Hi Mike,

I like the vibe that you've created. I'm a fan of Latin music and your arrangement makes good use of signature Latin sounds.

While I often find lyrics such as these that travel along the road of the impressionistic artist and the poet difficult to appreciate fully, I thought that your words worked well, very well in fact, when framed by the Latin backing. Your singing also works really well with this style.

Since you have asked for feedback regarding the mix...

In my headphones, your vocals 'sound' like they are mixed more-or-less ok. While they're probably a little on the softer and slightly uneven side, the main problem (as I hear it, at least) is one of definition in that the mid-to-low frequencies have crowded up on one another and individual sounds are masking aspects of one another. To some extent, this also seems to have impacted on the panning. The net result is that clarity is reduced.

As floyd has mentioned, the low end on guitars is often responsible for this. Pianos, too, add to this issue when used. With a single guitar backing, it's not a problem. When two or more guitars get together and then bass is added, though, the problem of low frequency clashes becomes something to watch for because it can potentially damage a good mix.

To help solve this, I usually use a high pass on the EQ that begins rolling off the bass end of the the guitars from around 180-130 Hz and below (this is around F# below middle C to the C one octave below middle C). While this roll-off will give the guitar a thinner sound when solo'd, when it's part of a mix, it works fine because the bass takes the low end. You might not need to do this to all guitars. Sometimes, having a single guitar keep its low end can be helpful to a mix, sometimes not.

What I always do when mixing, is firstly solo the bass and drums and resolve any low frequency clashes I hear. Next I solo the guitars individually against the bass and eliminate clashes. I then solo pairs of guitars with one another and resolve any issues that arise. Lastly, if I use a piano, I solo it against the bass, resolve issues, and then solo it against each of the other instruments and resolve those issues.

When I get my low end sorted for all the instruments that I'm using, I then mix the tracks to create a backing and selectively add occasional high frequencies to one or two of the instruments to add a little additional clarity and sparkle (as floyd also suggests). I'm also mindful that excessive 'stereo width' on stereo tracks has the potential to rob the track of some of its character.

This might seem like a lot of work. At the end of the day, though, being methodical like this has made my mixing much faster than it used to be. Moreover, seeing that the mix and its presentation are the most important aspects of the final product, I think it's worth the effort.

As Bud has said above, learning to mix effectively is about practising. I know that my mixes from 2 years ago are generally not as good as my mixes today. When I mixed my songs 2 years ago, though, I did the best I could at that time. (I'm now slowly working my way through them and remixing to bring them up to date.) When I listen to the radio, I'm always reminded that I still have a long way to go when it comes to getting my mixes 'right'. Still, I'm enjoying the journey.

Hope these thoughts help.

Regards,
Noel

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