What is mixing?
Mixing is the process of shaping the multiple tracks you recorded or programmed so they sound like one piece of music. You set levels with faders and left-right positions with pan, adjust tone and level differences with EQ and compression, and create depth and cohesion with reverb and delay.
Start with level balance
Before adding plug-ins, getting to a state where the faders alone make clear what is lead and what is support makes decisions easier. Even in a vocal-centered song, the vocal does not always have to be the loudest. Shape which sound the ear is naturally drawn to according to the song’s intent.
Organize frequency, placement and depth
When many sounds pile up in the same frequency range, individual parts become hard to hear. Clean up unnecessary content with EQ, place parts left and right with pan, and create front-to-back distance with reverb and delay. Compression and automation are for evening out passages where the level is unstable.
Making the two-mix
In the end, all tracks are summed to a stereo output and exported as a two-channel audio file. This is called the two-mix. If you are handing it to mastering, avoid unnecessary clipping and excessive limiting, and export with margin left.
Check on different playback systems
Judging only on your production speakers can hide problems with low end and width. Listen on headphones, a smartphone and a small speaker as well, and check whether the lead is clear at low volume and whether important sounds disappear in mono. Comparing against a reference track at matched level is also effective.
Related reading
How to export individual tracks so a mix can be done in another environment, and how that differs from a two-mix, is covered in How to Export Stems for All Tracks in Logic Pro (Japanese).
