Gavin, lol... please believe me, if I underestimated you then we wouldn't be having this conversation.

You still haven't defined "dull", and "pop" just means hip-hop to me... Try to be specific, what exactly are you hearing in other recordings that you're not hearing in your own? Give us an example. If I'm lucky, I'll learn something here as well.

Here's an example... Gerry Cooper. He manages to create a really deep, rich, dynamic environment to work in that I haven't quite been able to achieve yet... Emphasis on "yet"! smile