The Best Audio Mixing Template: Introduction To Baseline Series

Introduction

This series was born from a pain point I was having as an audio engineer for a local church. The church had a lot of high quality equipment, however there was no consistency in our mixes. There was no standard and everyone had their own way of mixing. Those of us that were experienced had very little difficulty getting the sound we wanted. Unfortunately, there were many issues when a inexperienced engineer was mixing, through no fault of their own.

I needed to find ways to streamline our workflow and make it extremely easy for new volunteers to mix with very little knowledge. This series was created for those who struggle to achieve great results consistently, whether you mix live or in the studio. You might achieve great results one week but then face a disaster the next. Maybe you got the exact tone and processing you wanted but forgot to save your settings. Perhaps you found a new technique that worked for an instrument, but the same method did not yield the same results the next time.

Knowing Why You Do What You Do

Every church I visited to assist with their audio, I asked the same questions: “Where do you set your gain levels?”, “How loud are your mixes?”, “Why do you EQ your vocals this way?”, and a few others. Very rarely did people actually know the reasons behind their mixing choices. While I don’t expect everyone to have all the answers, I want to understand their skill set and the thought they’ve put into their processes. I never belittle anyone for how they mix; I was once in their shoes. My goal is to encourage you to think critically about your methods. Learning is a continuous journey, and I am always growing—so should you.

I want this series to be a great learning opportunity for you. If you ever felt frustrated because you can’t nail down the mix the way you envision, and there are many barriers to achieving your desired results, this series is for you. Each post will highlight an instrument you will likely encounter and teach you the best methods for processing. By doing this, you will be able to create the best audio mixing template.

What Makes a Great Audio Mixing Template

I have experimented with various mixing templates and watched numerous videos on this subject. There are many different approaches and opinions on achieving the best results. However, I believe I have identified what elements in a mixing template work and what doesn’t. While there are many ways to achieve a good outcome, the goal is not just to have a good result; it’s to consistently achieve great results. It shouldn’t matter who the engineer is—your goal is to create a template that anyone can use, ensuring that the results remain consistent and hardly change, if at all.

3 Elements Of A Great Template

I believe I have identified three elements that contribute to a great audio mixing template.

1. Workflow – Organizing the layout of your console and Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is essential. Without proper organization, replicating your success can become very challenging. While some people may feel constrained by too much structure in their workflow, having a solid foundation is crucial for flexibility. If your workflow is disorganized, it will be difficult for your team or volunteers to function effectively.
2. Simplicity – Great audio mixing templates are simple. The workflow is organized and you don’t have a hundred different plugins to manage. Do not over complicate your mixing template. You don’t need several reverbs or a Neve EQ for Bass and an SSL for Drums. It is much more effective to use one EQ style for every instrument. Pick one and stick with it. Save experimentation for downtime between sessions and see if others can replicate your results. The more simple the template, the better results you are going to have.
3. Grouping – Grouping your channels will keep your workflows more organized and simplify your template. This approach reduces the number of channels you need to monitor, making it easier to manage the template. Additionally, grouping enables multi-level processing, which will help to make your mix sound glued together.

What Does NOT Make a Great Audio Mixing Template

Now let’s explore what is not a good mixing template. When I refer to a “good mixing template,” I mean one that allows you to achieve a quality mix in every session, and one that others can also use to produce great results and is easy to manage for a novice engineer.

I also consider the context of church settings. In small to medium-sized churches, it is common to have only one or two audio engineers available for mixing at a time. Even larger churches, which may serve thousands of attendees, often struggle to have more than one engineer working at once. These churches typically manage three types of mixes: Front of House, Back of House, and Online Broadcast.

A good audio mixing template should be capable of running unattended while still delivering a decent mix. Generally, it is very difficult to leave the FOH console unattended. So the online broadcast ends up being unattended. However, if you want to know if your template works on its own, online is the best way to find out.

4 Elements Of A Bad Template

I believe I have identified four elements I have found in other templates that you can look for to determine if the template you are using is worth continuing to use or if you need to make a change.

