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Ultimate Mixing Checklist
Ultimate Mixing Checklist
MIXING CHECKLIST
A "Cheat Sheet" for Mixing
Chart Topping Records
byDavidGlenn
Copyright2017
DavidGlenn,DavidGlennRecording.com
DISCLAIMER
Thefollowinginformationisnotgoingtoturnyouintoa
professionalmixerovernight.Iguaranteeyouthatonlyafter
manyhoursofmixing(maybeasmanyas10,000hrs)youwill
begintosoundlikeamixer.However,Ispendagreatdealof
mytimehelpingaspiringmixersandproducerstomakebetter
soundingmusic,andthischecklistismeanttohelpyoucut
downonthetimeittakestogetgreatsoundingmixes.
Mix Prep & Session Management
Mix Prep & Session Management
Receivethefilesfromtheclient
Renameclient'sfolderto"SongName[ClientFiles]"
Valueyourtime?CheckoutStereoMonoizerbySoundizers
CreateanewsessioninyourDAW(staywithme)
Placenewlynamed"clientfiles"folderintothesessionfolder
Didyoureceivearoughmixfromtheclient?Ifso,importthatinandslideittotherightofyourtracksandcall
thattrackREFSforreferences.Thisisalsothetrackyoucouldplaceanymainstreamsongsyouvebeen
givenbytheclientorchosenyourselfforreferencingwhilemixing.Somepeople(myselfincluded)preferto
referencealongthewaywhileothersmayreferencetowardstheendofthemixingprocess.Youchoosewhat
worksbestforyou.
*MygotopluginforreferencingiscalledMagicABanditsmadebythegoodpeopleatSampleMagic.
Mix Prep & Session Management
Nextup,useyourtrimorgainplugintosetallfilesto15(thisstepistotallyatastething,butIdoitonevery
singlemixYoumayprefertoskipthis,butgoodgainstagingiscrucialandtoomanysongscomemyway
recordedtoohot.Thishelpsmetostartontherightfoot.)*IuseClipGaininProTools(usingathirdparty
plugincalledDefaulter).
AfterIsetmygainstaging,Illselectalloftheaudiotracks,createagroupcalledclientaudio,andpullallof
theirfadersdowntoaround20orso.Somemixersprefertohaveallofthetracksoffwhentheystarttheir
roughmix,however,Iprefertohaveeverythingaudible(atleastslightlywhenIbegintopushthefadersup
andfeeloutthesong).
Oncetheinitialgainstagingiscomplete,Illcheckforthesessionstempo.Youcouldrequestthisfromthe
producer,butitsjustaseasy(mostofthetime)totapthetempoinyourDAWusingaclicktrack.
Nextup,IllplacemarkersbeginningwithSongStartfollowedbyV1,PreChorus,Chorus/Hook,V2,Bridge,
etcAllthewaythroughtotheendwhichIlllabelTheEnd.
Alllabeledandreadytogo?Awesome!Next
The Rough Mix
The Rough Mix
Letspushthefadersupstartingwiththeleadvocal,thedrumtracks(orbeat),movingontothebassandother
instrumentsuntilyouhaveaniceroughmixtakingshape.Thisprocessalsoincludesyourbasicpanning
decisions.DontstresstoomuchaboutEQ,compressionoranyeffectsatthispoint.
Nowthatwehavesomemusichappening,letsevaluatethesongandthefileswevebeengiven.Ifindthisto
beacrucialstep,especiallywhenweredealingwithhomeorprojectstudiorecordings.
Identifythestrengthsandweaknesseseitherviapadandpaper,ormypreferredmethod,viaafreeappcalled
Wunderlist.(ThisisalsotheappIliketouseforbothmyrevisionnotesandtheclients.Youcansharethelist
withthemandkeepintouchallwithinoneapp.DidImentionthatitsfree?)
The Rough Mix
SomeoftheinitialquestionsIllaskmyselfaboutthesongare:
Whatarethemainelementsthatneedtostandoutforthissong?Vocals?Drums?Anymaininstrumentlickor
partthatcarriesthetune?
Vocalquality?CanIgivethesongahifivocaloramIgoingtohavetogetcreativewitheffects?
LowendIsthesongcallingforthekickorbasstodominatethelowend?Maybebothwithsomesidechain
comporlevelingviasomethinglikeWavesfactoryTrackspacerorFabFilterProMB?
