Mixing and mastering - again!

This tune is called 'Stare Into The Mirror' - it's off my latest CD/MP3 album 'The Folks Underground' - I've put it here just to give an example of some more complex mixing, and some basic mastering ideas.

Firstly, there is some basic percussion - a tambourine, played drum-style. The central acoustic guitar is also playing a strong rhythmic part, and these two are pretty much locked together. There is also a second 'lead' guitar, and dobro slide. The 'lead' guitar, the slide, and tambourine are all recorded in stereo.

The obstacle here was to give them all space, but keep the song compact and direct. The voice needs to be audible but not distant. This is where stereo positioning and EQ come in - the very bottom end of the voice is dropped out, but boosted in the lower mid range, to both lift and warm it. The tambourine (which was played quit some distance from the mics to prevent clipping and to give it 'air') is turned down very low in the mix, but is still audible due to its distinctive noise - and it's placed relatively close (left and right) to the centre.

The guitars have some basic EQ for warmth and presence - just enough to bring out the sound.

The mixed track was mastered by adding a very gentle limiter, and a gentle EQ to boost the bass and lower mid spectrum slightly. This might not seem much, but it essentially binds the sound together, especially in those registers most easily lost in recording, and in the human ear!