The argument in favor of mixing as you go is that you save time - you're going to be mixing it anyways, so why not do it now?

The argument in favor of mixing at the end is that you allow yourself hyperfocus - instead of dividing your attention between composing and arranging and mixing and orchestrating, you're isolating the tasks and devoting all your mental energy to perfecting the mix.

I know tons of producers in multiple genres who mix as they go, and I know just as many who divide up their sessions into different projects based on what stage they're at in the songwriting process. All of them write amazing sounding music, and all of them have the same thing in common:

They always go back and change things later. So why stress that much over which is the proper way to mix? You're not going to keep the mix you had during your first go at least 75% of the time if not 99% of the time. Instead, try to figure out the workflow that gets you the best mix possible for your personal production style!


I personally switch between both styles, mostly based on my whim at the moment. Sometimes I just mix as I add elements or as I feel that elements are out of place, and sometimes I'll save a whole new project session, pull all the faders down to -Inf, and try to do a fresh mix. Hell, sometimes I'll save a "Composition Mix" and a "Fresh Mix" just so I can compare and see which I like better! The important thing is that you're constantly trying to do better and you're constantly referencing other songs (and referencing on as many listening devices and in as many environments as possible).

Interesting, I think i'll stick to mixing on the go. it's hard to imagine people not mixing on the go and just laying down the track raw and straight. I mean the reason I do EQ, panning, and volume automation on the go is because otherwise the song sounds like trash midway. Say I have a nice drum loop for 8 bars, then a bassline hops in, that suddenly drowns out the kick. I hear it instantly.

I can't simply ignore it and keep working on my beat because to me that sounds off already. So i'll start doing some volume automation, here and there. EQing to remove muddyness and have clarity with all frequencies to breath. Also gives that headroom for my master (further down the line). By the end of it I have a decently mixed track, and then I assume would be the time to finetune that perhaps, I panned this kick to much at this part of the track, or the volume is too high here. Or I didn't EQ something enough, so I add a bit more.

At least that's the logic I see behind it, I see the reason why for live recording it works fine to separate the two, it's hard to imagine an EDM producer not do it on the fly as you can hear the imperfections and sounds out of balance if you leave all your gains at the same place in the bus and if you never slash any frequencies.

Hey guys, i'm currently reading a book on mixing, as I finished my first track ever from start to end (finally) and want to get my hands dirty already with the nitty gritty stuff.

I fully understand the process of mixing from a live bands standpoint. Get instruments in as raw as possible, it's usually all live recordings, so you gotta do your volume adjustments, panning, EQing. Getting everything blending right.

EDM, however, is not recorded live. You are making what you're hearing on the go, and thus are instantly applying things such as ducking, compression, EQing, reverb and delay effects. etc, on the go. Balancing volumes and also panning, all that jazz, because it shapes the way your song sounds and you're already hearing it live from the monitors. Am I right to assume that EDM is kind of mixed on the GO for a good 75% of it by the end of the track?

I'm sure there's a huge benefit to still sit down after a track is done and clean up the mix, find some inconsistencies, fix some EQing and volume automations, but as your EDM production is done, shouldn't the mixing be at least halfway there already?

I'm just trying to get into the understanding the mindset behind mixing, as from what I get it's just a lot of EQ, volume automation adjustements, and effects (effects often placed on your specific mix buses already because well it's an integral part of the sound design and effects you want the song to give out) and making sure it all sounds cohesive since EDM relies heavily on that to come out punching just right.

The book i'm reading talks clearly from a more live recording mixdown standpoint, and I just wanna know how to translate that into EDM and if my assumptions are correct about having our job done halfway already because of the very core way we produce our music.

Interested in hearing your thoughts about this

I think what i'm realizing is that I'm so sure I wrote the beat as a perfect 4x4 but in reality I must have cut short some notes. And that just by stretching some of them by perhaps a half of quarter of a beat collectively i'll end up getting that 8 bar without jeopardizing the initial beat I had in my head

Skrillex has said before that he uses ATH-M50s to mix his tunes.

I guess I'm glad I bought them for my piano. I was looking for a pair of headphones that would give a clear sound to something as dynamic as a piano. It's mad crystal clear and just all around lovely. It's good to know they'll be useful for mixing aswell as I start dabbling into production.