AmIgoingtoreplacethedrums?Blendsamples?Illtakecareofthisbeforemovingonaswell.
DoIhaveanyinstrumentswhereIvebeengivenaD.I.andneedtocreateguitarorbasstones?(Hopefully,
not!)
The Rough Mix
Whatisthearrangementlike?Busy?Wellarranged?Isthereanythingthatjustdoesntbelongandcanbe
muted?
Howsthetuningofthevocals?Dotheyneedpitchcorrection?Ifso,haveyoudiscussedwhetheritwouldbe
anaddedcostwiththeclient?Ifnot,rememberthisfornexttime.Besuretohavetheconversationaboutany
editingduringthemixingprocessupfront.BeclearonyourwebsiteandincommunicationBEFOREyoubegin
mixing.
Howdothedrumsandothermultimicdinstrumentssound?Gettingthephaserelationshipsright(oratleast
better)upfrontcanpreventsomemixingheadaches.
Fordrumsandothermultimicdinstruments,Igiveyou:AutoAlignfromSoundRadix.
Iprefertohandleanyproduction/recordingcorrectionchanges(phase,guitaramps,etc.)BEFOREIdivetoo
deepintothemix.ThesethingstendtocreateadistractionformepersonallywhenItryandaddressthemasI
go,soIfindmakingalistandknockingthemoutupfrontcanhelpsmoothouttheactualmixingpartofmixing.
Top Down Mixing
Top Down Mixing
Iuseatopdownapproachtomixingthatisbothwidelyacceptedandfrownedupon.Idontpreachthatanyone
shoulddothingsmyway,butthisismychecklistsoIllexplainthewayIdothings.
OnceIhavemyroughmixinplaceandtheeditingandprepisoutoftheway,Iliketopullopenmystereobuss
(AKA,the2buss,submaster,mixbuss,etc)andadjustmychainofpluginstotaste.
Wanttoseeavideoaboutmystereobussprocessing?Yougotit!(nextpage)
Top Down Mixing
*IhaveanupdatedversionandTONSmorecontentinsideofmymembershipsite
calledTheMixAcademy.Checkthatouthere:https://themixacademy.com/
Top Down Mixing
Iliketomakemyconsole(DAW)havealotofbottomendandsometopfromthegetgo.Byaddingsome
processingtomystereobussIfindthatIhavetodoslightlylessworkatthetracklevel.Thisisacommon
practiceamongtopmixers,suchasAndrewScheps.
Mylastnoteaboutthestereobussisthatitstotallyatastething!Trymine,tweaktotaste,findoutwhatothers
doORsimplyignoreitandleaveittomastering.Experimentandfindoutwhatworksbestforyou.
Movingonfromthestereobuss,Iliketogetmybasicleadvocalsoundandthenmoveontodrums.Ima
guitaristandIliketosaythatIthinkallguitaristsarefrustrateddrummers.Itsdefinitelythecaseforme,butI
lovedrums,soIstartwithmakingthedrumssoundgreatasamixerbecauseIcantplayverywellinreallife.Lol
Fromdrumsandtheleadvocal,Iliketogetthekickandbassplayingnicely.
Dependinguponthegenre,thenextseveralstepsinvolvesmixingtheinstrumentsagainstthefoundationofthe
drumsandbasswhilekeepingthevocalinplacetoensurethatitremainsimportant.Dependinguponthesong
andgenrethiswillvary.
AfterIhaveasolidmixwithmycompressionandEQgoing,Iliketocommitmyselfforaslongasneededtothe
leadvocal.
Vocals
Vocals
Myvocalmixingprocessbeginswithsomebasicgainstaging(clipgaininProTools),EQ(highpassfilter,if
needed),someslightcompressionbeforeestablishingmyparallelcompressionchainifthesongcallsforit.
Fromhere,IliketoevaluatetheSsandbreaths.IftheyneedworkIwilleithermanuallybringthemdownOR
useiZotopesdebreathpluginandFabFiltersDeesser.Whilethesearemygotochoices,yourstockplugins
willalsoworkgreat.
OncethebreathsandssaredealtwithIwilloftendosomeclipgainautomationbyhand.HereswhatImean:
(videoonnextpage)
Vocals
Vocals
FromhereIliketoapplysomesubtlelayersofvocaleffects.Illpullopensomegentlechorus,monoDimension
D,slapdelay,andusuallyabitoftheH3000microshiftstyleeffectusingtheSoundToysMicroShift.
