"Share your recordings in a non-judgmental environment-fest" - THE REVEAL!!!

I agree that my studio monitors are worth their weight in gold...and they are pretty darned heavy.

That said, you're still not going to get the perfect mix on your first try every time. I said it in another thread, but I usually go through at least 3 or 4 mixes of everything I do. Then when I post it, I still have people hearing stuff that I hadn't noticed.

Like the Back In Black track I posted. I worked on that thing and thought I had the mix perfect, and both Mark and DenverDave listened to it once and said there was too much reverb on the guitars. I listened to it again and they were 100% correct.

Sometimes you just hear something so much that you stop listening to it and need to let it sit for a while, get some outside critiques, or both.

Oh, and another mixing tip.


NEVER MIX AFTER YOU'VE SPENT A COUPLE OF HOURS TRACKING SOMETHING THROUGH HEADPHONES. Your ears get tired from wearing the headphones and you'll end up with way too much treble in your mix because your ears aren't hearing right anymore. If possible, always do your final mixing at least the next day after you've finished tracking.

A few other good mixing tips:
TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. At least 5 minutes each hour.
And increase the breaks for each hour. Helps minimise ear fatigue.

Also - monitor with really low levels. I Am not kidding.
Do not blast the speakers while mixing.
Loud monitoring is useless for getting levels/balance right.
One thing I often do when I get near to completing a mix is just grab a newspaper, a cup of coffee and a cigarette or two (not applicable for you non-smokers, obviously) - and just let the song run on repeat at very low volume, while generally not focusing on listening critically. If you notice something popping out of the mix while "half-listening" at low volumes, then it is too loud - turn it down :wink:

In addition, headphones are great for doublechecking fx levels.
I've learned that if I can hear the verbs clearly in the cans, they're a tad too loud. Back off a dB or so, and it should be just right.
 
I'm not the most experienced mixer, but I'll let the track run and step outside the room and see if anything sounds really out of balance. Its very easy for me to lose my perspective sitting in front of the speakers.

Listening to a mix in a couple of different places also gives me a better frame of reference. I'll listen in the car, on my home computer, through a boom box....
 
Punchy - Nice! I found myself bobbing my head through it Its also a well put together chord structure...

Phil - I dig the smooth chord changes. Like I read earlier, you are no longer allowed to use the word "suck" in conjunction with your musical skills. On the heavier middle section I might have tried putting in a second "counter" guitar part

Cfgsteak - you cheated by doing my of my favorite Brad Paisley songs biggrin. For someone who was going to sell his guitars a few months ago you're certainly tearing it up....:thu:

Johnny N. - great performance of a stadard...I loved the vocals and while I usually don't dig such "effected" guitar tones for solos it really worked in this case...

Aahzz - My favorite thing about you song is how much though you put into the arrangement... the song is cool but I think al of your extra touches and drum programming put it over the top....

Ronk - Nice! I love the Hendrixy stuff over the Bob Marley track...sweet stuff!

Suhnton - no fair. you should be in the more experienced guys fest biggrin Nice song...my only beef is that the bass was a little loud here on my speakers but I really liked the song...

I'll check out the rest in a little bit!
 
Aahzz - Dang! Great playing throughout! That was solid from start to finish!

RonK
-I love the feel and the playing. Very tasty and melodic!

Suhnton
- A very U2 feel. Sound playing and nice guitar tones! That was cool!

Hobo Uncle Sam
- Some nice pickin'.

Jay Hitz -Nice fuzz tone! Some cool blues stuff happening here....:thu:

I gotta go cook dinner. I'll listen to the rest later on. I am loving the huge variety of stuff here!
 
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OK - Bangers and Mash for dinner - quite easy and good. Now where was I...

Stinkymommasboy - Sweet, sweet acoustic playing. I love acoustic guitar. Just make it longer - I wanted more.....

Tyoc - A nice start.....

Baron85 - I like the riff and tone...very cool!

Ferdinandstrat - We needed some shred - you provided it very well!

Chihihihihihihihihihili - He brings the metal! Great tone and playing.

Tele - The Headhunters are a very overlooked band. Great playing and tone. You and Prages just killed on that!

Wow - color me impressed. Like I said in the lst post - the sheer variety is staggering. No one really did anything like anyone else did. I'm going to have to work at this to keep up with everyone!
 
Man, you guys did great.

