For me it is just too many things to think about, and my playing suffers (goes from sucky to really sucky.) I do somewhat better when someone else (even my 9 year old kid) is pushing the buttons and I can just play. Re the original post, I think that sounds pretty good for a first time, going direct. Maybe my ears are too used to the modern, uber-squashed sound, but I wonder if a little more compression would help make the whole mix sound more up front, if that makes any sense. That would help bring up the overall level, too, which wouldn't hurt. Regardless, a nice job!