The mindset of "fixing it in the mix" is a disaster waiting to happen.

I don't know how many times I've come across mixing problems that were actually songwriting, arranging or editing problems.

Sometimes I've even gone so far as to refuse mixing the song because it'll never sound good no matter how many plug-ins I throw at it. 

When a song has a foundational problem because of subpar songwriting, inadequate arrangements, or lazy editing, there's nothing you can do to "fix it in the mix."

So before you even START mixing, you need to make sure that the song is ready for mixing.

In Step By Step Mixing, I make the point that it's much more fun to mix when your tracks are edited and cleaned up, just like it's more fun to cook in a clean kitchen.

But you could extrapolate the process even further, all the way to the songwriting, production, and arrangement phase.

Mixing is a separate, creative process so making sure you are ready for mixing is crucial for making it through successfully.

So, to help you out, I put together a list of 23 things to keep in mind before you even start mixing.

I call this my Pre-Mixing Checklist and I hope it'll help you make sure you're off on the right track before you start mixing.

Song Structure

• Is the song completed?
• Does it have all the necessary parts: verses, choruses, and bridges that you believe it needs?
• Does each part flow naturally into one another?
• Are the lyrics completed?
• Is the melody strong and believable, evoking emotion and building up into the chorus?

Instrumentation and Arrangement

• Did you think about all of the instruments that should be in the song?
• If you’re in a band, has each band member written specific parts for the song? Disregard this if you’re in a jam band :)
• Are there enough musicians and instruments in your band to make an exciting song or are you a singer/songwriter that needs to hire session musicians to help flesh out the arrangement?
• Is the song in the right key for the singer?
• Is the song the right tempo or would speeding it up or slowing it down help make it more powerful?
• Have you written vocal harmonies to make the melody even more powerful (or to make a boring melody actually exciting!)
• Will you be needing to do a lot of overdubs or will this be a simple demo recording with everyone playing in the room?

Editing

• Have all the tracks been recorded?
• Have you made notes on which takes were the best?
• Have you grouped the tracks together that need to be edited together?
• Have you listened to each take to remember the best performance nuggets of each take?
• Have you comped the best of each take into one bad-ass master take?
• Have you decided which instrument you should edit all your other instruments to?
• Have you tweaked and nudged all the small timing inconsistencies away?
• Have you edited out all the silences that you don’t need between performances?
• Have you made all the necessary vocal tuning tweaks?
• Have you taken care of any crossfades you need between edits to avoid pops and clicks?
• Have you de-noised every track that needs it?

If you answered yes to all of these questions...

Congratulations, your song is ready for mixing!

Now that your song is ready for mixing, I want to share my fool-proof mixing process that's guaranteed to get you finished mixes in less time.

It's all a part of my FREE Mix Finisher VIP Workshop that I'm bringing back, this week only.

My flagship course, Mix Finisher Formula, will open to new students on Monday, and to celebrate I wanted to bring back this free workshop that helped over 600 students improve their mixes last year.

Keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow for the announcement and make sure you watch the workshop this week while it's available.

Talk soon,

Björgvin