How to Know the Difference Between Music Recording and Mixing

Bob Clearmountain is often considered the first recording engineer to branch off into a specialty position known as mixing. Prior to that, most engineers mixed the records themselves.

Because this is a relatively new occupation, there is some misunderstanding in terms of who does what.

I will try to help minimize the discrepancies between the two positions.

Instructions

1. A recording engineer is considered one who actually records the music. He receives direction from the producer and artist.

   The responsibilities include setting up the microphones and getting the tones for the application at hand. He should have a deep understanding of which tools work best for a variety of applications.

   He should be able to quickly and efficiently attain the sounds expected, be it a guitar amp, vocal performer, drums, horns, etc.

   He is to ensure that the monitoring system for each of the performers is adequate and working at all times.

2. The mix engineer receives the project after all the music has been written, arranged, performed and edited. She is quite often hired at another studio that is suitable for mixing.

   The mix engineer also takes direction from the producer and artist. At this point, the music starts to take shape and it's not uncommon for the creative decisions to vacillate. Often what were initially considered the best ideas may change at the mixing stage of the production. It's not always easy to make those decisions while the record is at the early stages of the production. It is the mix engineer's responsibility to cater to those requests, however radical they may be.

3. If I could sum it all up in just a few words, my description would be this: The recording is the process of gathering all the best materials from the world's best designers, whereas mixing is the art of carefully putting them all together into one cohesive presentation.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that recording engineers will also mix. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Many engineers are quite capable of performing a myriad of different tasks.