From Demo To Final Mix: A Real Life Example

Recently I was interviewed for a weekly podcast for musicians where the topic of the day was how to take your demos to the point of a solid final mix. It’s not a surprise to me that most of us are interested in how to get our songs from “great idea” to “great recording”. In fact I wrote a while back about taking your demos to the next level. But sometimes just hearing an example of this process will go along way for getting you motivated to make it happen with YOUR songs.

Via stuart.childs Flickr

A Complete Transformation

I recently had the pleasure of recording a worship band from Virginia. I also got to mix the project, which meant I could be a part of the entire process from scratch demo to sending in the master for replication.  Today I simply want to share one of the songs off of the record and let you compare the original demo that I received to the final track. The biggest differences you’ll notice other than just sound quality are a solid arrangement, emotion in the vocal performance, and dynamics. As you work on your own recordings, think about how these three elements could take your demos to the next level!

“Light Shining Out Of Darkness” Original Demo

“Light Shining Out Of Darkness” Final Master