Musicians and sounds engineers are only too aware of the intricacies, frustrations, blood, sweat and tears that go into mixing and mastering a piece of music. 

There is no such thing as ‘the perfect mix’. Everyone has a preference. What one person may hear as a ‘perfect’ mix, another may consider the vocals too quiet compared to the rest of the track. Maybe there’s too much reverb on the snare (a personal dislike of mine), or perhaps half the keys are completely inaudible (this is also very frustrating). The point is, don’t aim for ‘perfection’ because it doesn’t exist. Aim for the mix that you like, that is unique to your sound. 

Each sound engineer specialises in a different style, not only genre but how they work with placing different instruments in the music, and have their own personal preferences too. Bear this in mind and search for an engineer (unless your doing the job yourself) who understands your music and will complement your sound. 

Not everyone enjoys the same sort of mix and that’s good thing! Variety is the spice of life. The world would be a rather boring place if all music were to be mixed the same way. It’s stressful, recording, preparing tracks for mixing and the actual mixing process. 

Remember, music is not designed to be ‘perfect’. It should be real, human, it’s then that it is most enjoyable!