Production & Mixing Guide for Beginners

Why did I make this guide?

There is a lot to learn about the song-making process, and I don’t claim to know half of it. There are so many distinct and nuanced parts of the process, all of which represent a spectrum of completely different professions and skillsets. In my journey to better understand these roles - and to gain my own technical experience for mixing - I’ve come across a lot of useful information. I’ve also put much of it to use, otherwise discussing it with peers or referring it to someone with more use for it. The goal of this guide is to provide you with the foundational information that I have found crucial to the process of working with audio production software, specifically in terms of essential plugin software tools and general workflows. 

If you’re just starting your quest, consider this a starting point. Gives sword. If you’re experienced already, treat it like a refresher and an extension of your resources. If your objective is to be a professional mastering engineer in the near future, you should go to school for it or take up an apprenticeship with a professional. This is not en expert guide, just a heavily-researched one. You’re encouraged to look further into each topic or tool that interests you, and more importantly to try it out yourself, with this as a part of your roadmap.

  • Understand what YOU are doing - producing, mixing, or mastering

    • Despite the overlap between these roles, the differences between them are just as significant. Even if you ultimately choose to try more than one (and pursue them as you see fit) it is important to understand the differences. This isn’t only beneficial to you - it also makes you a much better collaborator, having an understanding of what your counterparts value in the process.

  • Understand the essential tools

    • You’ve likely come across an interesting sentiment in this space: that despite all the expensive equipment and software out there, you can get professional results with almost anything if you use it right. It speaks to two largely accurate ideas -
      (1) the key to good results is the skill, technique, and experience of the engineer, their tools being just a means to an end; and (2) most stock plugins feature the same technology as their high-end counterparts, and can produce the same results despite some aesthetic and quality-of-life shortcomings. I’m not here to debate that, it’s food for thought and I mostly agree.

      Either way, the job requires a particular set of tools, and a core set of skills to use them effectively - you should really them.

  • Establish a workflow

    • Everyone is entitled to an opinion and a workflow. There is no one way to set up your workspace, there’s no single way to produce mix your tracks, there’s no individual way to assess and improve your work - and there is no

  • Practice and improve with intention

    • This is a great way to approach most things in life I think, but particularly here with a skill you’re constantly developing and learning more about as you work. Take the time to notice details and store them away as experience. There will be terms and techniques to learn that you may not need for another year or two; there will be tips and tricks that apply to different tools and different circumstances than you initially learned; you will make “happy mistakes” that you later find out are secret gems used by the pros.

Glossary

| Definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. |

Tools, Techniques, and Software

  • noun

  • noun, acronym | Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release

  • also spelled “buss” but typically “bus”

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  • noun

  • noun, acronym | Digital Audio Workstation

  • noun

  • noun, sometimes used as a verb “to EQ”

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  • Not to be conflated with volume

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  • noun

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  • noun

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  • Not to be conflated with gain

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Workflow & General Terms

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  • See “master”

    The technical process of creating a master sound recording.

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  • Mostly rare written as WAVE

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