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Irritated that the songs you’re cooking up in your home studio just aren’t sounding that good?
You need to learn the art of mixing. And you don’t need an expensive studio to do it.
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By the end of this article, you’ll have everything you need to start mixing your own songs.
I’m guessing you’re here because you want to make your mixes sound professional.
We put together a brief training that covers a totally new approach to music production. Until now, everyone
But if you just want to learn about the basics of mixing first, keep reading.
What IS Mixing?
So before we get into how to mix a song, we need to figure out what mixing actually is.
When I first started mixing, I thought it was just about putting cool effects on the vocals and guitars. I’d
spend hours tweaking my delays and phasers, only to be disappointed that my mix still sounded like trash.
It took me almost a year to realize that effects are only a small piece of the puzzle. What you’re doing with
So what is mixing? Mixing is the process of using tools like volume faders, compressors, EQs, and reverbs to
In other words, mixing is the process of making your recordings sound like a song instead of a collection of
raw tracks.
To learn about the two main goals of mixing, check out our video below:
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To make your song ready for the radio, you need to learn how to mix it.
Luckily, that’s exactly what you’ll be learning today, step-by-step. Today we’ll be going over the 8 Steps of
Mixing:
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Step 1: Prep
Step 2: Volume Balance
Step 3: Compression
Step 4: EQ
[A quick note: there will be a lot of words in this article that will likely be new to you! If you come across any
that confuse you, check out our Audio Terms Glossary here for a little help.]
Step 1: Prep
Before you can begin to mix, you have to prep your session. The more organized you are, the faster you’ll
mix.
It also keeps you from getting overwhelmed by the mess of audio files you have. A good prep will even
There’re 12 steps involved with prepping your session. Check them out below:
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Most of these steps are pretty self-explanatory, but there are a few I want to elaborate on. Let’s check them
out.
UPDATE: Want some tips on a great mix prep workflow? Check out our latest video:
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If you’re unfamiliar, it’s when you change the outputs of each recording of a certain instrument to the same
“bus.” All of the recordings are then directed to one aux track that you can use as a “master fader” for your
instrument.
A school bus picks up each of the students at their houses and then takes them to a single place – the
Essentially, you are routing all of your recordings of an instrument into a single track.
From there, any plugins that you add get applied to every single one of those recordings.
Not only does it help “glue” your track together, but it massively cuts the number of plugins you need to
finish a mix.
For example, imagine you had three different acoustic guitar parts, each with two microphones. You’d have
But with bussing, rather than six compressors, you just need one. That means you’re going to mix faster and
you’re going to save a huge amount of CPU.
Not only that, but you’re compressing multiple parts at once. So it creates the feeling that all of the
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Do this with all of your instruments, and your mixes will get finished faster and sound better!
audio clip on the left at the same time as it fades in the clip on the right.
That means that any tracks you’ve cut together will transition smoothly. Without a crossfade, you’ll hear a
Most DAWs have a way to apply fades and crossfades to an entire session. Do a little Google research to
figure out how your DAW’s fade system works to save some time.
Back before computers, studios had sound consoles and “outboard gear” to mix their songs.
Because of the analog nature of this tech, you had to record your tracks at a certain volume level to make
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Because of that, most of those old mixing tools were made to sound best when they processed audio at that
Most of the mixing tools you will use – compressors, EQs, reverbs, and so on – are based on those old
models from the analog age. That means their Sweet Spot still exists!
So the point of gain staging is to make sure your audio is the right volume to hit the all-coveted Sweet Spot.
To learn how to gain stage your tracks, check out the step-by-step graphic below:
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Now, most DAWs use dBFS meters for their volume meters. To do this trick properly, grab a FREE copy of
TBProAudio’s mvMeter2.
I used it myself for several years. Just don’t forget to set it to VU mode!
Imagine this:
You hike for miles and miles until you find the perfect view. After gazing out at it for a few minutes, you head
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You take a photograph of exactly what you’re wanting to paint. Then you hike back to your studio and use
That’s exactly what referencing is. It’s comparing your mix as you go to a professionally mixed track.
