I just listened to the new CD by Siobhan Peoples (fiddle) and Murty Ryan (button accordion) titled "Time on our Hands." It's a fine album of traditional (and some contemporary) Irish tunes but what made me want to start this thread is that this recording is a perfect example of superb mixing. Mixing was done by the musicians and I say it is superb because the melody instruments are always clearly in the foreground. The backup instruments, bouzouki (Cyril O'Donoghue), guitar (Donnache Mohnihan), and bodhran (John Moloney) are always clearly present but never overshadow the melody.

Many recent recordings feature backup instruments that are mixed as loud if not louder than melody instruments. Anyone else in Mudcat land find this trend as disconcerting as I do?

Radriano