7. Your Personal Mixing Checklist
A Feel-First Gut-Check Before You Bounce
Before you hit export… stop.
Don’t ask yourself, “Is this ready?”
Ask, “Does this feel like it matters?”
This checklist isn’t about whether your mix will win a Grammy or pass the
Bluetooth speaker test at your cousin’s barbecue. It’s about whether it lives.
Whether it has blood in it. Whether you left the humanity intact—or edited it
into submission.
Emotional Alignment
- Does the mix support the core emotion of the song?
(Not “Does it sound good?” but “Does it hurt where it’s supposed to
hurt?”) - Does the vocal feel present and alive—even if it’s not perfect?
- Do the dynamics tell a story?
(Or did I flatten it into a toothpaste commercial?) - Is there a moment that gives me chills, or makes me smile/frown
involuntarily?
(If not, why not?)
Sonic Humanity - Did I preserve at least one “mistake” that made it more human?
- Did I let something be too loud or too dirty on purpose, because it felt
right? - Is anything too clean for its own good?
(Overtuned? Over-edited? Over-sanitized?) - Did I reference with my gut, not just my meters?
Movement & Space - Did I automate anything for feel—not function?
(Volume swells, reverb throws, panning quirks?) - Do the transitions between sections pull the listener in emotionally?
- Did I use reverb/delay as emotional punctuation—not just glue?
- Does the mix breathe?
(Or is it one long, compressed exhale?)
Final Sanity Questions - If this were the only mix I left behind, would I be okay with that?
- Would I send this to someone I respect—not because it’s perfect, but
because it’s honest? - If I lost the session and couldn’t fix it, would I still be proud?
Remember: No one falls in love with a mix. They fall in love with a song that makes
them feel seen. A great mix just gets out of the way and lets that happen.