Heresanothervideofeaturingaquickanddirtyvocalmixingprocess:
Buss Compression and Mix 1
Buss Compression and Mix 1
AtthispointIwouldgobacktomystereobussandgetmybusscompressorgoingtoprovidetheallmightyglue
thatweassociatewithbusscompression.Mybusscompressorchangesfromsongtosong,butIvereallybeen
happywiththeVertigoVSC2fromPluginAlliance.
HeresavideoIdidwhereIwalkthroughsettingupyourbusscompressor:
Buss Compression and Mix 1
Afewfinalthoughtsaboutthefirstmix
WhenIgetanideaforautomatinganeffectorEQorwhatever,Itrytoknockoutanythingthatwilltakelessthan
fiveminsrightaway.
Forexample,ifImmixinganacousticguitar,andIfeellikeIneedsomemoretopendatthechorus,Iwill
quicklyautomateanEQtogivememoretopjustatthechorus.Thatsquickandeasy.However,IfIhavean
ideatorecreatemysubfrequenciesbyduplicating,sidechainingandwhateverelse,Imaymakeanoteofthat
ideasoIdontforgetit,butmoveonandcomebackoncethemoreimportanttasksarecompleted.
Imabigfanofthe80/20rulewhenmixing.Also,agoodhabittogetintoisParkinsonsLaw.MybuddyGraham
CochraneofTheRecordingRevolutionhasagreatarticleabouteachofthese:
Why You Should Be Mixing With A Timer Get Better Mixes By Going For The Big Wins
Automation
Drum Automation
WhileIdosomeofmydrumautomationthroughoutthemixingprocess,Ialsotryandevaluatethedrumstowards
theendofmyfirstmixtoseeifsomeautomationtothekick,snareortomsmayhelpcreatesomeaddedenergy
orexcitement.Heresanexampleofthisprocess:
Low End Automation
Couldthesongmaybebenefitfromthebassguitarorsynthhavingslightlylesslowendattheverses?Then
maybeunleashingthefulllowsatthechorus?Idothisoften,andIloveit.Ithinkyouwilltoo.Giveitatry!Heres
anoldervideo(forgivemycheesiness)asanexample:
Effects Automation
IloveautomationIvecovereditatononourYouTubeChannel.SometimesIautomateeffectsthroughoutthe
mixingprocesswhileothertimesIcatchthingstowardstheendofmyfirstmix.However,Irarelyforgettosearch
foranymissinggapswheredelayorverbormodulationautomationcouldhelpaddsomethingtothesong.
Thisisanexcellentwaytoputyourstamponasong.Youruseofeffectscanhelpyoutostandoutorkeepyou
soundinglikeeveryoneelse.TakeJaycenJoshuaforinstanceThedudeabsolutelyrockshisuseofdelaysand
effects.Iknowhisnamemostlybecauseofhisstamp(andthefactthathesbeenonPensadosPlaceafew
times.Lol).
*Wordofcaution!Thiscouldbeyourmasterfader,howeverifyourDAWissimilartoProTools,themasterfader
maybepreinsertwhichwouldchangeyoursignalgoingINTOyourstereobussprocessing.Thiscouldbedesired,
butprobablynot.Forthisreason,I(andmanymixers)willuseastereoauxtrackforthestereobusstrack/fader.
ForaddedwidthatthechorusyoumaytryaddingastereoimagingpluginliketheWavesS1toyourstereobuss
andautomatinganadditional1015%atthechorus/hook.ItypicallyusetheS1foranadded1015%asadefault
sointhatcaseIdautomateanadditional10%orso.SometimesIwillautomatemyALLMUSICbussformore
widthinstead.MoreonthatandsomuchmoreatTheMixAcademy.
Printing Mix 1
Printing Mix 1
Ihaveaveryspecificprocessthatincludesaveryimportantrule.Theruleistoneversendamixtoaclientat
nightorafteralongmixingsession.IalwayswaituntilthemorningafterIvetakenafewnotesandImhappy
withtheresults.Ifyourenothappywithyourmix,chancesareyourclientwillfindthingswrongwithit.Letsgive
themourbestandputourselvesthroughtherevisionprocessbeforetheyevenhearit.
