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Mixing is a structured process

  • Published: 2022-03-29 11:41
  • Updated: 2023-03-27 18:58

If you want cohesive results in a repeatable, reproduceable manner across your projects, a structured, repeatable process is needed. Then you're starting to wear a mix engineers' hat. It reduces the amount of error by trial. The more you do that, the sooner you'll be able to craft your mixes. And discover your own process. Take this as a blueprint (I only nicked it from engineers, too).

With most projects, I manage to create a balance along the way. So the process is fluid. Because I rinsed and repeated the following over and over again. With more complex projects, or when I feel "this is enough content to work with but it doesn't sound balanced or ‘feels right’ yet", I do this:

My process:

  1. Mindfully decide: "this needs mixing" (that's the most important step)
  2. Listen to the entire project, from start to end a couple of times - noting the first things that come to mind which need fixing. Whatever they are. As non-specific as it gets. "Kick is too bold", "chord doesn't cut through in this section" - stuff like that. Depending on how much: I write it down.
  3. I close the project.
  4. Leave the room, do something else, listen to another environment for at least half an hour. Super important.
  5. Return to the computer, load the project again
  6. Pull down the levels of all channels
  7. Reset the panning on all channels
  8. Set monitoring levels to my low mixing setting (it's always the same - super important. Otherwise it's not a repeatable process for the brain)
  9. Open the VU meter
  10. Raise the kick up to -3db needle peak
  11. Introduce up the bassline until the VU needle kisses 0
  12. Ask myself: does this feel balanced?
    • No? Fix the balance
    • Yes? Bring down both channels until VU sits around -3db
  13. Introduce the next main element (probably a chord) until it sits well
    • If it includes a lot of automation: listen to the entire project from start to end
    • Does it sit well across the entire track? Or are there any problems? Like: introducing the element with a fadein, a lowpass filter that opens slowly? Do I maybe need to compensate the level for that at the beginning? Execute that. Until it's 'good'
  14. Rinse and repeat 12 until
  15. I've got a balanced mix only using the levels and panning
  16. I revisit the notes I took. Do the issues still persist?
  17. Now that I sat down through the process, I probably have a better idea what caused them, and how to tackle them.

During the process, I do not touch the monitoring level. Also - this:

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