A Mixing Engineer is responsible for blending individual tracks (instruments, vocals, sounds, etc) of a recording into a cohesive and polished final version.

Mark Needham is a Los Angeles-based audio professional who has worked on records by Blondie, Chris Isaak, and The Killers, to name just a few. While a mix engineer’s job is technical, it’s also creative and artistic. It’s about bringing out the emotion of the song.

“[The goal is to] take [the song] further so the audio is creating the emotions they’re trying to get across in the lyrics,” Needham says. “Make it sound like a big hit — that’s what we’re trying to do.”

This involves adjusting volume levels, panning sounds across the stereo field, applying equalization (EQ) to shape the tonal balance, adding effects like reverb and delay for depth and ambiance, and ensuring that each element of the mix complements the others.

The goal is to create a balanced and dynamic mix that highlights the artistic intent of the musicians and producers, making sure the track will sound good and be impactful across different playback systems. Mixing engineers use a combination of technical skills and creative judgment to enhance the overall sound and emotional expression of a piece of music.

The average annual salary for Mix Engineers is approximately $84,100. The salary range for Mix Engineers is from $60,000 to $125,000.

Mix Engineers earn income in a variety of ways, which can also depend on the other roles they take on in the creation of an album, apart from mixing. Says Needham, “We have our base book rate but we certainly go up and down depending on the project.

“If it’s something I really want to be involved in and I believe in its potential for success, I’ll sometimes work cheaper. I’m a one point Audio Mixer which means I have a percentage across sales of the record, Sound Exchange (every time it plays online) and licensing in film and TV. Payment for these two streams comes from either the label and/or directly from the artists whose work was placed in the film/TV [program].”

“That’s something a young Engineer getting started probably won’t be able to ask for, but certainly, to generate an income chain later in your career that’s a good idea. As a Producer, I’m always producing for three points on a record. Songwriting and actually playing on a record are great ways to generate income down the road,” as well.”

Hey, what do you think about trying our new Music Career HelperMusic Career Helper really quick? It’s totally free and could help get your career moving fast! Give it a try. It’s totally free and you have nothing to lose.

Being a mix engineer today is both promising and challenging. As the music industry continues to evolve with technological advancements, the demand for skilled mix engineers remains strong.

Many people record music in their home studios and send those tracks to a mix engineer for mixing. This can make it more challenging because many of these artists are not professional recording engineers and their recordings may sound sub-par. This naturally makes the mix engineer’s job a little harder.

However, because so many people are making music on their own now and with the internet keep us all connected from across the globe, there are more opportunities to mix music and work with many different clients.

This also creates more competition and that means you may have to work harder than other mix engineers.

“Even after years doing this, I still probably work 70-80 hours a week,” Needham says. “I put in twelve-hour days six days a week.”

The time of day/night you can expect to find a Mix Engineer at work will depend on deadlines, but since the work is mostly solitary, an Engineer can make his or her own schedule. This means the work schedule is anything but a 9-5.

“I do a lot of my critical mixing early in the morning when the phone’s not ringing, the email isn’t too much,” Needham says. “It’s quiet and I just find it easier to delve into a project without a lot of interruptions.”

But it’s very important to give your ears a break throughout the day, especially working such long days.

“I find it really important when you’re mixing to take ear breaks and walk away from the song for a minute so you can listen with fresh ears and not be fretting over something,” he says. “Coming back to things with fresh ears — that’s a big part of the process as well.”

The best way to get started as a mixing engineer is to get some reps in. Choose a DAW (preferably Pro Tools and/or Logic Pro if you plan to work in a professional studio) and learn everything you can about it. Get a good pair of headphones and/or studio monitors. Then learn the basics of mixing music from tutorials and by referencing pro-level mixes.

Offer free mixes to friends and artists you know. Make your own music and do the mixing. Anything you can do to get practice.

With the prevalence of music production and engineering programs, many Mix Engineers now begin their careers as Interns or Assistant Engineers, working their way up as they gain experience. Career advancement comes through working with more prestigious studios, or by striking out and opening one’s own studio.

Working with well-known artists who sell a lot of records also represents a significant career achievement, as it means the Engineer’s business and reputation will grow, as well.

Aspiring Mix Engineers have a couple possible options when it comes to building their careers. Self-starters with an intuitive understanding of studio equipment can teach themselves many of the skills they need before setting themselves up as professional Engineers. The more common route, however, is to find a mentor who can teach you the required skills while on the job.

“There are internships available at major studios,” Needham says. “That’s one route a lot of people take. I personally never did that. I never worked as an Intern or an Assistant Engineer; I got a two-track tape recorder and a little four-channel mixer and just started my own studio.

