Mixing Tips

Mixing is the process of balancing each recorded part so that its loudness, tone, panoramic position and effect levels blend sonically and musically with each other. The parts are then exported or ‘bounced’ as a stereo audio file ready for mastering (see Chap. 22 : What is Mastering?). The finished master can then be converted into formats that are compatible with consumer playback devices such as CD and MP3 players. Each mix engineer has his or her own particular style and approach to mixing. However, they all have one thing in common—they know how and when to correctly use all of the audio tools at their disposal.