Ha ha, now you’re gonna have to tell us what you did so we can learn 🙂 Very nice, Paul.

We’re hearing a bit more presence – maybe a touch more top end. Is that what made the vocals feel louder/come forward? Or is it a multi band compression?

Glad you like the snare – it’s the Behringer LM Drum (Linn-inspired, picture attached).

Thanks @Dana & @-PT! Your comments honestly shook us up (in a good way) and gave us a new perspective.

Here’s Version 2 – a checkpoint mix with your feedback in mind: vocal up ~3 dB, bass/kick rebalanced at the entrance, a bit more low-end support in the quiet sections to narrow the perceived jump when everything kicks in, and a Linn-style snare…

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Hey mp!

A weird little song I wrote recently.. me and @sexton tried to create energy that’s driven mainly from saturated acoustic guitars & vocals which reduced the need to use a lot of compression

keen on releasing soon so we heard it way too many times and would love to get some honest feedback from fresh ears

Final mix stages, looking to hear…

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Very cool and clearly put.. I’ll definitely keep these guidelines in mind when working in my studio

Thank you Dana!

Wow, that gave me the feels. Yeah, in this case, less is more

Hey Jesse!

Thanks a lot, sounds like a great place to be listening from.

I wish I’d written the settings down before I messed with them again (trying to get better at that now), but the chain was my Gibson SG bass going into the 6176 with a bit of saturation — nothing too heavy, just enough grit to give it some warmth. Following Dana’s advice, I…

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Hey Dana glad you liked it!

The owner of the 6176 has surprisingly not followed up on his request to get it back, so in the meantime I’ll be enjoying this beautiful piece of gear

This thread really helped me understand how to color and compress my recordings. It got me thinking about how saturation affects different instruments — some might…

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Thank you, Paul!

I have to admit I was tempted to lay down vocals — looks like I’ll be uploading a version of this no-longer-instrumental instrumental to Mix Protégé soon. 😄

Hey Dana,

As I was recording this instrumental, the meter was living in the red while Sharon was on electric – felt like a bit of an outlaw 🙂

I also used the UAD compressor to tame the bass peaks – what a ball that was, I love how it helps control the track dynamically.

By the way, I’ve been using a few tricks from your thread with Paul about…

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Hi Dana,

Thank you for the detailed and super-helpful insight – I’ll stick with the Apollo for now.

Following your advice, I’m looking to add a hardware channel strip next and I’m leaning toward getting my own UA 6176.

For a vocals-and-guitars–focused setup, would you consider it essential, or are there other strips you’d recommend…

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Hey MP 🙂

I’m eyeing the Neve 88M console preamp for my home studio. Anyone here used it – or prefer a different two-channel option?

Context: my current chain is a loaner UAD 6176 → Apollo Solo.

I have to return the 6176, so I thought I’d replace my current chain (including the Apollo Solo) with the 88M – But I want to be sure the 88M…

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Congratulations!! 👏👏

Aww this sounds awesome. I’m sure you’ll get it!!

Thank you, Dana! I was thinking the same thing about the bass notes. I haven’t automated the bass yet, but I will surely kick those nice licks up in volume.

Definitely going to work on a cool intro to set the stage, and fix that editing glitch.

Also, I totally get you regarding opening reverb in strategies points in the vocals – great advice.…

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Thanks Paul. Good to hear from you. It’s true that the bass on the course is very simple, might be a good idea to experiment with some tasty licks that have a surprising time and rhythm, it could give it a deeper dimension. I’ll try that, thanks.

I’m still struggling to decide what percussion (or mellow drums?) could fit in the chorus. I’ll…

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Hey MP!

This time I’m coming to you for production advice. This song – Rays of Relief – is pretty early on, and roughly mixed. I’m looking for ideas to make the song have more impact, development, yet still keep it intimate.

By the way, the chorus vocal is recorded with a vintage Shure bullet microphone – from somewhere in the forties. It…

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Hey just dropping Spotify links for both songs we worked on together, for the member spotlight playlist!

Sultan’s Pool – https://open.spotify.com/track/6MTybrmHQ14GbNR2TjpypV?si=1YjDZZivQ4aQ85TIRT0FuQ

Wherever I Go – https://open.spotify.com/track/07YTY1911CeG7f7VbJwMmk?si=IPvAV36YQgOFjh6gGlnD0w

Hi Paul

Thank you for the detailed description of your experience, it’s really nice to hear 🙂

I’m still playing with the verb & level of the vocals trying to find that sweet spot..

The acoustic bass is a great idea as well, I’m not sure if I’ll make it happen in this song since im keen to release it, but it’s definitely going to be in my mind…

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These are great observations! After taking a warmer approach towards the vocal and reducing its volume, I had to play with the whole mix until it settled and I really like where it went. I took care of the odd note, cleaned the noise at the end and it’s a louder version as well.

Hi Dana thank you so much! Spot on advice, it worked like magic.

I high passed the thumping 60hz on the acoustic (I hope it’s enough) and gave the vocals and bouzouki more body through the frequencies you mentioned, yep it sounds better now 🙂

Here’s version 2…

Hi Paul

Hope your wife has a fast recovery. Thank you for taking the time to listen, waiting to hear your thoughts

Hey everyone 🙂 Me and @sexton got so much help from you on my last song post, I have another one for your talented ears… this one is called “Wherever I Go” and it has 4 tracks:

Vocals

Electric Guitar Pad

Acoustic Guitar

Irish Bouzouki

We intend to keep it as simple as possible, so it’s pretty much set production wise.. Our goal is a moody sound…

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Hey Jesse thank you I’m really glad you liked it!

Will keep that in mind next time, got myself confused too 😋

Thank you for your kind words! this forum has been beyond helpful 🙂

@dana and @-PT , thank you for your advice I think it worked like a charm!

Ive added a 60-100khz boost and immediately heard what Dana meant about the hi-fi clarity that’s missing on the vocals, I also used the beautiful reference to get as close as I can so thank you very much for that.

Regarding Pauls comment, I let it sink over the last week…

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Hey Paul, I appreciate your comment and I tried out your suggestions in this version. It’s an interesting approach, definitely gives a more intimate feeling to the song.

I’m not sure which version I like better, I’m gonna listen to it over the next few days

I added to this version some mix bus processing – some Pultec bass and sizzle, and a bit…

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Here’s another version

There’s a pad done with an electric guitar, capturing sort of pedal steel like style from the second verse for buildup

Also added more ambience to the guitar solo at the end

I think it adds a lot of color to the song and has a richer feel to it

Wow thank you so much! Your suggestions are on point and I’ll try them this weekend

Hey guys 🙂

I’m in the final stages of mixing this song “Sultans Pool”

Two acoustic guitars, leading vocals and harmony vocals.. I’ve fallen for that minimal production style lately, and this is the first track from my self produced original album based on this concept

There’s a lot of thought behind the acoustic guitar recording, such a wild…

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