I've been compiling notes over the last few months to give to artists who want me to do mixing for them — especially those who are relatively new to the process and who have purchased gear to record with at home. To hear great, unique tracks obscured and marred by recording flaws is such a pity, especially when most of the flaws could have been easily avoided with a little knowledge and planning.
Part one has to do with properly preparing the recorded DAW tracks for mixing. These suggestions can save money for the artist since a computer-savvy band member "off the clock" and outside the studio can do most of them. Ideally the first hour or so when an engineer pulls up a new multitrack for mixing should be a "right-brain," intuitive time, where the music speaks and tells the engineer where the mix should go. If this time is spent on housekeeping and weed-clearing the tracks, that opportunity for first impressions is lost or diminished. (Note: Some of the below may be Pro Tools-specific, since that's what I use, but most of it can apply to all DAWs.)
Essential Things To Do
1. Create Memory Location markers of each song's arrangement. You can make these "on the fly" by hitting "enter" as the music plays. After this, reposition the markers as accurately as possible, perhaps using grid mode to move the markers to exact locations. Name them in a clear manner: "Intro, V1a, V1b, Ch1, Transition 1, Bridge, Solo, Outro, Last Chord, Fade starts" or any understandable shorthand.
2. Indicate the average tempo(s) in beats per minute (BPM) if you know it. Make sure any tempo map is in the conductor track if appropriate. Write down any click tempo in a Comments window as well. The same goes for the key or keys of the music. If there are places where it modulates, you can make a Memory Location for these as well.
3. Do a Save As and name the session as "[song title] MIX."
