I need suggestions how to get better.

Being in web design for a long time, I can see if a web page was created by a noob, even if he was copying something really beautiful. The "noob's problem" is that he "can't see" the important details (only the biggest, the obvious).

Well, as a web designer you would know firstly that if a noob wants to design a website, they can literally have one up and running within an hour without knowing/learning anything about PHP, SQL, CSS, HTML, JS, etc by simply picking a CMS, choosing a pre-designed template and loading up some content, can be done in an afternoon…. because others have already done all that work for them.

As someone who has higher experience, of course you can pick they are using Wix, and a pre-designed template, and minimal actual work invested into it, however they have technically designed a website, so are they now considered a "web designer" in your books?

Apply that same understanding to "music production" which is just a large umbrella term these days. Consider a large successful band/artist. They are not usually writing lyrics, melodies and then designing the whole track/album layout on top of organising all the arrangements, additional production elements, purchasing their own studio, learning all the gear, mixing the project, mastering it, promoting it as one single person. If artists are smart they delegate these tasks to people who have decades of experience to do some of the work and offer valuable input. Those that CAN handle almost all of that will already have decades of experience but usually have someone they work with. You cannot expect to take on all those roles without guidance or collaboration and expect wonders. Even if you have great technical skill, maybe your song writing sucks or maybe you just don't have the ideas that interest others. Maybe you are just missing that input from someone else. May be nothing wrong at all and it's a simple case of too many fish in the sea already and nothing that makes you stand out. I mean, why would someone be interested in your little self produced little tune when they can listen to millions of other highly produced and popular options freely on one of thousands of different platforms?

It's experience, working with others, consuming and listening to all kinds of music and usually just pushing on even when you post a song and it gets 3 likes in 2 years, promotion is also the key. Getting your ideas in front of actual professionals, don't expect much from forums as most professionals out there aren't wasting their time on forums like this. Just be realistic in the idea that likely, no one wants to hear what you make and if making music for yourself is fine, keep at it and one day maybe something will strike a chord with someone else. Otherwise, consider getting an actual degree in an area of production and learning properly.

I see your main worry is about mixing and a lot of technical things you suppose are the “secret” for a working track.

I won’t reel off a lot of terms to just show myself, but I did listen to your track and I will tell you my first impression, hoping that it can maybe be useful:

On the first listening, the sensation was pleasant. Just one thing “jumped” on my ears (immediately): the stereo widening was very prominent. Although it creates a nice “atmosphere”, it is maybe a little “too much”.

The guitar being so reverbered (even here: maybe a little “too much”?) adds to that sensation.

Both things together also could have the effect of “muffling” what you are trying to achieve with the unmasking.

Of course, only my 2 cents ☺️

Frankly those are all things that are up to you and to what you want to achieve.

Personally, I try to already have things the way I want them BEFORE I even think about mixing.

If a reverb is too much, I lower it, I don’t wait for the mixing phase.

The song must already be sounding good, so the mixing will just be a “refinements” thing, not something upsetting the track.

I see the mixing phase as a “let’s ensure things will be pleasant as they were when I thought the track was ready”. And something that will ensure it is not sounding good only on my system, but will translate good also when listened in other ways.

But maybe that’s just me.

About exporting with FXs or adding them later… also this is a matter of what you want. If you think you still want the ability to “drastically” change up things in a second moment, without Fxs could be better. If you try like me to already be sure things are the way you want them before exporting… I would keep all the already done work.

Let’s say I tend to already make a pre-mix while still working on the track before moving to a final mix

Another thing that came to mind: I see you are willing and you try to learn a lot of things from tutorials and what not.

Another approach could be trying to be more “spontaneous”: do things the way you like, use your ears to decide what sounds good to you and where you have to intervene.

Only then, when you already reached a certain result, transform your ears in a more “criticizing” tool. Ask yourself “ok…what didn’t I managed to achieve? Where is it still not satisfying me? What wasn’t I able to realize because I don’t know how to do it? What I still don’t like? What do I find different in the things I consider more professional?”.

Only then you could use all your courses and tutorials to see how to fix those things.

And… let’s not forget one thing: many of the “rules” about how a mixing must be done are related to different ways to work from the one of a “home producer”.

To be more clear: many of the “to equalize a guitar you must do this and that” come from people recording a real guitar, with real microphones of different kinds, in different environments with different acoustic.
The virtual instruments we are often using (like your Electric Sunburst Deluxe) are already equalized, already treated, already effected.

All of this just to say that the “golden rules” of what MUST be done are to take with a grain of salt…

In the end… what matters is if your product sounds how you like it.
YOU are the artist with YOUR artistic vision 😏

When Radiohead came out, many engineers were telling them “it doesn’t sound the way the industry sounds”.
Well… they just answered them “Yes, but it sounds the way WE want it to sound” 😏

Don’t you have “Vote Up” and the other choices?

No. Those are just reactions to what is written.

For Questions type threads, the OP has an “Accepted answer” choice (which can be used also by Mods and Admins) to mark an answer as the correct one (or presumed correct ☺️).

Only that can “push” an answer at the top… and only in questions type