1. Too Many Plugins – Many users rely on an excessive number of plugins in their consoles and DAWs. There is really only 10% of the time you need to be extreme with plugin usage, but that should be reserved for studio work that is going on a record. Also, if you are using that many plugins to fix problems with your mix, then you need to go back to the source (instrument) and resolve the issue there.
2. Tailored Channel Processing – This concept involves having a channel specifically designed for a single audio source. For instance, you might create tailored processing for your lead vocalist. The problem with this approach is that you need the individual to use the same mic on the same channel every time. While channel processing can generally be specific—such as differentiating between electric guitar and bass—you should not be overly specific to avoid complications.
3. Overly Complex – Some templates are unnecessarily complicated, featuring multiple routing sources and overly intricate channel strips. This complexity confuses volunteers and complicates mixing, making it harder to identify the source of a problem when it arises.
4. Multiple Output Sources – You will most likely need to send your audio to several platforms or rooms. For instance, you may need to send your FOH mix to the broadcast room, the cry room, and the foyer. By default, you send a non-mastered feed to each of these areas. As a result, you have to process each feed individually, which means you are constantly adjusting the mixes every week. This can be quite cumbersome, to say the least. While the template is being sent to multiple areas, you still need to apply master processing specifically to each of these outputs.

The Secret To a great audio mixing template

The secret to a great mixing template is you. As an audio engineer, you desire to produce an amazing product, whether it is for your client or your Sunday morning congregant. What I have found is that there are 3 skills that every great engineer has, organization, effective communication, and knowledge and wisdom. It is very difficult to be successful if you do not have these skills. Let me break these down.

3 Essential Skills As An Audio Engineer

• Organization – Being organized is crucial for achieving consistently great results. Part of organization involves setting up your console or DAW in a way that makes sense for effective mixing. I discussed this in my previous post “5 Reasons Why You Need To Use Bus Processing”. I talked about why Bus processing works and why you should use it. This will help you add structure to your mixes but still have flexibility. Lack of a proper workflow is like building a house without a foundation—the entire structure will collapse without it. If you lack organization, you’ll struggle to maintain high-quality results.
• Communication – Effective communication is a fundamental human skill. If you struggle to communicate well, various aspects of your life will become challenging. Communicating with your leaders and musicians requires practice, humility, and patience. If you’re not a musician, take the time to understand the musicians perspective. If you are not the Pastor or Worship Pastor, find out what their vision is. By understanding their point of view, you can effectively convey your position and show how it will benefit them.
• Knowledge and Wisdom – Knowledge is having information, while wisdom is knowing how to apply that information. For example, you may know that your car can exceed 100 mph, but wisdom tells you not to drive that fast in a neighborhood. Similarly, while you might recognize that vocal clarity tends to be around 4k, wisdom understands that it’s a balance of the entire frequency spectrum that is needed. In my previous post, “Gain Structure: 6 Steps To Get The Best Results“, I not only share knowledge about gain structure but also provide the best practices for setting gain levels. There’s a free guide included in that post that you can download as well. Gain structure is arguably the most important element of your mixes.

What Makes the Baseline Series Different from other templates**

This series was created from a desire to achieve consistent results in any mixing situation. I have studied various mixing methods and reviewed numerous templates. What I discovered is that many either lack widespread application or are too generic to make a significant impact on your mixes. Finding the right balance in a live context is challenging, but it is attainable.

To make this the best audio mixing template, a few things had to stand out. Unlike other methods, the Baseline Series will cover end-to-end processing of each instrument, explaining both what is important and why it matters. I will also provide recommendations for specific pieces of gear through affiliated links.

By following this series, you will learn how to set up your own template on a console or DAW. You will also gain a deeper understanding of its underlying structure enabling you and your team to create great mixes.

Conclusion

As we conclude this introduction to the Baseline Series, I invite you to embark on an exciting journey towards mastering your audio mixing skills. Over the coming weeks, we’ll get into the intricacies of creating the best audio mixing template, focusing on one instrument per post. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to transform your audio mixing skills. Subscribe now and join me on this journey and be part of the new wave in music production!

References

• 5 Reasons Why You Need To Use Bus Processing
• Gain Structure: 6 Steps To Get The Best Results