[Dana Nielsen]

Joe! Damn, man – burning playing! 🔥 Great song too – thanks for sharing with us here!

My main initial mix observations are:

• EQ: the mix as a whole feels very “narrow”, frequency-wise. Not a whole lotta top, not a whole lotta bottom. Everything’s kinda hangin out in the middle of the frequency spectrum as if I’m hearing it through much smaller speakers than I’m actually listening on. I’ll offer some suggestions below.
• Compression: Everything sounds heavily compressed and I don’t think you need it! The meters on my system show some healthy activity, which tells me your mastering processing isn’t the culprit. I suspect what I’m hearing is some heavy compression on individual tracks or instruments. Trust me – I use compression all the time and love it! But when the settings are off (or when it’s used unnecessarily) the compression “artifacts” can really add up and become audible.

Here are a few things to try and/or check out:

• Try bypassing all your compressors and EQs on the master fader as well as on individual tracks/instruments. Pull all faders down, crank up your speakers nice and loud, and build a very basic mix using the 4 steps outlined in this pdf. Keep your speakers cranked and follow the metering guidelines I lay out. This is always my first step when mixing and allows me to relish in the full-frequency, full dynamic-range of the instruments and vibe out to a mix with zero regard for loudness, mastering, frequency “containment” etc. It’s so much fun working this way. Keep everything really simple (as few plugins as needed, correcting only the most egregious EQ or level issues.
• Feel free to check out this deep-dive on setting compressors by ear for some tips on choosing the best compressor for the job and tips on how I determine the best settings.

Hope this is helpful stuff for ya. Lemme know what you think, and keep us posted on your progress! Really awesome having you here in the community and hearing you SHRED!! ⚡️🎸

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[Joe Robinson]

Thank you SO MUCH Dana, can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to listen and share these resources. This kind of individualized feedback is so incredibly valuable.

I love your Chaos to Clarity PDF!! Seriously, that is really helpful. I tend to get a balance going during overdubs and build from it come mix time, but your method makes a lot more sense. 😅

Excited to dive into your compression video and i’ll circle back when i’ve had a chance to re-work this tune with all this in mind. Take care and thank you so much again,
Joe

[Dana Nielsen]

Awesome, Joe! My pleasure, man! Cant wait to hear what u cook up next! 🎚️🧑‍🍳🎚️

[Jesse Lewis]

Yo Joe! Nice to meet you! Fellow guitarist here:)

Just getting to hear this now! What an incredible, joyous, fun, and virtuosic song! I’ll defer to Dana on the mix advice but DAAAAMN you sound incredible! That was my take away — that and I need to go practice haha

Best,

Jesse

[Joe Robinson]

Thanks so much, Jesse! I really appreciate it and it’s great to connect with you!!
Joe

[Paul Tucci]

Joe,

Way to make an entrance!! This piece of music jumps out of the speakers because of its phenomenal playing and great composition that just oozes joy. You nailed the hard part of writing and playing already. The technical stuff MP can help you with. I’m happy to put on my lab coat and dissect it and offer up my observations.

I encourage you to check out Patrick Harber’s stuff in the Member Spotlight. I can smell an infectious, positive collaboration between his piano and your guitar work. Powerful enough to make Benjamin Yahoo self actualize and understand that hurt people hurt people? Most likely not, but there’s plenty of good to be spread before that.

PT

[Joe Robinson]

Thanks Paul! Nice to connect with you and i’ll go take a listen to Patrick Harber’s posts! I’ll be working up a new mix of this song based on Dana’s suggestions and plan on re-posting here! I really appreciate the feedback. Cheers! Joe

[Paul Tucci]

Joe,

My initial listen was on the laptop speakers, critical listening was on my frequency-response connected headphones where the limited bandwidth and overzealous use of compression becomes audible. Dana nailed it.

To my ear, Patrick has some sort of magic in his choice of music and his playing. Curious if you can see that commonality.

PT

[Jeremy Roye]

Man, great track and performance! Feels good on the laptop speakers balance wise. Other than Dana’s notes, add some warmth/lows in particular, for me, I’d say it’s ready! Hope to hear this in a film.

[Joe Robinson]

Thanks for taking a listen, Jeremy!!