How to Start a Mix

Step 1: Start With The Drums

Head to the loudest section of the song (usually the last chorus - this means you won’t run out of headroom later).

Start by bringing up the drums until they peak around -12 dB on the master fader.

If you need to balance your drums first you can use this handy guide (coming soon).

Don't worry about EQ, compression, or tone shaping yet. Right now you're only focusing on level and balance.

Step 2: Set The Bass Against The Drums

Try and listen to the quick ‘ticky’ sound at the start of the drum hits. It’s usually in the 1-3k area.

Slowly raise the bass level until the midrange of the bass starts to cloud the drum transients.

Once this happens, back the bass off slightly until the drum transients poke through again.

There is no right answer here but listening this way will help you make good choices.

Don't worry about EQ, compression, or tone shaping yet. Right now you're only focusing on level and balance.

If you struggle to hear these relationships clearly, it can sometimes be due to your room acoustics. I often help artists troubleshoot this during finely tuned studio sessions.

Step 3: Set The Vocal Level

Raise the lead vocal it until it sits roughly level with the drums and bass.

Then gently push the vocal slightly louder until it feels like it sits on top of the rhythm section.

Once it feels right push it slightly further. If you’re mixing your own voice your brain will be filling the gaps and making it sound louder than it actually is.

As you do this, you'll notice something interesting happen.

The mix will suddenly start to feel more polished and more like a finished record.

This is what I call the vocal sweet spot.

In Alternative and Indie music the vocals usually sit slightly lower in the mix. In Pop or mainstream music vocals often sit slightly higher.

Your vocal might be too loud on some phrases and too quiet on others, but that is a job for vocal rides or compression.

Finish balancing the rest of the instrument and then use my guide on mixing vocals (coming soon) to really get things in shape.

Step 4: Bring In Supporting Instruments

Begin introducing the most important supporting element, for me this is usually guitars but it’s whatever you want the listener to notice after the vocal.

As you bring up the sound don’t listen to that instrument directly, listen to the vocal, where does it start to make the vocal feel smaller?

Listen to how it affects the drum transients, does it mask the bass?

It can be handy to find it’s loudest possible volume and quietest possible volume (in your opinion) and then try different points between the two.

Repeat this process with the remaining instruments.

Always listen to how the new element affects your drum transients and your vocal clarity.

Step 5: Refine The Balance

Once everything is in, start making small fader adjustments.

Focus on:

• Tightening or widening the space between instruments
• How the balance affects the energy of the song
• Whether the mix feels deep and three-dimensional

A great mix usually has a sense of front, middle and back.

When the balance is right, the song starts to feel cohesive and musical.

Now you can start identifying where EQ or compression might help.

I tend to start with the vocal but there’s no rules.