You never want to mix from memory. Your mixes will end up sounding pretty good in your own speakers but
Comparing every aspect of your mix to a reference track – the low end, the mids, the snare volume, the
vocal reverb, and so on – will increase the quality of your mixes tenfold.
For more on how to find the right reference track for your song, check out our complete guide, or the video
below:
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Now that your mix has been prepped, let’s move on to the actual first mixing step – the volume balance!
The volume balance of your mix is the most important step to nail for a radio-ready song.
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This volume balancing system is pretty simple, but it’s very powerful.
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While working on your volume balance, I’d recommend listening to your monitors or headphones at a low
The louder you listen to your mix, the better the mix sounds. That’s great in the moment.
But it means you can make some mixing decisions that sound crappy when played at quiet volumes!
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You want to set your monitors at “conversation level.” Loud enough to hear the details of the mix but quiet
enough that you can have a conversation with a friend while it’s playing.
Also, remember the reference tracks you set up in the last step? Now’s the time to use them!
Listening to reference tracks is one of the best ways to get a stellar volume balance. It helps you know how
loud the vocals, drums, and bass are in most other songs.
Those are the instruments that are the most heard or the most “felt.” So getting their balance right is crucial
To learn how to use reference tracks in your songs, check out the video below:
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Step 3: Compression
Compression levels out the dynamics of an instrument and shapes its tone.
In layman’s terms, it compresses the volume of an instrument. When an instrument gets too loud, a
compressor turns it down.
Compression is used all over mixes to make your tracks more consistent, more exciting, and more cohesive.
Before we learn how to use a compressor, let’s start with the different parts:
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Now that you know the different parts of a compressor, let’s learn how to use one:
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Compressors are subtle, but they make a big difference in your mix.
The key to using a compressor is practice. The more you do it, the more you can hear the changes you’re
Want to see what compression sounds like? Check out the video below:
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I’ll usually use compression on whatever instruments I feel need more control in the mix. If I want it to sound
Some genres use heavier compression (like pop, rap, and rock) while others use barely any compression at
all (like jazz, classical, and some folk).
Before we move on to the next step, check out this video on how to avoid the most common mistakes that
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Up next, the frequency-fixer and tone-shaping master… the EQ.
Step 4: EQ
An equalizer (or EQ for short) is a mixing tool that helps to shape the tone of an instrument.
This may seem a little vague right now, but stick with me. Before you can learn what an EQ is, you need to
Music is created by different sound waves interacting with each other in unique ways. Each individual sound
wave is known as a “frequency,” which is measured in hertz (or Hz).
The lower the pitch of the sound, the lower the hertz of that sound. For example, a bass might play a note
Conversely, the higher the pitch of the sound, the higher the hertz of that sound. For example, a violin might
play a note that resonates around 2,000 Hz, or 2 kHz.
So what is the frequency spectrum? The frequency spectrum is the entire range of human hearing.
See how the spectrum starts at 20 Hz on the left, and ends at 20 kHz on the right?
That’s the range of human hearing. Inside of it are all of the sounds a human can possibly hear.
For me, this breaks down into five very distinct sections.
Everything below 60 Hz is sub-bass. Generally you need a subwoofer or a good pair of headphones (open-
You should be able to hear it a little bit if you’re on monitors or headphones. But if you’re listening on a
laptop or a phone, there’s no way you will hear it.
This is the part of the frequency range that you “feel” rather than hear.
Ever been to a club and felt the booming of the bass synth in your chest? Those are the sub-bass
frequencies.
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In this area, we’ve got lots of bass guitar. Lots of the low-end vocals as well, because male vocals are going
to have the fundamental below 200 Hz in most cases.
The bass area is the foundation of a mix. Without bass, a song just feels… weird. Everything in your mix will
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Now, this area is crucial for home recording. It’s where you get a lot of buildup with guitars, vocals, even the
So it’s crucial to get this range right. You want the main focus of the track (e.g., vocals) to have lots of room
in this range.
