musician

musical equipment

musical instruments

So, everything is in tune, you're material is right, you're well prepared, you're smart and ready. A bad mix will kill it everything. By mix we mean the relative presence (volume, equalization, effects, distortion and just the overall sound) of all the instruments together. If all the instruments are mixed well, but one is really loud, the mix is bad. Just like tune and tempo, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.

This is another one of the things that almost everyone in the crowd will know and the performer(s) may be unaware of. There are dozens of considerations in the mix and they don't necessarily concern a mixing board. Even a solo acoustic guitarist needs to concern himself with overall volume with respect to the size of the space, how many people are in it, where they are, and what the appropriate volume is.

Which is worse, a guitarist that is playing so loud the people around can't stand it or one that is playing so softly that you swear the pick is never hitting the strings? Neither is very good and something in the middle of those two is probably the right level of volume.

Its even harder in the context of a band with 10 or 20 sources of sound. The crowd should be able to hear each piece, with some parts (solos) needing to be louder (on top of the mix) than the background.

The mix changes constantly. From song to song, bridge to verse, an empty room vs. a room packed with people. Mix is something that you don't set and forget, you are constantly adjusting your sound as the music plays.

A bad mix can ruin everything. Try to become more aware of listening to the sound of the music as a whole, not just what you're playing. Learn to play off the other musical sources, including silence. Rests are often the most ignored parts of the song and the part that really could benefit from attention. Rests let the music breathe. A good mix lets the music thrive.