Punchy - http://www.plankbilt.com/MWGL/MWGL_Forum_Challenge.mp3
excellent job

Phil513 – http://www.markweinguitarlessons.com/2009RF/phil513.mp3
loved the keys. The tune was well thought out and well played

Cfgsteak – http://www.markweinguitarlessons.com...shingsong1.mp3
Brad Paisley would be proud

Johnny N. - http://hc.bloodyvelvet.com/files/209/House2.mp3
Excellent Johnny, nice singing, really good.

Aahzz - http://www.sweeneyllc.com/tunes/letmebreathe.mp3
Wow Aahzz, was that the marshall in there?

Ronk - http://www.bitterangels.org/jams/yamer.mp3
Killer strat playing

Suhnton - http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7469874
Excellent

Hobo Uncle Sam - http://www.markweinguitarlessons.com...yingaround.mp3
Way to go hobo, that's some nice picking there.

Jay Hitz - http://www.markweinguitarlessons.com...rstattempt.mp3
Good going Jay, sounds great

Stinkymommasboy - http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7403697
Loved the acoustic in here, very nice

Tyoc - www.markweinguitarlessons.com/2009RF/sacarracatelas4.mp3
Nice one Tyoc

Baron85 - http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7319279
Nice job

Ferdinandstrat - http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/Guitar0player/ - submission is “Caprice”
Shredalicious

Chihlidog - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=7478237
It does sound like a film track... Nice n heavy. Good one Chihli


I'm not sure I meant to put mine in here, I was going to put it in the other one. But it looked like it turned into mostly a late reveal for the guys tied up in the songwriters competition, so I stuck it here. No harm no foul, right?:(

Johnny, the amp I used was a VOX AD100VTH head ac15 model direct into the interface.:facepalm: It's the only model that sounds good. It's really all it's good for. The guitar was the EPI 56Goldtop w/P90s
 
Just got to listen to one more before I ran out of time tonight...

Hobo Uncle Sam - almost like a bluesy little meditation...
 
Jay hitz - a big fat slice of churning blues..I like it!

Stinkymommasboy - I love the song. Nice composition and playing!

Tyoc - too short...I like how both parts fit together and I'm really enjoying the dissonant harmonies...

Baron85- I dig the groove and the atmospheric feel of the tune. The main guitar groove is killer....

Ferdinandstrat - nice take on the Caprice...thats from one of my favorite teen-years movies biggrin

Chihilidog - I said it before and I'll repeat it...I think you write stuff that would be awesome for video games...good one :thu:

Tele911 - another one for the more experienced guys thread biggrin. Perhaps my favorite narrative of the contest :lol:
 
No problem...I was a little surprised at how much you guys enjoyed the whole thing and I was pleasantly surprised at how good everyones entries turned out. Good stuff all around!

I guess we'll plan another one of these for May or June...biggrin
 
No problem...I was a little surprised at how much you guys enjoyed the whole thing and I was pleasantly surprised at how good everyones entries turned out. Good stuff all around!

I guess we'll plan another one of these for May or June...biggrin

Yes, the enthusiasm was contagious, and I loved hearing everybody's stuff. I would never been brave enough to post anything anywhere else, so it is truly appreciated, and so are the free lessons and all the other stuff you do. So thanks again!

And I'm looking forward to the next one!
 
Denverdave- thanks for your kind comment
telecaster911- thank you "nice picking" Wow!
Markwein- "bluesy little meditation" maybe because I've been living on and off in Asia since the Vietnam War, riding my mountain bike through them rice paddies may have made me feel that way


It was was so nice to hear everyone's playing and singing. All so different,which was so cool.
 
Thanks Mark, it means alot.
We have a very diverse group here. I like that.

Yes, the enthusiasm was contagious, and I loved hearing everybody's stuff. I would never been brave enough to post anything anywhere else, so it is truly appreciated, and so are the free lessons and all the other stuff you do. So thanks again!

And I'm looking forward to the next one!

Denverdave- thanks for your kind comment
telecaster911- thank you "nice picking" Wow!
Markwein- "bluesy little meditation" maybe because I've been living on and off in Asia since the Vietnam War, riding my mountain bike through them rice paddies may have made me feel that way


It was was so nice to hear everyone's playing and singing. All so different,which was so cool.

:thu::thu:
 
I think I got up to commenting on Jay Hitz' song before being dragged away to something else. I didn't realize it would take so long to get through all the music. I've listened the rest of the songs and I guess I'll make an overall comment and say it's all fine stuff. One thing that really impressed me is that a lot of the guys put together complete songs, which, doing everything yourself is a hell of a lot of work and patience. I'm really keen to hear what else people have recorded.
 
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