Be aware that this is also where you can start to get into harshness and aggressive tones.
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Then we’ve got upper mids between 3–8 kHz, and this is where things really start to get harsh. This is where
we have brittleness a lot of the time.
It’s also an important range for clarity and aggression, especially in vocals.
You could split this even further into 8–12kHz, that’s what I would call treble, and then 12+ kHz is what I
But for now, we’re just going to leave this as the highs, and this is everything above 8 kHz.
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20 Hz to 60 Hz Sub-bass
60 Hz to 200 Hz Bass
An EQ is like a volume fader for the frequency spectrum. It can turn up or down different parts of the
Is a guitar sounding too bright? It may need a cut in the upper mids.
Is a vocal sounding too weak? It might need a boost in the low mids.
EQing is making these cuts and boosts in different instruments to enhance the sound of the song.
So now that you know what EQ is, let’s look at the different parts of the plugin:
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You’ll use “filters” to cut and boost different parts of the spectrum.
Which parts of the spectrum you cut or boost are up to you. Ask yourself the question: what are you trying
to achieve with your EQ?
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You’ll want to choose a direction before you start EQing. Always think, “What am I trying to achieve with this
EQ?” rather than just slapping on an EQ and changing stuff just because you think you should.
And check out this handy diagram of frequency problems you might run into. It’s great at helping you
identify what’s wrong with an instrument
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Before we move on, check out this video we made on the worst EQ mistakes I’ve made over the years.
Hopefully it will put you on the right track from the beginning:
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To learn more about how to EQ a mix, check out my complete guide to EQ.
NOTE: Here’s a great tip for getting really engaging and interesting mixes:
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Imagine a stage. The whole band is playing on it, and the listener is below in the crowd.
That means that every instrument in your band – the vocals, the drums, the guitars, the bass, and everything
else – is squished together in the exact same spot on that stage. They’re all taking up the same point in
space.
Because of that, everything sounds jumbled up! We need to give each instrument their own space on the
stage to balance things out.
Let’s make our band 3D. The first thing to use is panning.
Panning
Panning is moving an instrument into the left or right speaker.
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It allows you to make your mix two-dimensional. This lets you spread out your band to the left and right
To move something towards the left, turn the knob to the left. To move it towards the right, turn the knob to
the right.
Simple as that!
Panning can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. To keep my mixes wide (but not too wide),
I use the 50/50 Panning Method.
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Using this, the panning step is simple while creating a more cohesive stereo image.
One quick tip: make sure to keep the low end instruments and the melody in the center! Don’t pan your kick
Reverb
Let’s think about our band onstage again.
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Right now, we’ve panned the instruments to the left and the right. So the whole band is now spread out at
the very front of the stage.
But they’re still too crowded! They have width, but no depth.
It’s still hard for each musician to stand on the stage. We need to push some of them back so that everyone
This is what we’re going to do with our mix. We’re going to make the mix 3D by adding the final dimension:
depth.
To do this, we’re going to use reverb and delay. Let’s start with reverb.
Reverb is the sound of the room. When reverberation is added to an instrument, that instrument sounds like
it’s in a new space.
It could be a big concert hall, a tiny bedroom, or anything in between. It creates a “wash” of sound behind
the instrument.
Plus, it creates the illusion that the instrument is farther away from the listener.
That means that instruments at the front of the stage should have only a little reverb. But instruments at the
To do this, we’re going to create two room reverbs to send each instrument in your mix. One to create
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If you follow those steps, you should have a more cohesive-sounding mix already.
Sometimes, though, you want to give an instrument that “3D” sound without pushing it too far away from
the listener. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to try delay.
Delay
Delay is much more precise than reverb. It’s just one repetition after another of the notes of an instrument.
Like the echo you’d hear if you yelled into the Grand Canyon.
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Delay does a great job of creating a space around an instrument without pushing it too far back in the mix.
