Imagine someone is starting learning mixing or mastering today. What's the one piece of advice you'd give them to help them succeed faster?

"The moment everything changed for me was when ________."

Hi everyone, I’ve just finished mastering this mix from the Cambridge Multitracks library, and I’d really appreciate some constructive feedback. The main issue I encountered was in the first verse, when the vocals enter. Because of the limited instrumentation in the background, the vocals sounded slightly off. I managed to improve this, but I feel the issue might still be present, just less noticeable. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the overall balance. Please note that this is not my song, and I don’t have access to the multitrack files, so I’m unable to go back to the mix. I’ll post here the original mix (downloaded directly from Cambridge), the two reference tracks I used, and the final master.

One of my artist clients and friends, @Canyon Cottle, just released his debut album, and it’s been about a year in the making. I met Canyon at a local open mic back in my hometown and was immediately struck by his songwriting, voice, and sincerity. At the time, he didn’t even have music on Spotify yet, and now here we are with a full album out in the world. This project has been a joy to work on. Canyon takes his craft seriously, puts in the work, and genuinely loves making music. He’s got big goals of touring, traveling, and continuing to grow as an artist, and this release is a huge step in that direction. If you’re into mountain folk / indie folk-pop vibes, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. And more than anything, I just want to give Canyon a public high-five because writing and recording an album is not easy, and seeing it through to the release takes commitment and heart. Congrats, Canyon. Proud of you, dude! Here’s the album if you want to check it out: https://open.spotify.com/album/0zIlKfRX6Eq11BlZBUsX2v

Hi everyone.I am trying to set the kick, snare and bass foundation to a mix. I started with a kick and i want to ask if i need to use some specific settings for my VU meter.