—holy racket—
By jwh on July 26, 2026 10:30 pm
› process notes
‹ process notes
tl;dr - this was my week 3 homework assignment for the home-recording class i'm taking this month. the basic idea for this song had been kinda floating around since early june, so i was glad to bring it into focus this week.
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the long version if yr innarested:
we had up to 4 hours to mix this time (felt like a luxury!) and i was very happy with how it turned out. so this is the same mix i uploaded for homework and i didn't feel the need to do any further tracking or mixing for the WB version.
*edit, this ^ is a lie. i ended up making a couple minor adjustments shortly before upload. 
some of the assignment prompts based on concepts explored in class:
*experiment with room treatment/ consider incorporating a room mic along with close mics
*record foundation tracks live, no click
*record overdubs by playing along to your foundation tracks played over speakers (no headphones!), using mic spill to your advantage
*try recording at a different time of day than usual
*if exploring a new plugin or technique, set aside time before you start mixing to learn & experiment (so that once you start mixing you can cook and not have to stop your flow to learn new things)
*utilize aux sends & automation in the mix
*do not reference other songs during your mixing session. use imaginary audio (your memory of how another song sounds/ makes you feel) whenever you think you need to reference
*do not solo any tracks while you mix - unless you need to find a problem (click, loud buzz etc) and you aren't sure which track it is on
*listen at low volumes and take frequent breaks - our ears become fatigued easily, and our judgment suffers the longer we mix continuously
with all that in mind, this was what i tracked:
>live foundation tracks: vocal + electric guitar (through my lil ol' PV Rage, my first practice amp from back in the day! panned left in mix) recording together without headphones or a click. used close mics, as well as a room mic in omni.
>overdubs: add. elec gtrs (DI + close mic to capture acoustic sound of the gtr, different amp for lead part), bass (DI), drums (floor tom, snare, shaker), backing vocals.
the overdubs were tracked by playing along with my foundation tracks coming through a guitar amp (i don't currently have studio monitors). this works so much better for me than using headphones as it feels more like i am playing along with someone in the room (my past self!, and i really like how the mic spill helps glue everything together.
taking time up front to get interesting sounds and strong performances made mixing this one so fun & intuitive.
i probably sound like a broken record, but i am super loving this class & approach. i hope that comes through in this recording. 
› lyrics
‹ lyrics
you, a shadow on the box
you, a spider drew the knot
so clever
someday we will rest
but i can't hear you anymore
it's true, i used to hold your hand
tiptoe on the edge of the woods
together
someday we will dance
but i can't feel your breath on my cheek
someday we will make a holy racket
breaking windows
kicking tables
levitating
you, a shadow on the box
XO,
jwh
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