Before we could start working on our final mix we had to prepare the track so we had something to work from. We started by setting all the outputs to master fader A1/2 – we did this as recoding on the desk meant we used a 24 I/O set up. After that we looked at what audio we had recorded and removed any unwanted takes and cropped the clips to exactly what we wanted to include in the mix.
Next we looked at creating a rough mix as a guide to work with. To do this we started by panning tracks as to where we wanted them in the mix starting with the drums (Over heads far left and right, rack tom to the left and floor tom to the right) then spreading out the other instruments to create a greater stereo field. (An acoustic guitar to the left and to the right, the piano being moved left and the harp to the right). Once we had them where where we wanted them in the mix we listened to the track to get an idea of levels. Once we listened through we set the levels to give us a rough idea of how we want them to sound in the mix (Acoustic guitars lower in the mix with the lead guitar higher, vocals on top). Once the levels were set we created group tracks, this allowed us to increase the level of multiple tracks with one fader; this is particularly helpful with the drum track. Group tracks were used of for the drums, bass guitar and acoustic guitars. Finally we had a track that was ready to be mixed.