How to Give Feedback on a Mix

Good Feedback:

• "Vocal feels buried in the chorus—can we bring it up 2-3dB?"

• "Guitars are fighting each other around 2kHz"

• "This reference has more low-end presence—can we get closer to that?"

• "The bridge feels too bright compared to verse"

Bad Feedback:

• "Make it better"

• "I don't know, something's off"

• "Can you make it sound more professional?"

• "Add some magic"

How to Listen:

• Use multiple systems (headphones, car, phone speaker)

• Listen at different volumes

• Take notes while listening (don't trust memory)

• Focus on one thing per listen (vocals, then drums, then space)

What to Communicate:

• What's working (so I don't "fix" it)

• What's not working (with specificity)

• Reference points ("more like X, less like Y")

• Priority (what matters most vs nice-to-haves)