How to Mix Your Productions (Step by Step)
Mixing is one of the most important skills you can develop , and it’s also one of the most overlooked.
You can have an incredible composition and a beautiful production, but if the mix isn’t right, the whole thing falls apart. A great mix brings clarity, depth, emotion, and impact. A bad one hides all the hard work you put in.
Here’s a simple breakdown of how I approach mixing.
1. Balance and Panning
This is the most important step. Seriously.
A lot of people run to fancy plugins when something feels off, but most of the time the fix is simple: turn something up or turn something down.
Spend real time getting your level balance right. Decide what needs to be front and center and keep those elements louder and closer to the middle. Supporting elements can sit lower and slightly to the left or right.
Don’t be afraid to hard pan things. And don’t feel like both sides have to be perfectly symmetrical. If it feels good, it is good.
If your balance is right, your mix is already halfway done.
2. EQ
EQ stands for equalization.
You’ve already used EQ before, even if you didn’t realize it. Every time you adjusted bass, mids, or treble in your car or on a speaker, you were shaping frequencies.
In a mix, EQ helps each element fit into its own space.
Most of the time, you’ll:
Cut unnecessary low end
Clean up muddy low-mids
Add a bit of top end for clarity
EQ shapes the sonic palette of your song. Some tracks need subtle moves. Others need more drastic changes. Either way, almost every element needs some form of EQ.
I’ll go deeper into this in a future newsletter.
3. Compression
Compression is all about dynamic control.
Let’s say you recorded a guitar. Naturally, the player won’t hit every note at the exact same volume. Some parts will jump out. Others will disappear.
Compression reduces that dynamic range so the performance feels more consistent and controlled.
The main controls to understand are:
Threshold: when the compressor starts working
Attack: how quickly it reacts
Release: how quickly it lets go
A good starting point for many situations is a medium-fast attack, a faster release, and lowering the threshold until you’re getting around 3 dB of gain reduction.
There’s way more to compression than that, but that’ll get you moving in the right direction.
4. Saturation
Saturation adds subtle harmonic distortion. When used well, it makes things feel warmer, fuller, and more alive.
Used too heavily, it turns into a mess fast.
Common types include tape, tube, and overdrive saturation. Each has its own character. The key is subtlety. You should feel it more than you hear it.
A little goes a long way.
5. FX
This is where things get creative.
Reverbs, delays, chorus, flanger, phaser — these effects add space, depth, and movement.
For better control, don’t insert them directly on the track. Put them on a bus and send the amount you want. This keeps your mix cleaner and gives you flexibility.
Also, EQ your effects. Cut some low end so the mix doesn’t get muddy. Roll off some high end if things start feeling harsh. Effects should support the mix, not take it over.
6. Automation
This is where a good mix becomes a great mix.
At this stage, your mix sounds solid — but it’s static.
Start automating volume, panning, EQ adjustments, compression changes, and effect sends throughout the track. Create movement. Build contrast. Let sections breathe.
Nothing should feel completely set and forget. Small changes over time are what make a mix feel alive and intentional.
This is where you should spend the most time.
This is just a general overview of my mixing process. There’s a lot more to cover — limiters, mix bus processing, gain staging, and more — and I’ll break those down in future emails.
If this helped, let me know. And if you’re working on something right now, try focusing on just balance first. You might be surprised how much that alone improves your track.
Thanks for reading.