There’s certainly a lot to be learned if you can find an internship or work as an Assistant Engineer for someone who’s already established. I’ve helped train a lot of Assistants who have gone to become successful Engineers.”

• “Get a program you’re comfortable working with, if it’s GarageBand or Pro Tools. There are so many platforms available out there. Just start trying to create your own songs.
• There are songs online that are big hits already that you can download. Listen to what the final result was and try to match that. Or see if you can take a song in a different direction.
• Don’t be afraid to sit and experiment, to take a plug-in compressor and try to make it very subtle then just the most extreme it can be — just to learn what the parameters of all those plug-ins can be. Take an EQ and play with the EQ on the snare so you can get a little more rattle or crack out of a snare; you can really get familiar with where all those different frequencies are.”

Although Mix Engineers must have strong technical abilities, Needham says, “I don’t think there’s a real special skill [needed for this career], besides having a love for music or being a musician. I was a Drummer and Guitar Player and was always fascinated by the technical ends: the tape recorders and all that.

“So for me, it was a perfect fit of both worlds. [One important skill is] being able to deal with people and get to the point of what they’re trying to get across really quickly. People skills are very important and so is having confidence when you’re in the studio with the band so they think you actually know what you’re doing!”

“It makes the whole creative process move so much smoother and everyone feels comfortable together. I think making artists be able to feel comfortable in the studio and keeping it a creative experience is very important.”

Mix Engineers usually work on their own but must enjoy socializing in order to drum up new clients and maintain industry connections. The type of personality who would do best in this role is, according to Needham, “somebody who likes to work really hard. There are so many people who want to do it, but who don’t put in the amount of work that’s required.

“I think you have to be ready to work incredibly hard. There’s a certain amount of ego; I don’t think it’s being egotistical, but a certain amount of ego and confidence in your abilities is important.”

Here’s a quick look at the basic skills you’ll need to succeed as a mix engineer:

• Proficiency with your chosen Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs): pick a DAW and learn everything you can about it through practice so you become quick and efficient (if you want to end up in a professional studio, start with Pro Tool and Logic Pro)
• Experience with and knowledge of plugins: the plugins you’ll be using most often as a mix engineer are EQ, compression, reverb, and delay (but there are many more you should eventually learn)
• Critical listening: develop a keen ear for detail to identify and adjust the nuances of each track to get a balanced mix
• Acoustics: understand how sound behaves in different environments and rooms and how to compensate for acoustic issues in mixing spaces
• Musicality: even if you’re not a musician, you should have a good sense of rhythm, melody, and harmony to make artistic decisions that serve the music’s intent
• Attention to detail: you must know how to have precision in making small adjustments that significantly impact the overall mix quality
• Communication skills: you need to be able to understand and interpret the artist’s vision and translate that into the song

Many Mix Engineers learn the essential skills by attending a production or audio engineering degree program.

Of course, since being a successful Mix Engineer requires a certain level of hands-on experience before one can even think of joining the workforce, it’s important to receive on-the-job training through internships or assistant work. Needham adds, “I think it’s good to have a background in music.

“If you’re not a musician, take guitar, piano and drum classes, so you can understand what notes work together and which don’t. Also, have a good understanding of rhythm, so you can understand why beats aren’t working together. I think a musical background is a great place to start.

I studied physics and I think that’s great to have a basic idea of sine waves and how energy works. That’s sound in the air. It’s a little easier [when you understand physics].”

“There are a lot of great schools out there that didn’t exist when I started. I think one of the most important things is if you have an understanding of how audio works and a musical background.

Get some equipment and just start doing it every day. It’s the 10,000 times rule. Nothing beats doing it.”

What equipment and software should you have as a mix engineer? Here’s what’s necessary if you’re just getting started:

• Computer (whether a laptop or desktop)
• DAW (Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Reaper are all good options)
• A quality pair of studio monitors (PreSonus Eris E5s are good for mixing)
• If you can’t get monitors, a pair of open-backed headphones will do (the Sennheiser HD650s are a good balance of quality and affordability)

These are the absolute basics you’ll need to start. From there, you can add pieces of equipment (like an audio interface or analog compressors) and plugins (there are so many that do different things), as you see fit.

Needham suggests, “The Grammy Foundation (Grammy U and NARAS) has ways for you to get together with other people who are more established in the business and people at the same level as you if you’re just starting out. That’s a way to be more involved with the community and networking. They have cheaper memberships for students as well. That’s really a good resource, that and the Audio Engineering Society (AES).”