Ray, Alan, James, Herb, Bob, Marty, Janne, Elliott, Mario, Floyd, Dan and B.D.:

First, thanks to all of you above who have listened to the song and provided feedback—I’m so appreciative of how great a forum this is . . . and I’m thankful for the advice of so many outstanding writers, players and arrangers.

Lots of terrific suggestions here . . . which is what I was hoping for. I’ve tried to address many of them, and I’m hopeful it’s a better mix because of it. In the end, though, I’m still an amateur, and I’ll never get it to pop as it should, or at least the way I would like . . . but your guidance gets me a step closer.

A remix of the song is linked above. As for the specific changes, they are addressed below in response to the comments:

3rd Electric, panned right (Ray): I went back in and tried to do exactly what I think Ray has suggested. To my ears, this allowed me to raise the volume of that guitar without making it sound muddy . . . but don’t know. I think it’s better, but will trust you will let me know if otherwise.

Bass (Ray): I upped the volume of the bass guitar in the choruses and the bridge.

Cello (Alan, Janne): I’ve adjusted the volume where I think Alan was referring. Hopefully better. I’ve move the Cello more to center (per Janne), which was where it was originally but somewhere along the line I panned it left. Also hopefully better.

The Arrangement (James, Marty ): I’m hoping some of the changes above will address this a bit. My intent was to have the breaks with the cello serve as the change up (where things quieted down), to be accentuated by the chorus, which should have popped. Perhaps the changes I have made will better serve this intent. That said, I’m not inclined to add anything more instrumentally wise . . . I already cut two guitar tracks to diminish the muddiness, and my fear is adding more will be a detriment. My thought is that if the chorus pops as it should, that should address this . . . whether it does is another question.

Lead Guitar (Ray, Alan, Mario, Dan, and B.D): First off, I’ve lowered the volume, so hopefully to it sits better in the mix now. Please let me know if I need to do more.

Dan and BD: I’m not surprised by your comments about the solo not fitting the tune. Initially, I thought the same . . . and in the beginning it served as just a placeholder. I intended to do a lot more work on the solo and search for alternatives. But a funny thing happened along the way . . it grew on me . . . and so I wanted to see how folks would react to it before changing it out. I’m actually still OK with it as is—though I should be less lazy and at least re-generate the track to comb though possible alternatives . . . just haven’t gotten there yet.

Thanks again all for the comments. Hope you are all safe and well.

Deej