it some presence
Cutting around 300 Hz on vocals often helps with clarity.

Have fun while learning!

Make your sound your own!
.. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome