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 stillsounded 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 mixing is much, much bigger.

So what is mixing? Mixing is the process of using tools like volume faders, compressors, EQs, and reverbs to make the individual tracks of a song sound balancedand emotional.

In other words, mixing is the process of making your recordings sound like a song instead of a collection of raw tracks.