Jim Zvonko mix

[onko]

Hello! This is my version of mix..

[Mike Senior]

There's something odd going on here, especially on the drums, but I have a feeling that it might be something that's been applied over the whole mix. It's almost like some kind of saturation distortion that's not behaving nicely and adding a layer of not-very-appealling grunge over the whole mix. Alternatively it could maybe be a compressor that's been set too fast, perhaps in parallel. Whatever it is, it's particularly evident in the first verse -- listen to the ride at 0:37-0:43, or the bass at 0:16, or the snare at 1:10. Can you give me some idea where this might be coming from?

Anyway, doing my best to ignore that, I also wondered about the drums panning. You've gone very wide, and while this isn't necessarily a problem in a pop mix, it feels a bit incongruous to have a 50-foot-wide drumkit in this kind of jazz ensemble sound. In a similar vein, I think that maybe you're going too heavy on the compression too in this style. This kind of music is for listeners who are more sensitive to, and appreciative of, natural musical dynamics, so they're likely to object if you tamper too much with the normal interplay between the musicians. Overall, then, I'd say that I'd recommend a bit more of a kid gloves approach here.

Hope that's of some use!

[onko]

Thank you Mike.
I used a tape saturator, but apparently set too high level.
About paning, I used a stereo track of overheads without any changes.
Perhaps it makes sense to use only 20 percent of its original width.
I bounce the new mix, but I left a slight distortion caused by the tape saturator, because I like it.)