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Balance - The most basic element of a mix. A great mix must start here first and without a good balance everything else is a waste of time. A good balance involves the arrangement and the levels of each track relative to the other tracks and the composition as a whole.
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Stereo Image - Careful use of panning gives each track a space in the overall mix. Panning can create excitement by adding movement to the track and clarity to an instrument by moving it out of the way of other sounds that may be clashing with it.
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Frequency Range -EQ is a very important part of mixing and can make or break a mix. EQ is used to make you tracks and mix sound bigger, fatter, brighter and clearer. EQ can make an instrument or the mix sound “larger than life”. The idea behind EQ in the mix is to make the mix fit together by giving every instrument it’s own predominant frequency range
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Dimension (FX) - The addition of effects done properly gives the mix its ambience. Effects such as reverb, delay, chorus or modulation help to enhance the mix adding excitement and a sense of aural space. Effects can also be used to make a track sound bigger, wider, deeper and generally more interesting to the listener.
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Dynamics (Compression & Gating) - The manipulation of dynamics plays a major role in the sound. Just about nothing else can affect your mix as much or in so many ways as compression. Correct use of compression will make your track sound bigger, louder and punchier. Gating is used carefully to remove spill from recordings giving instruments more clarity in the mix.
- Interest - This is something I focus on that helps push the core elements of the mix. Identification of the most important elements such as a groove, particular vocals or instruments are considered and emphasized during the mixing process. This process gives more interest to the track from the audience perspective.
- All unwanted noise between the tracks will be cleaned up.
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