5 mixing mistakes we hear all the time

1. Too much compression on the bus

The master bus is the final touch. Many beginners slam it with 6–8 dB of GR thinking it’ll “glue” the mix. The result: killed dynamics, dead transients, and an unworkable master. Aim for 1–3 dB max on the bus, and let the volume breathe.

2. Uncontrolled low end below 80 Hz

Sub frequencies eat up headroom without you actually hearing them on desktop speakers. A high-pass at 20–30 Hz on nearly every element (except kick and bass) instantly frees up space. A good monitor or closed-back headphone reveals everything you’re missing.

3. Cluttered mid-range

Between 800 Hz and 3 kHz, everything wants space: vocals, guitar, synths, snare. The result is a muddy, fatiguing mix. The fix: sidechain and dynamic EQ. Prioritise the lead vocal, then carve everything else around it.

4. No depth (front-to-back)

Reverb and delay create the depth dimension. A mix without depth sounds flat, like a wall of sound. But too much reverb drowns everything. The trick: use short pre-delays (15–30 ms) so close sounds stay readable even with reverb on them.

5. No mono check

If your mix doesn’t hold up in mono, it won’t survive most compressed streaming systems, bars, or cars. Check in mono at every stage. If something disappears, you have a phase problem.