It’s especially great for vocals that you want to keep front and center.
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This “stereo slapback” delay works great on any melody instrument you have in your mix. I personally love
using it on guitar riffs and solos as well!
Now that you’ve made your mix 3D, it’s time to work on the consistency of the entire mix.
But if you listened through the entire song, you’d realize that every other section sounds… weird.
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That’s because you’ve made your volume balance to fit the loudest section of the song. Not every second of
consistent throughout.
Before you start, I’d listen to your reference tracks again. You want to refresh your ears when you start
Open up your automation channel. Create points around the section you want to make louder, and pull that
Make sure to spread the slope of the automation out a bit to make the transition more musical.
You can also use automation to catch the listener’s attention. For example, during spaces between the vocal,
This video shows you how to use automation to highlight other instruments in those gaps between
melodies.
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You can also use volume automation to build excitement in a song. I’ll often make the instruments grow a
little in volume right before a big chorus to help build the energy of the song.
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Keep in mind that this step is almost always mandatory. Unless it’s a very simple song or a live performance,
Step 7: Effects
Now that your entire song is sitting well, it’s time to add something fun.
Effects are great to give your song a tonal edge. They help to create interest in the sound of the song, rather
There’re tons of different effects that you could add to different sections of a song. Far more than we can
Many people use delays as an effect. These delays are meant to be loud and obvious rather than the subtle
You’ll set them up in the same way as the vocal delay described above, but the delay time can be any length
you want.
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For a starting place, a quarter note delay often sounds cool as a vocal effect. And a dotted quarter note
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Another effect that’s used often is distortion (also known as “saturation”).
You see this often used on electric guitars, vocals, and sometimes even drums.
This can be used either as a send (like delay or reverb) or put directly on the channel. It just depends on how
aggressive you want the crunch to be.
A chorus effect makes an instrument sound like it’s been doubled. If used aggressively, it’s like it’s swimming
underwater:
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You’ll hear this effect on guitars, vocals, and pianos.
During your final checks, anything is fair game. You may need to tweak the EQ of a guitar, or change the
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You may need to add more effects to the drums during the verses. Or turn up the synths in the bridge.
This last step is important. Some of the tools in your mixing toolbox will affect the sound of other tools.
For example, compression often changes your volume balance. Because it’s making those soft sounds
louder.
Adding distortion to a sound might make it sound too harsh, causing you to go and tame the top end in
your EQ.
Give yourself at least a 12-hour break before starting. Let your ears reacclimate to the sound of the
world. You’ll hear more problems with your mix with a set of fresh ears.
Listen to the song from beginning to end and take notes. What would you change about this mix?
That list is your guide to finishing this step up.
Don’t forget to use your reference tracks. Listen to them every fifteen minutes or so to re-acclimate
your ears to the sound of a professional mix. You’ll find more problems in your own mix that way…
Once you’ve finished up your final checks, you’re done! The mix has been completed.
Now all that’s left is to send the mix to a mastering engineer or a service like Landr or Aria to get mastered.
Once you’ve got your mastered track in your hand, you’re ready to release your masterpiece.
UPDATE: If you feel like your Mixes are plateauing, then you need to watch this:
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The basics of mixing are the same regardless of what instrument you’re working on.
Here’s our little treasure trove of mixing tips for different instruments. Just click the button of the instrument
BASS DRUMS G U I TA R S VO C A L S
Vocals
Vocals
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Drums
Drums
Bass
Bass
Guitars
Guitars
There’s been a ton of info in this article! I applaud you on making it this far.
This next video has 16 mixing tips that are simple, consistent, but powerful.
Using these tips on your songs will result in at least a 10% boost in quality. I guarantee it.
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UPDATE: We released another mixing tip video that demonstrates 21 mixing tips I wish somebody had
taught me when I was a beginner.
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CONCLUSION: Mixing
Phew. That was a lot, wasn’t it?
Next Steps
If you want to dig deeper into music production and learn what it actually takes to make mixes that sound
pro…
Enjoy!
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