The mixing checklist
Every step in working order — because mixes don't fail from missing skill, they fail from steps done out of order or skipped under fatigue.
Two conditions before this list applies: the arrangement is final (mixing a moving target means mixing twice), and you have two reference tracks chosen — commercial songs in your genre whose mix you trust. Everything below assumes both.
1 · Session prep
Ten minutes here saves an hour of hunting later.
- Tracks named and colored; buses created (drums, bass, music, vocals, FX)
- Gain-staged: every fader near 0, no channel clipping into its first plugin
- References imported into the session, level-matched to your rough mix
- A break taken between finishing production and starting the mix — fresh ears
2 · Static balance
Volume is the most powerful tool on the desk. A great static balance is 70% of a great mix.
- Full balance done with faders and pan only — zero plugins
- The most important element (vocal or lead) set first; everything placed around it
- Balance checked at low volume — priorities show up when it's quiet
- Rough pan decisions made: what's center, what's wide
3 · EQ
EQ gives each element a home. If two sounds fight, one of them moves.
- High-pass on everything that doesn't need lows (not the kick/bass)
- Masking resolved between the pairs that always fight: kick–bass, vocal–synths, snare–claps
- Cuts preferred over boosts where possible
- Every EQ move A/B checked at matched loudness — louder always sounds "better"
4 · Compression
Compression needs a named purpose per track — control, glue or color. "Everyone compresses" is not a purpose.
- Each compressor has a stated job you can say out loud
- Gain reduction sane (typically 2-6 dB; more is a sound-design choice, made on purpose)
- Bus compression on drums/mix bus subtle: 1-3 dB, slow enough to keep transients
- Bypass-compared at matched loudness
5 · Space
Front-to-back with reverb and delay, left-to-right with pan. Depth is what makes a mix sound expensive.
- Shared reverb/delay sends, not one insert per track
- Something deliberately dry and up front — contrast is what reads as depth
- Delay times in tempo; reverb tails not smearing the low end
- Width checked: sides interesting, but the mix survives folded to mono
6 · Automation
A static mix is a photograph; a mixed song is a film.
- Vocal/lead rides so every phrase stays intelligible
- Section-to-section moves: choruses bigger, verses more intimate (1 dB is a lot)
- FX automation on transitions (reverb throws, filter moves, delay tails)
7 · Translation — the exit test
The mix is done when it works everywhere, not when it's perfect somewhere.
- Loudness-matched A/B against both references: no embarrassing gap in tone or punch
- Checked on earbuds, phone speaker, car, and one loud full-range listen
- Low end checked in mono
- Each bus soloed once: no clicks, pops, clipped transients, bad fades
- Headroom for mastering: peaks ~−3 to −6 dB, no limiter on the master bus
- No defect you can name. "It doesn't feel right" after forty listens is fatigue — and fatigue is not information
Next stop after this list: the mastering prep checklist — the handoff has its own five-minute list, and skipping it is how good mixes get bad masters.
This checklist, inside every project.
The Engineer's Workpad tracks the mix stage step by step — with reference EQ and pan charts where you need them. One active project free · $4.99 one-time unlocks full features · plans for 10+ projects.
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