The Ultimate

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).

Click here to watch our YouTube Channel!

 Stereobuss Automation
Agreattrickforaddingpunch,energy,dynamics(oratleasttheimpressionofdynamics)istoautomatethe
volumeandwidthofyourstereobuss.WhatIllsometimesdoispulltheoverallvolumeofmystereobussdownto
1db.Then,Illlifttheprechorusto0.5andthenletthesongexplodebackupto0atthechorus/hook.Ilovethis
trick!ExperimentwiththisSometimesyoumayonlyneedtogodown0.5togetthedesiredimpact.

*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.

Heres a quick rundown

 The Mix Academy
Doespracticemakesperfectapplytomixingmusic?

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!