Mix Tutorial: Can You Make It Sound Great in Mono?

Think your mix sounds good? Try making it work in mono first.

This mix challenge is a hands-on way to improve your ear, speed up your workflow, and learn what really matters in a track. By forcing yourself to work in mono, you’ll uncover messy arrangements, frequency clashes, and overproduction fast.

Whether you're self-producing at home or just trying to level up your mixes, this challenge helps you:

  • Learn when less is more and when more is better

  • Spot masking and build-ups across the frequency spectrum

  • Understand depth in a mix (front-to-back placement)

There are only so many decibels, frequencies, samples, and bits. The question is: can you make every single one count?

Step-by-Step: Mixing Mono Tutorial

Step 1 – Tonal Balance

Start by building a strong tonal foundation:

  • Balance your kick, snare, and cymbals to set the top and bottom

  • Add your bass, making space for the kick and snare

  • Fill in midrange instruments and vocals for a full, if messy, mix
    ✅ Tip: Always start with the loudest part of the song and gain-stage properly.

Step 2 – Front and Back

Now define what matters most:

  • Mute parts that don’t support the emotion of the song

  • Turn down support layers until they sit behind your leads

  • Use EQ to remove low/high frequencies from background parts to push them back

Your mix should now have a clear sense of depth — leads in front, support in back.

Step 3 – Low End

Get your low end working cleanly:

  • Cut anything clogging the subs

  • Choose whether the kick or bass takes priority

  • Make sure your kick, snare, and bass all hit with clarity and punch

Step 4 – Midrange

This is where clarity often dies. Be ruthless:

  • Focus on no more than 3 main midrange instruments (e.g. vocal, lead, support)

  • Assign frequency zones to each (example below)

Example layout:

  • Bass: 700–1kHz

  • Lead guitar: 1.5kHz

  • Vocals: 2–3kHz

  • Rhythm guitar: 4kHz

🧠 Every song is different — experiment and trust your ears.

Step 5 – Top End

Get surgical with the highs:

  • What’s eating up the sparkle?

  • Do all your instruments need 8k+ info?

  • Filter support tracks to create space for your lead sounds

Step 6 – Compression

Use your usual compression methods or experiment:

  • Faster attack times = push things back in the mix

  • Slower release times = keep sounds more stable

  • Adjust to create punch, cohesion, and controlled dynamics

Step 7 – Freemix

Now mix freely, focusing only on balance:

  • Make smaller adjustments until it feels just right

  • Aim to create a release-ready mono mix

🎯 This is a real ear-training challenge — stick with it!

Step 8 – Stereo That Thing!

Once your mono mix is solid:

  • Save a new version and begin panning out instruments

  • Let the stereo image reveal how much clarity you built

  • If things feel sparse, try shared reverb or light stereo bus glue

If it still feels off, start finishing it like you normally would — but now you’re working from a far stronger foundation.

What You’ve Learnt

This challenge teaches you how to:

  • Spot arrangement issues fast

  • Make confident mix decisions

  • Prioritise what matters in a song

  • Build clarity and depth from the ground up

Share Your Results!

Tried the challenge? I’d love to hear how it went.

Tag @mixinghertz on Instagram or email me at ed@mixinghertz.com. Whether it’s a breakthrough or just a better mix, your progress matters.

Want some personalised support? Get in touch and start making some real progress.