Myprintingprocess:
1.BounceandlabelSongName[DGRRough1]
Whilethismaynotbeatrueroughmix,thisishowIlabelthingstokeepmypersonalrevisionprocessseparate
frommyclientsrevisions.
2.AddthefiletomypersonalDropboxfoldersoIcanreferenceinmycar,onmyiPhonebuds,andonother
playbacksystems.
3.ListenonmultipleplaybacksystemsANDTAKENOTES(remembertheapp,Wunderlist?)
Printing Mix 1
4.SleeponitYep!Donttouchthesongimmediatelyifyoucanjustifywaiting.Somedeadlinesdontallowfor
ustowait,butitcanbeahugebenefittotherecordsoItryanddothisasoftenaspossible.
5.Wakeupandlistentomusic.CouldbeanythingSamegenre,differentgenresIjustliketogetinthemood
withsomethingotherthanmycurrentproject.
6.Personalmixrevisions.
Onceyouhityournotes,itstimetosendtheofficial[Mix1]totheclient.Ilabelthingsinbracketslikethis:Song
Name[Mix1].
IuseDropboxforalotofmyindependentclientsIlikethenewcommentingfeature,butItrytoencouragemy
clientstodownloadWunderlistsowecankeepintouchthroughtheapp.Icantsayenoughgoodthingsabout
thisapp.
Printing Mix 1
Whentheclientsubmitstheirnotes,IllopenupthesessionandIMMEDIATELYSaveSessionAs.Ivefound
thistobeavaluablesteptohelpkeeptrackofsessiondata.Whilewealldreadtherevisionprocessandits
potentialtodragon,thisonesimplestepcouldpreventfutureheadaches.Ifyougettomix7or8andtheclient
suddenlysaystheyreallylikedthebassatmix2,youhaveinstantaccesstoyourprocessingfrommix2.Trust
mewhenIsaytodothis.MaybeyouwanttolabelthingsdifferentlythanIdo,thatstotallyFINE,justrememberto
saveas.
HeresthelastvideoofthedaytocoverhowIfinishamix:
What's Next?
The Mix Academy
The Mix Academy
Icouldwriteanentirebookabouteachofthesectionswecoveredtoday,butIhopeyouveenjoyedthe
informationsharedhere.
Whetheryoureahomestudiohobbyistoranaspiringprofessional,Icareandwanttohelpyousucceedwithyour
art.
IfyouenjoyedthisandarehungryformoreIdliketoinviteyoutocheckoutmymembershipsitecalledTheMix
Academy.
InTheMixAcademy,Ihelpmixersandproducersjustlikeyoutotaketheirmixingtothenextlevel.
Well,sortof.
Musicisart.Artissubjective.WhatIlike,maynotbewhatyoulike.Youmayloveabunchoftightandpunchy
subsinyourkickdrumswhensomeoneelsemaydespisesubheavykicks.Itsthebeautyoftasteandopinion.
However,practicedoesmakeforbettermixes.Muchbetter!
WhichiswhyIcreatedTheMixAcademy.Myexclusiveonlinemixingcommunity.
Haveyoueverwantedtowatchovertheshoulderofaprofessionalmixerwhilehe(orshe)mixedasongfrom
starttofinish?Trackingtheireverymovesoyoucouldlearnasmuchaspossible?Howabouthavingthechance
togetyourhandsonthesamefilesasthemsoyoucouldreplicatewhatyoulearnedandtweaktoyourtaste?
Well
The Mix Academy
TheMixAcademymaybeexactlywhatyouvebeenlookingfor!
Asamember,eachmonthyoullgetaccesstoanewsongwithincludedmultitracksandmystarttofinishmixing
tutorials.
Heresabreakdownofthemonthlyactivities:
Week1:Downloadthemultitracks&tutorials(streamingwithmobileisalsoavailable)
Week2:Tips,tricks,andmixrevisiontutorials.
Week3:Artist/ProducerInterview
Week4:CoachingCallwithmyselfandTheMixAcademyMadmen
Ifthatsnotenough,wehaveaprivateFacebookcommunityandmoreallwaitingforyouinsideofthesite.
DidImentionthatIincludeyourchoiceofoneofmypremiumtrainingcoursesincludedfreewithyour
membership?
LearnmoreandcheckoutTheMixAcademy,todayathttps://themixacademy.com!