TheFryingpan - Kindred (Original)
Hey guys and gals, would love some feedback on this prog trance high energy track I started. Too many artists to list for inspiration, wanted to try my hand at the style of trance I love the most.
I used lots of ANA2 and Sonic Academy UFX2 and Ultimate Drums on this one 
Work in progress.
Hi there @thefryingpan
1st thing 1st, taking a look at the Live’s project screenshot : even if it’s still a work in progress try to keep organized adn name & color code your tracks, it’s easy to get lost or confused as you’re adding tracks to a mix and it’ a good habit to take right from the start.
Along the way while the project evolves and you’re adding elements, pay attention to your gain staging and take the time to re-balance levels between tracks when adding new elements. Right now, your synths and melodic elements are a bit louder and taking out energy from the drums parts.
Not sure about the timing of the Percs track, sounds a bit off to me with the other elements.
Next step for this mix is to develop a catchy progression IMO, it really needs more variation on the all duration. Especially that bass lead ( Track 14 ANA 2 ) which is very repetitive and the loudest element of the track.
The waveform also reflects that, need a progression with more distinctive parts, drops and a break. Take a reference track that you like in the same genre and learn about & copy the progression and arrangement.
@Tekalight – thanks so much for taking the time to listen and for your breakdown. These are great points I’ll try to keep in mind as I move forward. Right now it’s been a challenge balancing everything as I’m mixing on headphones and am waiting to get new studio monitors but am doing my best with the situation. Gain staging has always been a challenge for me, so your feedback is really appreciated here.
Yes, gain staging isn’t always easy to get right, even on monitors TBH 
but of course they will definitely help you to have a different perception of the Mix and should make levels easier to adjust. That said headphones can be really helpful as well and reveal things that monitors won’t, so both are complementary tools in the end.
Looking at your channels levels, it seems that you’re taking care of keeping some safe headroom right from the start. This is a very good habit IMO. Many people start with their 1st channels like Kick & Bass too loud and then quickly hit a wall because they make their monitors & headphones struggle to reproduce the sound and it’s even harder to adjust level then. So keep this good habit 
Sometime the channel fader won’t be the 1st or right place to adjust volume. It’s good to check your sound source as well and to use your plugins output levels or to add a utility device after the plugin to get more control.
The goal is to keep a “relative” balance between all channel faders : if you’re take a look at the all mix and see that you have some channels faders really set too low or too high, then try to adjust the sound source before the fader.
If you haven’t watched this course from Phil yet, I highly recommend to do so, plenty of solid tips & good habit practices in this one.
Understanding Mixing Fundamentals with Phil Johnston
Cheers and keep it up !
