Production vs. Mixing: The Critical Difference Behind Pro Tracks

Mixing & Production: Understanding the Process

When students who’ve just started with me or friends seeking feedback send over a demo, I immediately get the classic reply: “I’m not sure about the mix yet” or “the mix isn’t set yet.” Then I ask, “Is the production ready? Have you finished the production?” Most of the time the answer is no—the production is still in its early stages, it isn’t finished, or it’s missing many elements that are crucial for the genre. Many producers, both newbies and more experienced, confuse production with mixing and mastering.

What Is Production?

Production is the stage where I shape the song and decide on the style I’m going for. I spend time choosing the elements and sources for the track, work a lot on sound design, and layer all the parts. If I’m working on an acoustic production, I do the recordings. I put a lot of thought into the main idea of the track, work with EQ to shape the tone of each element, and use compression to keep things like vocals, synths, and bass in balance.

The goal during production is that no matter which “Play” button you hit at the end, you hear the track exactly as you envisioned it—with every element playing in its proper place, sounds chosen true to the genre, and that peak energy coming through as it should. The aim is to reach 100% of the production’s potential and to capture the central idea. Don’t worry about the mix during production—that’s my biggest tip for you. Just let your creativity run wild.

*(“Is it time for me to get in the car and listen to my production?” comes after the next part.)*

What Is Mixing?

Mixing is the stage where people often get confused and mix it up with production, and that’s okay. Some folks even mix while they’re still producing and do a great job, but eventually they still spend time on all those final tweaks and adjustments that truly define a mix.

I recommend finishing the production as described above before moving on to mixing. It’s a good idea to wait a day or two afterward to refresh your ears. The mix is what gives that final polish—the remaining 5%—fine-tuning the sound exactly how you want it. Sometimes it can even transform the track into something that sounds much bigger than it did during production. It all depends on you and your skills.

In mixing, you’ll spend time balancing all the elements (gain staging) and bringing out those important parts that may have gotten lost or pushed back. Always export a reference of the final production before mixing so you can do A/B comparisons and make informed decisions.

Beyond just adjusting volumes, you’ll clean up harsh and ultra-low frequencies, balance elements with a compressor (or use one to set a specific behavior), widen the stereo image with panning, and address issues like masking and phase cancellation. These steps lead to a track that sounds much more precise and organized, so much so that you can really hear the difference when you compare (A/B) with the original.

What Is Mastering?

This is the stage I’m really excited about because it means the track or song is about to be released to the world (or, depending on how much the label pushes back the release date 😡). Mastering is our final stage, where we fine-tune the track or song. We gently remove problematic frequencies and, if needed, patch them with a compressor designed for that purpose (I’ll be writing an article on mastering compressors later). We also expand the overall stereo image and, if necessary, boost the highs and lows. Every production needs its own approach, so take this stage seriously and don’t just rely on generic presets.

For me, the very last step in mastering is adjusting the loudness—the overall power of the track. The loudness should be in line with similar tracks in the genre. This stage must be handled carefully because there’s a tendency for the audio signal to distort and actually sound like distortion. In summary, remember that mastering isn’t just about volume; it’s so much more than that, and its goal is to deliver the final, signature touch.

David.